Ireland’s children’s sexual education: parents have the final say, says Education Minister
Dublin: The government supports the idea of sex education for children with parental consent. According to Education Minister Norma Foley, parents will be able to withdraw their children from sex education classes if they deem it unnecessary.
The Social Personal and Health Education curriculum is being finalised by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. In the meantime, the government has clarified its position regarding this matter. Following concerns from some quarters that giving sex education to children at a young age would be harmful, the minister stated that the final decision in this regard will be with the parents.
The minister said that parents should be aware of everything that is being taught to their children. Everything should be done with their consent. It is extremely valuable. Parents should also have the freedom to exclude their children from anything that is considered unimportant. This freedom should not be compromised under any circumstances, according to the minister.
At school, children should feel safe and respected. According to the minister, the primary goal of schools is to ensure that every child values the system.
Aontu Party leader Peadar Toibin came to Dial with allegations of teaching obscenity at a young age. He also mentioned that the parents are concerned about this move. There is also talk of ending the girls-boys segregated school system.
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said that children need to be prepared for the future and to face the challenges. “It needs to happen at an early age.” “Any curriculum that contradicts that will not be good,” Leo Varadkar stated.
The rise in physical and sexual violence against children is concerning. It is becoming more common, and we must do everything possible to protect children from sexual violence, according to the Prime Minister.
Immorality and sexualized content.
The Department of Education has received dozens of complaints regarding proposed changes to the school sex education curriculum. Organisations, including Pro-Life, state that the instructions to “indoctrinate” innocent children are disturbing. Another allegation is that the Education Department is compromising the safety of children.
“When children come home and tell their parents what they are learning at school, when more people begin to understand what is really going on, the authorities will have to respond,” says another organisation.
The Catholic Church has also stepped in, demanding that the department not support “state immorality” and avoid “extremely sexualised” content.
According to emails released by the department, it claims to have an almost “obsessive focus” on issues related to gender identity. Teachers’ unions are also concerned about “subjects like cross-dressing, transgenderism, and more” being included in the new curriculum.
Although excessive involvement of the Catholic Church in Irish schools prevented the implementation of appropriate sexuality education for many years, human rights organisations also maintain that it is appropriate to teach such subjects to young children of primary school age.
“Educators say their goal is to avoid going through a school system where words like gay, trans, and queer are only heard as insults.”
“The education policy document makes clear that to stem the tide of male violence against women, we need a major cultural shift, and that starts with a progressive approach to sexuality education.”
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