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I remember my preschool and first through third-grade teachers with a lot of affection, but I doubt very much that I would have the same degree of appreciation if they had been in charge of showing me sexually explicit images or if they had talked to me about exploring my body or how there are 47 genders.
I think it can hardly be considered controversial that teachers shouldn’t talk about sex with their students in preschool through third grade. I’m not necessarily talking about gender or LGBT rights, but just plain sex. It’s simply not the place.
Parents have a preferential right to how they wish to educate their children and in a country like the United States where over 80% of citizens send their children to public schools, this right must be enforced. Parents have the right to know what their children are being told in schools and, particularly, not to teach their highly impressionable 6 and 7-year-olds that perhaps they are gender fluid or how to masturbate.
This is precisely what Florida’s “Educational Parental Rights” law prohibits; however, if one were to rely on progressive propagandist media headlines, one would think that the law effectively prohibits on pain of imprisonment saying the word “gay” in a classroom.
In fact, “#DontSayGay” became a Trending Topic on Twitter for several days and the Twitter description said it was because the law “banned discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation in elementary schools,” which is flatly false for two reasons:
First: The law only goes up to third grade.
Second: The law prohibits school districts from encouraging these topics and using texts on these topics with children, but in no way prohibits students from asking questions about the topics in question.
It should no longer surprise us, but this case has been one of the most blatant cases of media manipulation in recent years. A law that proposes something that should be pure common sense was turned into a monster through propaganda without the slightest intention of clarifying the facts.
Edgar is political scientist and philosopher. He defends the Catholic intellectual tradition. Edgar writes about religion, ideology, culture, US politics, abortion, and the Supreme Court. Twitter: @edgarjbb_ // Edgar es politólogo y filósofo. Defiende la tradición intelectual católica. Edgar escribe sobre religión, ideología, cultura, política doméstica, aborto y la Corte Suprema. Twitter: @edgarjbb_