IMPOSED HOMOPHILY TRAINING

Mandatory same-sex sensitivity training

TORONTO, November 17, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Toronto District School Board elementary school, hosting mandatory same-sex sensitivity training for its schoolchildren, is not allowing any exemptions -- even for Muslim children whose parents object to the content of the instruction.

The videos and discussion, called "anti-homophobia education" by the board, are aimed at children, to purportedly eliminate the bullying of children living in families with same-sex parents.

At a meeting attended by 150 parents Tuesday, school board officials said there would be no allowance for parents with children at Market Lane Public School to excuse their kids from the classes. To allow some children to be excused from the classes would be discriminatory against children of same-sex couples, board officials argued. As many as 10 to 15 percent of children attending the school are Muslim.

School board official Patricia Hayes claimed, "religious beliefs do not trump human rights," according to a Toronto Star report.

"They showed a gay lifestyle to the kids without the knowledge of the parents," father of three, Mohamed Yassin said. "They're willing to help gay students with support. Gay people have their rights. I have my rights."

David Crichton, Market Lane principal, said same-sex lifestyles may be portrayed in any grade level, from kindergarten, in stories depicting children with two mothers, for example, rather than a mother and father. Exempting some children from the same-sex sensitivity training "sends a clear message to the students in my school that may have same-sex parents," he claimed.

"They are trying to make it a Muslim issue, but a Christian or Jew would feel the same," Omer Amir, a parent of a 5-year-old at the school, said. "Would they allow me to teach my religion at school? No they would not."

But at a meeting last night, board officials refused to exclude Muslim students at Market Lane Public School from what the board calls "anti-homophobia education."

To allow some students to be removed from those discussions would violate the rights of children of same-sex parents, board officials said.

While the board has a policy to consider accommodation based on religious rights, "religious beliefs do not trump human rights," said Patricia Hayes, a rights expert with the school board.

About 150 parents packed a gym at the St. Lawrence Community Centre last night, but some Muslim parents leaving the meeting said they felt their religious beliefs were receiving less respect than homosexual families.

"They showed a gay lifestyle to the kids without the knowledge of the parents," said Mohamed Yassin, a father of three. "They're willing to help gay students with support. Gay people have their rights. I have my rights."

Yassin was referring to a series of videos shown by a school board social worker that depicted the feelings of children around their same-sex families and the taunts they receive at school.

Market Lane principal David Crichton said he requested a social worker review the material after school staff heard children being ridiculed at school about their same-sex parents.

To let parents know in advance that the subject could come up so they can keep their children home "sends a clear message to the students in my school that may have same-sex parents," he added.

All the material was age appropriate and none of the adults interviewed in the films were depicted kissing or having sexual contact, said Crichton.

Discussions about same-sex families can arise at any grade level in any subject such as a kindergarten story that features a child with two mothers rather than a mother and father, he told the Star in an interview.

"There is sometimes the misunderstanding that anti-homophobia education is sex education. It does not involve the explicit description of sexual activity. It discusses families," said Michelle Flecker, another equity worker at the board who reviewed the board's policies at last night's meeting.

The board will accommodate parents who want their children excluded from sex education in health classes.

But one father said he objected to the board making the issue specifically about Muslims.

"They are trying to make it a Muslim issue, but a Christian or Jew would feel the same," said Omer Amir, whose 5-year-old daughter attends the school. "Would they allow me to teach my religion at school? No they would not."

This morning, Ontario’s education minister urged Muslim parents to reconsider, Canadian Press reported.

“Ultimately, our civil values include respect for sexual orientation,” Kennedy said. “I don’t think there’s any harm done to parents who find their children exposed to ideas that are different than the ones they teach at home.”

Kennedy’s sentiments were echoed by Premier Dalton McGuinty, who insisted that the classes are just another element of building a just, caring and tolerant society.

“I think it’s important that all our children have the opportunity to learn about those things that distinguish one of us from the other, and that they learn to respect those differences,” McGuinty said.

“I think the kind of society that we should all aspire to is one where we respect each other’s differences.”

Of the 560 students at Market Lane, about 10 to 15 per cent are Muslim. Many of their families are from North Africa, said the principal.

While many parents praised the school for organizing the meeting last night and Muslim parents stressed they teach their children to respect others, one man complained the board's human rights and equity policies were being delivered too late.

The information should have been sent to families the first day of school and the material should be translated into other languages, he said.

School board chair Sheila Ward, who is the trustee for Market Lane, said the board holds similar meetings with school communities "periodically."

"Education is an ongoing thing. It's a matter of reassuring parents what equity involves," she said.

"When we deal with homophobia, we're dealing with another way people who are different can be hurt."

Another board official said staff hold about 15 meetings a year to clarify equity and human rights policies.

One mother, who introduced her same-sex partner at last night's meeting, was applauded.

"We're not talking about us having sex, we're talking about my daughter receiving respect," she said.

"The Muslim community has been well respected by the board," said Alimamy Bangura, who is part of the group Campaign for Public Education and a founder of the Muslim Educational Network.

"In every school where accommodation has been requested by the Muslim community, the board has responded very generously," he told parents at the meeting.

One of the films shown at the school was a National Film Board Production called Sticks and Stones, which was also played for parents at last night's meeting.

It features a number of interviews with children of same-sex parents.

"The worst thing about having gay dads is people make fun of you," said one child being interviewed in the film.

If Muslim children were to get up and leave the room when the film was going to be shown "we would be creating a very toxic learning environment for those other children," said Hayes.

Flecker called the Toronto board's equity policy "one of the most inclusive in North America. Anti-homophobia education does not teach children that their family's religion is wrong. It does not influence children's sexual orientation," she said.