Young children to be taught about homosexuality in school
A government-funded education quango has drawn up controversial lesson plans for pupils as young as four to encourage teaching them about homosexual, bisexual and transsexual issues.
The lesson plans, which have been funded by a £35,000 grant from the Training And Development Agency For Schools, are to be optional. The plans include asking pupils in geography lessons to consider why homosexuals move from the countryside to cities and using homosexual and lesbian characters in scenarios for maths problems. Maths lessons will also include references to statistics on the number of homosexuals in the population.
Lessons in ‘Design and Technology’ will encourage children to make symbols linked to the homosexual "rights" movement. Languages will incorporate words such as “outing” and “pride” and will encourage the teaching of an “LGBT vocabulary”.
According to the new plans, the science curriculum should include studying animal species where the male takes a leading role in raising young, such as emperor penguins and sea horses, and staging class discussions on different family structures, including same-sex parents.
The lesson plans are designed to "celebrate the gay community" and to raise children’s awareness about homosexual, bisexual and transsexual issues. Youngsters will be exposed to images of homosexual couples and books such as And Tango Makes Three, which tells the story of two male penguins raising a chick, which was inspired by events at New York’s Central Park Zoo.
The controversial plans, which will be launched in February 2011 at the start of LGBT History Month, were written by teachers and backed by the Department for Education. They will be available for schools to download from the ‘Schools Out’ website.
Critics have blasted the initiative and called it “nonsense” and a waste of public money which would distract from the teaching of "core" subjects.
Craig Whittaker, Conservative MP for Calder Valley and a member of the education select committee, said: “We are too far down the national comparative league tables in core subjects. Teachers should concentrate on those again.”
John O’Connell, of TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Parents will wonder if this is a right use of funds and time, particularly when we keep hearing how tight budgets are.”
Commentator Melanie Phillips called the plans “absurd” and said they are set “to brainwash children with propaganda under the camouflage of education”.
“Alas, this gay curriculum is no laughing matter. Absurd as it sounds, this is but the latest attempt to brainwash children with propaganda under the camouflage of education. It is an abuse of childhood. And it’s all part of the ruthless campaign by the gay rights lobby to destroy the very concept of normal sexual behaviour,” she wrote in the Daily Mail.
“As the old joke has it, what was once impermissible first becomes tolerated and then becomes mandatory,” she added.
A Department for Education spokesman said the plans aim at promoting “equality and tolerance”.
“These are optional teaching materials. It is for the head and teacher to choose the most appropriate teaching resources to help promote equality and tolerance.”
In January 2010 Nick Clegg stated in an interview with Attitude, a British magazine for homosexuals, that all faith schools in the United Kingdom should be legally obliged to teach children that homosexuality is normal.
In July 2009 David Cameron attended a homosexual joint fundraising event and issued an apology on behalf of the Conservative Party for Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 – legislation introduced by Margaret Thatcher's government in response to evidence of Left-wing councils and schools intentionally promoting homosexuality to children.
Sources
Daily Mail (Commentary)
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