We clearly live in a very different world than the one we grew up in. We didn’t talk about prostitution and our teachers certainly weren’t supporting sex workers. Now, however, that is exactly what’s happening, despite the angry parents who are pushing against it all.
As a child, was your school district one that supported sex-related activities? The kids of today may someday be able to answer that question with a “yes.”
If you’re not familiar, the National Education Association (NEA) promotes a program known as “I’m Here.”
The Caucus of NEA LGBT+ works to eradicate institutional discrimination, homophobia, and transphobia. They oversee and contribute to the development of NEA policies and actions to offer resources and encourage greater communication between educators as well as students and communities.
According to modern thinking, the danger of disagreement is that it’s dangerous while “safe” is supportive. Affirming LGBTQ+ young people is no more difficult than being an amiable and safe person.
The badge states “Safe Person, Safe Space” and encourages users to scan its QR code “to learn more.” It’s worn by K-12 teachers from Ohio’s Hilliard City School District, and parents aren’t pleased with what’s available to learn from.
The parent who was furious, Lisa Chafee, clarified the situation to Columbus’s ABC 6: “[The QR code] takes you to a website that has extremely inappropriate information. And as a parent, that crosses the line.”
The district states that the goal behind the badge is to send a message of safety and acceptance to all children. The district refused to comment on camera, though the superintendent did send a statement that read, “Teachers were reminded that the resources linked to the QR code were for adult learning only. Teachers were reminded that, if asked about the ‘I’m Here’ message on the badge, their response should be age appropriate.”
Why do teachers wear badges when instructing children?
Concerning the related content, The Washington Free Beacon discusses that one of the links from the online guide [LGBTQ+ resource guide] urges children to seek resources without parental consent.
“LGBTQIA+ students should be respected, affirmed, and protected in…schools, even if they do not have the full support of their parents or guardians,” is what the “Free to Be Me: A Toolkit to Protect LGBTQIA+ Students’ Rights” explains.
A second link in the guide directs students to the blog that is titled “Organize Like a Sex Worker: Learning from Worker and Organizer Kate Adamo.” The article states that understanding the fact that “sex work is work” and is “critical to ensuring the reproductive and sexual liberation of everyone.” Kate Adamo, the “sex worker” interviewed in the post, contrasts “transphobia or homophobia (to) being anti-abortion, or anti-sex work” to eugenics.
Sexually active people “face stigma, judgment, and pushback from both the Christian right, and sex work exclusionary feminists (SWERFs) on the Left,” Adamo stated.
It’s awe-inspiring how quickly education has changed or, more suddenly the term “education” is redefined. A few years ago, schools were a place where students could discover the three Rs. We’re heading towards three Xs.
It’s an exciting time in American academics. If all the NEA’s sex-related suggestions are not working, then the Free Beacon also outlines another subject that is covered in those Safe Space badges: One study discovered that another QR code leads students to websites that define abortion as the process of removing “pregnancy tissue.”
There’s really only one thing to say about all of this: yikes.
