School boy refuses to back down - biological sex is reality.

My youngest son is enrolled at a big state co-Ed high school. Last year when he was in year 10, he was kicked out of his Social Studies class by his female long-term reliever teacher for affirming that biological sex is fixed, determined at birth (actually even before, in the womb) and can never be changed and neither can a person’s DNA ever be changed. The teacher told him he was being disrespectful to trans people and that they were whatever gender or sex they wanted to be. He argued with her that this was misleading and the scientific fact of biological sex was the reality - he’s a bit Asperger’s so will always stick to his guns to make his point. By this stage she was really angry with him, demanded an apology which he wouldn’t give, as he said he was speaking the truth so she told him to get out of the classroom. After class, she lectured him but he stuck to his guns. He said that she was always bringing up what he called “women’s issues” during class and the whole class hated it because she was so angry and forceful about the issues. He bunked this class a lot after this incident. He is also very annoyed that so many teachers have ‘Rainbow Affiliate ’ stickers on their laptops. In his 15 year old mind, he feels that this takes things too far because most of the school do not fit into the rainbow spectrum and are sick of it being crammed down their throats. His current maths teacher tells the class they don’t have to do the problems in their text books that mention boys and girls because it’s not inclusive of the transgender kids (of which there are very few in the entire school). Furthermore, when at the school recently for parent/teacher conferences, going from classroom to classroom as we met with his teachers, we noticed posters with the rainbow colours and talking points around rainbow issues. These were professional made posters not hand drawn. There were also student made posters all over the place advertising a sausage sizzle for the trans/ rainbow affiliate students at a certain place and time the following week. I can only say we were overwhelmed by this in-your-face approach by a small but very vocal minority for issues that involve such a small number of students. Please consider all these points as the grass roots attitude of mainstream NZ. Let the expression of thoughts, opinions and attitudes be carefully taught as just that - the thoughts, opinions and attitudes of some in society but not the majority. It is not appropriate for teachers to push their own agenda to impressionable young people who often aren’t yet mature enough to discern between fact and fiction and half-truths. We should respect all people and be kind, courteous and non-discriminatory but please let truth prevail. More than ever, it’s the time to remember the tale of the Emperor with no clothes.

School board trying to balance rights and interests in sexuality education

I am on the board of trustees of a public, co-ed primary school board in the Wellington region. We are finding it difficult to reconcile the rights and interests of parents, with the rights and interests of teachers, within a system that should place child welfare at the centre. Some of these rights and interests are colliding with others.

Recently some parents wrote to the board to express their concerns about Navigating the Journey (the sexuality education resource that is informed by the 2020 Ministry of Education RSE guidelines) and its delivery within our school. Their concerns were:

• That there had been inadequate consultation on the programme (we aren't due to do our two-yearly consultation until next term, so newer families to the school would not have had a chance for consultation yet)

• That parents had not been notified of upcoming sexuality education topics, thereby depriving them of their right to opt out

• That material is being shared with students in a way that is not age appropriate.

As a board we accept these are valid criticisms. They have come about due to the behaviour of some teaching staff, who have unilaterally decided that placing limits on discussion of sexuality or gender ideology, for the purposes of the school curriculum, interferes with their right to freely express themselves and that this constitutes discrimination against them. They have also used the s51(3) exemption (that teachers have a right to respond to a child's question in the classroom) to skirt around the requirement to ensure that parents can exercise their opt-out rights in respect of the sexuality curriculum.

The Human Rights Act allows the provision of separate facilities for each sex (s46), which is particularly important for females. How can we as a board, satisfy that expectation of privacy and sex-segregated facilities, when the Ministry of Education guidance encourages children to use the bathrooms and changing spaces that 'aligns with their gender identity'?

Allowing males who identify as female access to female only spaces risks excluding girls from sports and school life. All girls are affected but in particular girls from religious backgrounds such as Muslims, who have strictures against girls sharing private spaces with males. Many of our refugee families come from Muslim countries and policies like these discriminate against and exclude these already marginalised communities.

Navigating the Journey also dictates that schools should 'use people's preferred pronouns'. Using different pronouns is effectively a way of signalling to others belief in gender ideology. As such these 'preferred pronouns' policies run afoul of the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and belief, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights Act.

As a board we are also concerned that there is no risk assessment that has been done by the Ministry on affirming children in different gender identities as the best therapeutic approach for children suffering gender dysphoria. Studies (including evidence presented in the Keira Bell case https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Bell-v-Tavistock-Judgment.pdf), show that many of the young people presenting at gender identity clinics have co-morbid conditions such as anxiety, depression and autistic spectrum conditions. In addition, a number have histories of past trauma, including sexual abuse, and the reason for their discomfort with their bodies deserves better investigation.

In addition, of course, many gender-non-confirming children grow up to be gay. By encouraging affirmation–only approaches, we are, ironically, running the risk of taking part in gay conversion therapy.

The lack of clear guidance from the Ministry of Education in these areas makes us worry that these issues can only be resolved through the courts. That would be a waste of school time and resources, that could be better spent educating our rangatahi and encouraging them to accept themselves and each other, as they are.

High school teacher slams ‘disturbing, inappropriate’ curriculum

October 03, 2021 - 13:06PM High school teacher slams ‘disturbing, inappropriate’ curriculum | Sky News Australia

Victorian high school teacher Moira Deeming says the safe boundaries between teachers and students are being “destroyed” by a curriculum that teaches incredibly inappropriate and “disturbing” sexual content. Ms Deeming told Sky News Australia a curriculum – which she said came out originally under Victoria’s Safe Schools program – teaches “erotic sexual education” and gender identity ideologies from kindergarten. “Ordinary sexual education respects the privacy of the students – it does not call upon them to divulge their personal sexual preferences or interests … in front of the class,” she said. “There’s a survey that can be given to children so that they can tick which ones [sexual preferences] they would be comfortable with. “As a teacher … I just feel like that’s illegal; that’s sexual harassment. You wouldn’t be allowed to ask those questions in a staff room – why are children being disrespected like this?” Ms Deeming said the curriculum overexplains concepts surrounding sexual anatomy to the point it’s “incredibly inappropriate” and that she would “question the worthiness of any teacher” who said such things to a child. “They’re really destroying those safe boundaries between teachers and students.”