Parents beware: The effects of teaching same-sex attraction during pre-adolescence

(At the request of the author, we are re-posting this reflection by Leeda Crawford from September 2010, sage advice for parents with children in the public system, especially that goes by the appellation ‘Catholic’. I, for one, consider the system inherently compromised, worse now ten years on, by forces not only secular, but outright inimical to Catholic principles. Beware, all parents, in entrusting your precious children – for whom we will all have to offer account – for most of their formative years to a host of highly paid professionals, with little formation in anything Catholic, instantiating curricula that are deficient, if not outright deformative. And, added to the mix are all the feral young people, immersed in all sorts of evils. But, anon, read away, and ponder…Editor)

Parents need to be aware that teaching children same-sex attraction and sexual practices during early stages of development is potentially harmful because children have not yet formed their identity. Those who push the homosexual agenda know that this is an effective time to indoctrinate children into such behaviour. This is especially true during the latency period (from around age 8 until puberty at age 12 – 14), when many pre-adolescent children are repulsed by the opposite sex. During this time the child wants only to be with his or her peers of the same sex.

Experience

I recall how in grade 9 (age 13) I adored a girl in my class. I was still pre-pubescent and did not like boys at all. I loved to walk down the hall at school with her, arm in arm. Today, I certainly understand that this very beautiful and sweet girl represented the person whom I wanted to become. I did not have sexual feelings towards her, nor, in 1959, was sexual behaviour all over the media for children to obsess about or be confused.
Role inclusion is deemed to be one of the requisites during adolescence. This requisite pushes young persons towards experiences that will help them overcome some of their insecurities and into discovering whom they are becoming. Likely this led me to become dependent on someone who appeared comfortable with herself.

Remember when you were this age and you desired to belong and be liked by your teachers and peers, especially your same-sex peers. Imagine your confusion if you had been taught about attraction to someone of your own gender, along with actual sexual practices between those of the same sex. Parents should realize that if homosexual behaviour and attraction is taught to their children during the latency stage (ages 8 – 13) many will misidentify themselves as being ‘gay’ because of their attraction to their same-sex peers and repulsion towards the opposite sex.

The psychologist Eric Erikson entitled the latency stage as: ‘Industry vs. Inferiority.’ This leads to the next stage of adolescence ‘Role confusion vs. Role inclusion.’ Erikson is the developer of the eight stages of psychosocial development. Here are his two relevant stages:

Industry vs. Inferiority: From age six years to puberty, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments. They initiate projects, see them through to completion, and feel good about what they have achieved. During this time, teachers play an increased role in the child’s development. If children are encouraged and reinforced for their initiative, they begin to feel industrious and feel confident in their ability to achieve goals. If this initiative is not encouraged, i.e., if it is restricted by parents or teacher, then the child begins to feel inferior, doubting his own abilities and therefore may not reach his potential.

Role Inclusion vs. Role Confusion: During adolescence, the transition from childhood to adulthood is most important. Children are becoming more independent, and begin to look at the future in terms of career, relationships, families, housing, etc. During this period, they explore possibilities and begin to form their own identity based upon the outcome of their explorations. This sense of who they are can be hindered, which results in a sense of confusion about themselves and their role in the world. (“I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up”)

Erikson chose to call his eight stages “psychosocial”. In other words, it involves two aspects of development in the person: the child’s relationship with himself (psycho) and his relationship with others (social). These two aspects are often reversed in children who lack confidence, are shy, suffer other insecurities, or lack the ability to integrate complex concepts. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that the introduction of same-sex relationships and sexual practices will have a negative effect on many or most of the students.

Influence of teachers

Please note that during the Latency stage the teacher has a profound influence on the child’s life. The child expects the teacher to direct him towards accomplishing his goals. Given the children’s expectation of their teacher, what might these children assume is the purpose of their teachers introducing them to homosexual behaviour and relationships? It is a known fact that children are most susceptible to have their opinions formed from age six to fourteen by those they idolize, or who are in charge of them.

In Catholic high schools that push the Gay/Straight Alliance (acceptance of same sex behaviour as normal), some students who are repulsed or upset by this indoctrination pull down signs or write obscenities on them. Many, if you ask them, question why they should accept behaviour that repulses them. They should also question why teachers encourage behaviours that honest medical practitioners consider extremely harmful to those who practice them, and which the Catholic Church holds to be “intrinsically disordered”.

It is important to note that the schools are not teaching compassion, but acceptance of the behaviour as normal. The students are being punished for rejecting such indoctrination. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is very clear on homosexual behaviour (#2357 – 2359). Christians are called to treat the person who suffers from same-sex attraction with respect, but not to approve the behaviour. “Homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the Natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity.”

Parents should be up in arms about the harm the school system is imposing on their children and remove them from the school if need be. I quote a portion from Pope Pius XI’s encyclical on Christian Education to parents: “Make absolutely sure that the education of their children remain under their own control in keeping with their Christian duty, and above all to refuse to send them to those schools in which there is danger of imbibing the deadly poison of impiety.”[26]

Keeping whose kids safe?

The latest Ontario government “Safe Schools” initiative is Bill 157 “Keeping our Kids Safe at School”. It came into effect on February 1, 2010. Bill 157 is available at: (www.etfo.ca) and here are two partial excerpts: Mandatory response by school staff to all types of inappropriate behavior. But, in more serious cases such as fistfights, suspected possession of weapons or drugs, staff are not required to jeopardize their own or others’ health and safety by intervening. The only “response” required in ETFO’s (The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario) view is a safe response that does not compromise the person responding or anyone else.

Training

The Ministry has required all school boards to develop appropriate policies and training for all school staff on this new legislation. Policies must now also address issues of homophobia, gender-based violence, sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual behaviour.

The highlighted sections from the excerpts suggest the so-called ‘safe response that does not compromise’ is determined by the teacher or principal. One can see proof of this in the training videos (1/2 hour in total for 8 videos) videos 3, 6, 7 and 8 explain why parents should be concerned.

Video 3 gives a scenario of a student who tells the principal he is ‘gay’ and that if his parents knew they would throw him out of the house, and that he has had suicidal thoughts in response to his parents finding out. Video 6 says that Board employees “must provide contact information about professional supports where students have been victims of ‘homophobia’ (presumably by someone who does not approve of same-sex attraction or behaviour) and other discrimination”. Video 7 says that the principal must notify the students’ parents unless doing so would cause the victim further harm. In other words, school staff could provide counsel that encourages the practice of same-sex behaviour and do so without notifying the parents. (The videos can be viewed on this link:).

Once same-sex relationships and practices become part of the curriculum, many students may respond by calling one another names or suggesting they are performing the practices, etc. The quiet, unassuming and insecure types will be the likely targets; boys and girls who are still uncertain about a lot of things and not showing signs of attraction to the opposite sex.

What happens if the student asks the teacher, “What if I am gay?” not knowing or understanding what is happening or why students singled him out. Then the teacher may suggest some counseling to help him or her determine if the student is gay, without informing the parents.

The point is that parental rights are being undermined or taken away altogether. Please take action against the new curriculum and Bill 157.

Action Item

The B.C-based pro-family group Parents for Democracy in Education (PDE) have released a set of answers that parents can use to rebut teachers who ignore your complaints about homosexuality propaganda in the school system.

These answers are a rebuttal to the “quick response” sheet called “Objections to Anti-homophobia Curriculum in Schools” issued to public school teachers in Hamilton, ON and in B.C. by the BC Teachers Federation.