- Teacher training aimed at helping students address gender issues and coming out
- Some say it’s gone too far. Teachers advise parents not to discuss their child’s sexual orientation and to avoid the term “either/or”.
- Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration called for change after criticism from Republican opponent Tudor Dixon
The Michigan Department of Education is under attack from both Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her Republican opponent Tudor Dixon. training video It became clear that teachers would suggest not talking to parents about their child’s sexual orientation.
In a state video, one trainer suggests teachers can talk to parents about their LGBTQ children’s suicidal thoughts.
Watch training:
After Christopher Ruffo, the concept of “critical race theory” slurcriticized the video this week and Dixon called them “amazing“
“Does Gretchen Whitmer agree with me? Does she condemn this radical and dangerous nonsense? She owes her parents an answer,” Dixon said Thursday.
On Friday afternoon, the Whitmer administration told the Michigan Department of Education,maintain a parental perspective for the work you do. “
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Whitmer’s chief operating officer, Tricia Foster, denounced the drill in letters to state superintendent Michael Rice, who spent Thursday and Friday defending the directive.
Foster told Rice that the training videos were “over the top” from a parent’s perspective.
“We encourage you to review your training to ensure it complies with all applicable regulations, maintains departmental guidelines, and reflects best practices,” Foster wrote.
Moderated by two educational contractors and available beginning in the 2021-22 school year, the video outlines who the LGBTQ community is and provides insights to help teachers educate students while respecting their differences and needs and techniques.
Research shows that 1 in 8 students identify as LGBTQ, a group far more likely to face physical threats, perform poorly, or have suicidal thoughts. The ministry said Friday that more than 1,000 educators seek out the training each year.
The Department of Education defended the training as part of its ongoing effort to “provide a safe, supportive and inclusive school environment in which all students, especially those who identify as LGBTQ+, can thrive.” .
Among other things, we recommend the following during your training session:
- Call students by the names and pronouns you ask them to use
- Intervention when hearing anti-LGBTQ comments
- Include subject-specific, age-appropriate content in lessons about LGBTQ people
- We believe students who say they are being bullied, harassed, or excluded.
In her letter, Whitmer’s aide gave no details about where she felt the training crossed the line.
Conservative writers Dixon and Rufo focused on some areas they said they disliked.
In one video, a teacher asked if parents should be told about their child’s sexual orientation or pronouns if they knew of a student’s suicidal thoughts.
In the video, trainer Kim Phillips Knope says teachers have a duty to report suicidal thoughts in students, including LGBTQ students.
According to Phillips-Knope, teachers “can tell parents, ‘Your child is having suicidal thoughts,’ without telling them why or without telling them.”
“You can say, ‘We have some concerns. Your child shared this.’ [but] I 1,000 percent recommend working with students to be able to guide them through the process. “
Dixon argues that the state means that teachers “recommend hiding material information about children from parents …” Rufo argues that the state encourages teachers to “disclose the sexual “We teach them how to facilitate the transition, but we keep the process a secret from parents.” “
In a statement released Friday afternoon, the ministry vehemently denied those allegations, saying the video did not do what Rufo claimed, calling his conclusions “clearly false and willfully divisive.” I am letting you,” he said.
of Another outrageous video Regarding Rufo and Dixon, Oak Park teachers noted that not all students felt they fit into one of the two categories, so they used “dual” gender terms such as “boys and girls”. We suggest teachers avoid using it.
Owen Bondno from Michigan teacher of the year In 2020-21, we proposed the use of gender-neutral terminology such as “Earthlings, Teams, Scholars”. He also gave a list of over ten other terms, including y’all, folks, beautiful people, kiddos.
“They target and confuse our children in their most critical stages of development, telling them to use exorbitant gender-neutral terms like ‘earthlings’ instead of boys and girls. ,” Dixon said in a statement.
Bondno, in an email to Bridge, called the attack “pure terrorism.”
“Medical, psychological, and educational professionals agree that helping transgender and nonbinary youth can reduce their risk of suicide and drug use, and improve educational outcomes for these students.” He writes, “They also agree that cisgender students are not harmed by inclusive language. shows.”
After a letter from the Whitmer administration late Friday, Department of Education spokesperson Martin Ackley said, “We agree with the governor’s office that parents are their children’s first teachers and thank them for their partnership. I will,” he issued a statement.
Joshua Cowen, a professor of education at Michigan State University, said he was not surprised that both Whitmer and Dixon criticized the training.
“That means no one on the left or the right has ever lost an election criticizing the MDE,” Cohen said. “They are known as institutions that do what they want but with little authority.
Whitmer and Dixon’s election is November 8th.