Education Ministry unfair, B.C. parents say

By LAUREEN McMAHON

Concerned Parents of B.C., a parent lobby group, has launched a letter-writing campaign to voice objections to curriculum changes in the public schools resulting from last May’s settlement agreement between the B.C. Education Ministry and activist homosexuals Michael and Peter Corren.

Allowing two private citizens to exert influence on the curriculum is setting a dangerous precedent, the parents say.

A new Social Justice 12 course which teaches that homosexuality is a positive choice is the result of an appearance by the Correns before a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal in 2005.

The government, the couple said, was discriminating against homosexual parents and students by omitting the mention of homosexual and transgendered relationships in public school classrooms.

After negotiating a settlement with the Correns, the government approved the drawing up of the new course to include teachings on sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and gender issues.

Concerned Parents of B.C. is upset that children cannot opt out of parts of the curriculum they consider violate their beliefs through an “alternative delivery” provision. It means students will be unable to avoid controversial topics covered in all classes.

In the case of Catholic schools, the Federation of Independent School Associations, an umbrella group to which the CISVA belongs, has been assured by the Education Ministry that independent schools will not be asked to teach learning outcomes that would violate their religious beliefs.

The government has agreed that the Correns will be consulted on the section of the new curriculum dealing with sexual orientation and on how homosexuals are presented in the broader school curricula.

The couple also has the right to identify those organizations or groups with “expertise in sexual orientation, homophobia, and other issues of inclusion and diversity in the curriculum” which the government will call upon for feedback, along with members of the public.

Concerned Parents of B.C. is asking the government to guarantee that parents have equal access to curriculum review and change in B.C., that the Schools Act will contain assurances that the authority of parents in education is enshrined as reflected by the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child, and that volunteer parent curriculum review committees will be struck at the school-board level to enable parents to have a say about what’s taught in the schools.

B.C. Parents and Teachers for Life and the Canadian Alliance for Social Justice and Family Values have protested the Education Ministry’s decision.

The BCPTL wrote a letter to the ministry and all MLAs on Sept. 23 expressing concern that private citizens have been allowed “an unprecedented role in influencing curriculum.”

Parents, the letter continued, “have the right to educate children in conformity with their moral and religious convictions ... public schools must be transparent and accountable to parents about what is taught to students.”

Parents, the letter said, also should have the right to examine teaching materials and be advised when sexual or other controversial or sensitive topics are to be discussed.”

Fifteen thousand people signed an Alliance petition during a recent rally which states that the Correns have been given an “unreasonable, overwhelming say” in modifying curriculum.

Vancouver Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, writing recently in The B.C. Catholic, encouraged parents to express their concerns to the government and to insist that their right to oversee their children’s education be upheld.

The issue, he said, is of great interest to faith-based groups outside the Catholic Church and is worrisome for a broad range of faith groups, from other Christians to non-Christians.

The archbishop quoted Pope Benedict XVI, who recently said that the right of parents to determine their children’s education is “non-negotiable,” and said that includes the right to remove their children from problematic course content.

While Concerned Parents of B.C. say they support the teaching of compassion for others, they also believe that “parents have a primary role in the education of their children” and all citizens are entitled to equal rights when it comes to the development of curricula for the province’s schools.

Above all, the group added, “We love our children and believe that we have the highest duty to care for them. This also means that we should defend and empower parents to take responsibility for the nurture, raising, and yes ... education of their children.”

Information and guidelines on writing letters to the Ministry of Education, MLAs, and the media, is available at the Concerned Parents of B.C. web site: www.concernedparentsbc.org.