30,000 sign petition oppose teaching 'gender diversity

30,000 sign petition opposing the teaching of ‘gender diversity’

Monday, March 4th, 2019

More than 30,000 people have signed a Parliamentary petition asking the Ministry of Education to scrap references to gender diversity in the New Zealand teaching curriculum.

Stop transgender teaching in New Zealand schools was published on January 29 and has garnered 31,190 signatures as of last Wednesday evening.

The petition request: That the House of Representatives urge the Ministry of Education to remove learning intentions for teaching gender diversity in the sexuality education guide and to remove the gender diversity teaching resources on the Te Kete Ipurangi website.

The reason the petitioner, Helene Houghton, offers for her request is that she believes “that teachers are already required to create a safe environment for all students regardless of race, religion, language, disability and sexuality”.

They do not have a separate requirement to teach the content of minority groups in the curriculum, therefore why should there be a new expectation to include the teaching of gender diversity.

Houghton believes that endorsing gender discordance as normal via public education and legal policies will confuse children and parents.

Last year the Catholic National Centre for Religious Studies released a document that provides Catholic schools with guidance about how to navigate issues pertaining to gender diversity among young people today.

Gender Complexity in Schools, which is endorsed by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, acknowledged that gender dysphoria is real.

A statement released by the NZCBC explained that the document provides a point of reference for schools in the support and accompaniment of children and young people “who may be experiencing gender dysphoria in our schools”.

Ellen MacGregor-Reid from the Ministry of Education told 1 NEWS: “Effective education in this area can equip students with the skills, attitudes and understanding necessary to support positive environments and relationships for themselves and their peers – including those with diverse cultures, genders or sexuality”.

She said it was “tricky terrain”, where schools needed to work with parents and caregivers “to ensure it reflects the needs of the students and their communities”.

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