Reading, Writing, and … The Loss of Innocence
By Therese Stahl
As parents, we know the value of protecting the innocence of children. We restrict our children’s access to violent movies. We turn off newscasts that discuss disturbing topics or show troubling images. We also limit children’s exposure to adult things like sexual activity or sexual innuendo. Part of parenting is having control over such things.
I recall the stages of parenthood when giving up control is necessary. Sending your child off to kindergarten is one step. Sadly, we can no longer assume that our children’s schools protect their health, safety, or innocence.
Due to a new state law, children in Illinois public schools will be taught, beginning this fall, a sex education curriculum that could cause irreparable harm and is contrary to Church teaching on the divine gift of sexuality. The new law also undermines parental rights and indoctrinates children to a social agenda. Parents, though, can still act to stop the insanity.
Last year, the Rockford Diocese and the other five dioceses in the state opposed state Senate Bill 818, which was to mandate such curriculum. Many of you joined us in advocating that the bill be blocked. Unfortunately, the bill passed both houses and was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Now Illinois public school boards that choose to teach sex education need to adopt curriculum according to the National Sex Education Standards. These standards address troubling topics, like gender identity and expression and sexual orientation and identity, with public school children in kindergarten through grade 12. Experts agree that this education sexualizes children, promotes gender confusion, and undermines traditional values and parents’ rights.
Here are some examples of concerning lessons:
Children in kindergarten through second grade will be taught the differing ways people express gender. They will be taught that gender stereotypes can limit their behavior. Why do children so young need to question their gender or what the color of their clothing or the toys they play with say about their gender?
This push for our children to question gender continues.
The Standards call for youth in third through fifth grade to explain that their gender “assigned at birth” may be different than their gender identity and that “young people” who identify as transgender can use hormone blockers to help. In these grades, the Standards will ask our youth to explain the differences between cisgender, transgender, gender nonbinary, gender expansive, and gender identity. By the end of the fifth grade, our pre-adolescents will be asked to explain masturbation.
There will be no innocence remaining by the time our youth get to the sexual health curriculum of eighth grade. These early adolescents will be able to define vaginal, oral, and anal sex and name at least four methods of contraception available without a prescription.
Ninth and tenth graders will learn how to communicate with a partner about being sexually active while using condoms and contraception. They will also be asked to demonstrate how to use condoms correctly.
Eleventh and twelfth graders will learn the local resources that can reduce the risk of pregnancy, and they will learn how condom use can influence pleasure.
Parents and other concerned adults can act. Petition your local school board to choose not to teach sex education. If your board has already chosen a curriculum, examine it to ensure it does not conflict with your family’s values and the teachings of the Church. If it does either, opt your children out, which is your right according to the new law. Visit http://www.rockforddiocese.org/life/current-life-issues for assistance with these steps.
The new law pushes a social change agenda that is medically, emotionally, and spiritually harmful to children and opposes Church teaching.