Preschool Class Shown LGBTQ Flash Cards, Upsetting Parents
A preschool teacher taught students colors with controversial flash cards that were not approved by the district, and parents are upset.
Flash cards have been a standard teaching tool for years. They offer young students clear content to help them learn to read and do math problems. The benefits of using them have been known for some time, but the Wake County Public School District in North Carolina is reacting to backlash after a specific set of LGBTQ flash cards were used to teach preschoolers the colors of the rainbow.
A teacher at Ballentine Elementary School used the set of Progress Pride Rainbow Families flash cards, which introduce colors by displaying pictures of LGBTQ families. The color white is displayed with a couple including a pregnant “man,” and the color pink shows a family of lesbians and their 2 children, yet not everyone in the picture is wearing pink and so it may confuse children who learn best with easy conceptual images. Many parents have expressed outrage that the 12-pack of cards were used in the preschool class without their knowledge.
A spokesperson for the district admitted that the flash cards in question were not approved curriculum materials, and were used without the principal’s knowledge. The teacher’s information has yet to be released and it is unclear whether they have been reprimanded or not, but this situation is just one of many which parents are using to display how parental rights are being ignored in the classroom and teachers are taking free-license with students. It is because of the growing divide between educators and parents that the public education system is seeing mass changes.
LGBTQ+flash cards are just a small concern being that across the nation, public schools have allowed students to change their gender without parental consent, and even taught young students highly sexual material. Along with this, child sex crimes committed by teachers are on the rise and so many concerned parents are seeking legal action, as well as education reform. While lawsuits against extreme cases continue in court, lawmakers in some states are working with parents to give them their own bill of rights.
Florida was the first state to offer parents relief regarding sexual materials being taught to students well before they reach puberty. Opponents have deemed this the infamous “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” but in fact, it merely works to prevent teachers from imposing their personal identity politics on young children, or teaching sexual education before students are old enough to fully understand the content. Similarly, North Carolina is debating Hose Bill 755, which would give parents more say in what is taught in public schools, and prohibit lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation for kindergartners through their third-grade year. This is of serious interest to parents whose preschoolers were being taught with LGBTQ flash cards, as pre-k restrictions are not mentioned in the bill.
Most parents send their children to school to get a well-rounded education. They wish for their kids to learn how to read and write, do math, and understand science. When children under 5 are being taught that men can get pregnant and that it’s normal for children to have 2 moms or 2 dads, it’s confusing because these are not standard biological situations. While kindness and tolerance are positive lessons to bring into various classrooms, the degree to which teachers normalize irregular behavior has grown to such a rate that preschoolers are now being taught information that conflicts with reality and many parents’ values. The LGBTQ flash cards are just one very small example of how your children are being given information that confuses their concept of science, nature, and biology before they are old enough to understand these sorts of inconsistencies.
