In brief
- Guidelines from the Ministry of Education aim to teach sexuality in every area of primary and secondary school curricula.
- The guidelines are optional, but included in the Education Review Office’s “indicators of effective practice”.
- They explicitly attack social norms and promote homosexuality and transgenderism to children.
Deconstructing social norms
As Minister of Education, Chris Hipkins presided over a reform of primary and secondary school education including expansion of progressive sexual education. Many parents are strongly opposed.
The guidelines from the Ministry of Education (MoE) focus on homosexuality and transgenderism, and attack the scientific concept of biological sex and the belief that heterosexuality is normal.
The guidelines are optional, but pervasive. They say all schools should include their Relationships and Sexuality Education for children aged 4 and up. The Education Review Office (ERO)’s “indicators of effective practice” require that “sexuality issues are explored across the curriculum, not just in health.” For instance:
- science could teach students to “consider how biological sex has been constructed and measured over time”
- technology class can “explore symbols linked to the gay and transgender rights movements”
- physical education can “[critique] ways in which nationalism and gender are reflected in media representations of sport”
- maths students could analyse “the representation of gender in maths problems”
The guides are rife with the academic language of Marxist Critical Theory, such as “deconstruction”, which aims to re-evaluate all Western values. They’re also part of the Government’s racially divisive He Puapua agenda. MoE says the guidelines are important so children can “explore their identities”, “interrogate the ongoing effects of colonisation”, and learn “how social messages and stereotypes about relationships, sexuality, and gender affect [their] wellbeing”.
The guidelines say “Ākonga [students] should be addressed by their preferred name and pronouns” and “All ākonga should be able to wear any of the uniform items available. Labelling uniform items by gender is an exclusionary practice.”
They say gender neutral toilets are insufficient, and children should be allowed to use the toilet of their choice according to their gender identity which can change “back and forth” with a frequency that “depends on the individual.”
Bullying normies
Many of the recommended guides were produced by “rainbow charity” InsideOUT, which is suing the Government over its decision to allow a woman’s rights activist into the country to rally support for things like women’s sport and female-only spaces. This is an example of how the “inclusion” being promoted only applies to a tiny minority, and those with different values or politics are excluded.
The teaching resources are part of MoE’s call on schools to “take more action against bullying, violence and child abuse.” However they seem likely to achieve the opposite. They label opposition to LGBTQ+ ideology “homophobic, biphobic and transphobic”, effectively bullying students who don’t buy into the teaching. Many Kiwis also consider exploring sexual themes with young children to be child abuse in itself.
Parents beware
The ERO’s guide says parents should “have meaningful input into the sexuality education programme” but that “very few schools reported to parents on sexuality education achievement”. Also, in many schools “the board was unaware of their responsibilities to make sure they consulted with the community about the implementation of the health curriculum.”
Correction
28 March 2023: Kelly-Ann says she isn’t a feminist, but a women’s rights activist.
