Australian school infuriates parents with lesson ‘teaching’ kids gay marriage is bad
A school in Perth has infuriated parents by inviting an anti-gay marriage group to āteachā kids about why gay unions are wrong.
St Brigidās College in Perth, a private school in Perth, has come under fire after inviting the Loving for Life group, which claims to provide āChristian Educational Programs on Sexuality and Relationshipsā, to address students.
The groupās session with students allegedly included a session āteachingā kids about why same-sex marriage is wrong, as voting takes place in Australia on whether to allow gay couples to marry.
Parents say they were not informed in advance that their kids would be taking part in the anti-gay marriage session.
Speaking to WA Today, one student said: āWe were told that we had to respect their personal Catholic opinion [on marriage] but any time that one of us had our own opinions during this āopen discussionā, we were shut down, ignored and told we were wrong.
āWe were then shown a video with coloured circles which ārepresented homosexualsā, which told us how changing the law would āaffect the normal coloured circlesā.
āIt is absolutely ridiculous to judge people for who they areā¦ nobody should try to enforce their beliefs on you.ā
A mother told WA Today that her daughter had come home upset after the session.
She said: āThe kids came out of the program saying it seemed they were urged to vote no, and they were obviously pretty upset.
āThey said they were told about how marriage should be between a man and a woman and why thatās the case, and of course thereās a few girls in the class who are gay, and they said they just felt completely unsupported by their school.
āWhy would they come out to the school the week the postal vote was sent out? I donāt believe [it was a coincidence] for a second.ā
The schoolās Principal Dr Amelia Toffoli said: āThe College has no intention of influencing individual family decisions in relation to the Marriage Equality postal survey, nor does it endorse programs that are intended to politicise important social matters affecting its community.
āWe continue to uphold the dignity of every human person as a fundamental belief.
āSt Brigidās College seeks to provide a learning environment that supports students to develop as critical thinkers, who are able to consider and respect diverse viewpoints and contribute meaningfully to their communities whilst understanding Catholic teaching on important issues, such as the Churchās teaching on marriage.
āThe College is also fully committed to the role of parents and carers as the first educators of their children, and encourages them to take an active role in their childās education.
āWe encourage parents and carers to discuss issues with their children, and we work in partnership with parents in relation to programs offered at the College.ā
