See The Materials Being Used To Teach High School Students Gender Ideology
Parents Defending Education recently expressed concern when they discovered that Needham High School in Needham, Massachusetts, has morphed their genetics unit in their biology classes into a class on gender ideology. The site was able to grab the slides being used to teach this unit (which we have below). The first talks about removing specifically gendered terms then moves on to “Human biological variation” before finishing up with “Non-human Examples of Variation.”
In the middle (slide 3 below) you can see that the teachings define the following: Anatomical Sex, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Attraction. Their goal appears to be to impress upon students the idea that although you may have been born with certain anatomical parts, it doesn’t define anything about you as a person; only you have the power to do that.
The gender ideology unit then moved on to non-human examples and listed the clownfish, the common reed frog, and the amborella plant as mammals and plants that have the ability to change their sex.
Opponents of the course say that what the slides don’t show, is that these mammals and plants change only out of necessity when their species survival is at stake. Additionally, those species are able to physically change their bodies at will, something humans cannot do.
Finally, the class was asked to do some research. The teacher gave students five minutes to conduct their own research to find examples of gender fluidity in nature. They were also asked to be prepared to share their findings. Here’s that slide…
Does gender ideology belong in schools? The students at Needham High School who blew the whistle believed their teacher was trying to convince them that the desire to change your sex is common in nature. Those same students didn’t seem to think the approach was particularly factual or scientific, so they sounded the alarm.
The idea of teaching gender ideology in schools is a fairly new trend. As the younger generation begins to figure out who they are, gender ideology has gained a stronger foothold. In California, National Sex Ed Standards: Core Content and Skills, K-12 (Second Edition), a set of sex education guidelines, was put together by Advocates for Youth, Answer – Sex Ed, Honestly, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. This is important to know because, in 2019, California’s Health Education Framework was adopted by the state board of education, and they recommend Advocates for Youth as the main resource for students and teachers.
In the National Sex Ed Standards, “gender” is defined as a social construct. This means that one can reject or even modify their “sex assigned at birth” into something that feels closer to oneself. Standards even gave examples of different genders which include, though not limited to, male, female, transgender, androgynous, agender, gender expansive, genderqueer, nonbinary, two-spirit, intersex, or questioning. They even defined “genderqueer.” This is where a person can identify as both male and female at one time or neither gender. They can identify as something in-between or even beyond gender. Huh?
The National Sex Ed Standards says that students in grades K-12 should be taught to not only respect all boys and girls but they should also be taught to respect “all genders.” They go even further with their gender ideology. They say that the failure of a student or teacher (anyone in general) to affirm another’s self-determined gender is prejudiced and transphobic. This discrimination will cause trauma for those self-determining their gender.
As you can see, it isn’t only the National Sex Ed Standards in the corner of gender ideology. Black Lives Matter also has spoken out. They put together a coloring book for elementary school children explaining that “Everybody has the right to choose their own gender by listening to their heart and mind. Everyone gets to choose if they are a girl or a boy or both or neither or something else, and no one gets to choose for them.”
Gender ideology has found its way into classrooms across the country. It’s another debate that may take some time to work through. Before you decide whether you’re for it or against it, we’ll do our best to make sure you’re informed.
