Friday, September 07, 2007

BC, Canada: Parents Cannot Opt Children Out of Gay Curriculum

The Vancouver Sun reports that among the "key learning concepts" in the new course are "ableism, ageism, anthropocentrism, consumerism, cultural imperialism, extremism, feminism, fundamentalism, heterosexism, humanism, racism, sexism and speciesism."

From "Homosexual Indoctrination Grade 12 Curriculum to Start in British Columbia Schools" by Hilary White, posted 9/4/07 at LifeSite.org

Starting next week, British Columbia will introduce its grade 12 "Social Justice" elective course that will see homosexuality promoted in BC schools as an "alternate lifestyle" equivalent to natural marriage. The course is only the first part of a larger K-12 curriculum resulting from a Human Rights complaint settlement by the government with a pair of homosexual activists.

The British Columbia Human Rights Commission ordered that Murray Corren and his homosexual partner Peter Corren be allowed to force the BC Education Ministry to accept their curriculum and that parents will not be allowed to remove their children. Murray Corren wanted the K-12 curriculum to include, "Queer history and historical figures, the presence of positive queer role models -- past and present -- the contributions made by queers to various epochs, societies and civilizations and legal issues relating to (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) people, same-sex marriage and adoption."

It was revealed in 2006 that the provincial government had signed the settlement contract with the two men giving them unprecedented control over the content of the curriculum. The contract stipulated that the education ministry would meet with the men every six months until September 1, 2007 to allow them to oversee the development process.

The Vancouver Sun reports that among the "key learning concepts" in the new course are "ableism, ageism, anthropocentrism, consumerism, cultural imperialism, extremism, feminism, fundamentalism, heterosexism, humanism, racism, sexism and speciesism."

Heterosexism is defined as a "prejudice against homosexuals on the assumption that heterosexuality is the norm".

Glen Hansman, president of the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers' Association, admitted in the Sun that the curriculum will require students to examine injustices to homosexuals because of the assumption that heterosexuality is normal and to "take a stand against these injustices."

Sean Murphy, spokesman for the BC Catholic Civil Rights League, is quoted by the Sun saying that the course "can be used by individual teachers as a vehicle to turn students against the Catholic Church on the grounds that it violates human rights by opposing practices like abortion, contraception and homosexual conduct."

With the inclusion in the list of "speciesism", the course will also introduce the concept of animal rights, a key issue in the world of secularist utilitarian bioethics that proposes human beings are no more important than animals. The term was coined by Peter Singer, the Princeton bioethicist who promotes infanticide and euthanasia on utilitarian grounds. Singer is generally considered the "father" of the modern extremist animal rights movement.

The two homosexual men filed a complaint against the BC Ministry of Education in 1999 alleging that the Ministry's curriculum didn't adequately "address issues of sexual orientation." The result was a curriculum, the writing of which was supervised by Murray Corren, that teaches students that the "gay lifestyle" is safe and as natural as heterosexual relations.

The pair particularly objected that the law allowed an opt-out provision in which teachers are under an obligation to advise parents when a subject deemed to be "sensitive" is raised in the classroom. The complaint demanded that homosexuality be removed from the list of issues considered officially "sensitive."

The issue has sparked protest rallies by parents' groups concerned by the erosion of parental rights and the right of religious people to protect their children from secularist indoctrination.