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News & ArtsThursday, April 29, 2010
Homo / Religion Dear Parents of Students Enrolled in a Publicly-Funded "Private" Catholic High School In Canada
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 7:46 AM
A quick glance at the headlines demonstrates that your kids are in a certain amount of danger attending a Catholic school... but not from their openly lesbian music teachers. It's the dudes in the collars that you should be worried about. Seriously.
2
Can you imagine the sudden outrage if she raped a little girl? Would people suddenly start caring whether their children get raped?
Or just bitch about gay people more and ignore the irony?
Or just bitch about gay people more and ignore the irony?
3
Yeah, okay, we suck, too... Actually, Canada still has a separate school system in place in some Provinces, so you choose whether your tax dollars support public or separate (Catholic) education. BC publicly supports religious schools that meet "rigorous standards," including, I guess, the one mentioned here. I've witnessed incredible ignorance and bigotry even in our very liberal "earthy crunchy" school where I live (coming from other parents, as well as students) so I'd imagine it would be pretty tough to be openly gay in a school without the support of the school board. Yet another reason to completely separate church and state, and further evidence--if any was needed--that religion has no place in the education of our children, at least with my tax dollars.
Further reading:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publica…
Further reading:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publica…
4
I get that it's completely factually and morally wrong to help perpetuate the idea that all priests are probable child rapists, "BUT" if we can teach the kids to be inherently afraid of people purporting to take orders from voices in their head's or books that well predate the Enlightenment and dawn of science... well then, I'm gonna go with the ends definitely justify the means on that one.
5
This is embarassing. Glad to hear she has another job lined up. Using tax dollars to fund Catholic schools has always mystified me. Should NOT be done.
6
I don't quite get it - she and her partner recently had a baby, the school is offering her to work from home at full pay and that's a bad thing?
I don't want to say there is definitely no discrimination, but as far as I can see we only have the word of the teacher. And the Pride Education Network did screw up their first press release, so I'm not super inclined to trust them.
I don't want to say there is definitely no discrimination, but as far as I can see we only have the word of the teacher. And the Pride Education Network did screw up their first press release, so I'm not super inclined to trust them.
7
Dan, it's reassuring to know our children are are not at danger from Lesbian teachers. Thanks.
What percentage of Lesbian teachers have sex with students, compared to the percentage of Priests that molest boys?
I'd like to just how safe our kids are.....
What percentage of Lesbian teachers have sex with students, compared to the percentage of Priests that molest boys?
I'd like to just how safe our kids are.....
8
Yeah, it always surprises the Liberal Canada/Europe Fanboys to learn those enlightened utopias have tax supported religious schools (and usually Catholic, at that...).
Separation of Church and State FAIL, eh?
Separation of Church and State FAIL, eh?
9
She was hired on an 8-month contract to cover for a teacher on mat leave, and she requested parental leave herself four months in? Not excusing discrimination if it played a part, but if I were the principal, I'd be pissed.
10
To . : ; _.... whatever, @8
I guess this is what happens when 46% of the population is Catholic. At least we get to choose where our individual tax dollars go (it's a box we tick on our land taxes form) but, yeah, the world would definitely be a better place if people followed religions the way they masturbated...you know, in the dark, under the covers, and sure as hell not ever talking about it...
I guess this is what happens when 46% of the population is Catholic. At least we get to choose where our individual tax dollars go (it's a box we tick on our land taxes form) but, yeah, the world would definitely be a better place if people followed religions the way they masturbated...you know, in the dark, under the covers, and sure as hell not ever talking about it...
11
I don't know about B.C., but here in Ontario we have two publicly-funded school boards; the "public board" and the "separate [catholic] board". This is the result of requirements under the "British North America Act", and is not easily changed.
Many of us would like to see one board - less overlap in admin costs would leave more money for actual education. Not to mention the discrimination; Catholics get publicly funded religious instruction, but Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc do not...
But please don't assume it's all bad. In my home town the public board is rigid and intractable and has little focus on the actual needs of kids, but my teacher friends say the catholic board is much more innovative and seem to actually care about the children.
Many of us would like to see one board - less overlap in admin costs would leave more money for actual education. Not to mention the discrimination; Catholics get publicly funded religious instruction, but Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc do not...
But please don't assume it's all bad. In my home town the public board is rigid and intractable and has little focus on the actual needs of kids, but my teacher friends say the catholic board is much more innovative and seem to actually care about the children.
12
The parents who complained about a lesbian teaching their children are the ones who need an education. What year is this again? What an embarassment. We have same-sex marriage in Canada, we profess tolerance but this kind of discrimination exists? This school needs to be sent to the corner to wear a dunce cap for a while.
13
46%?
Really?
So we guess by Canadian standards it would be mandatory for 60% Mormon Utah to have tax supported Mormon Schools?
Wow.
You Canadians are full of it.
Surprises, that is....
Really?
So we guess by Canadian standards it would be mandatory for 60% Mormon Utah to have tax supported Mormon Schools?
Wow.
You Canadians are full of it.
Surprises, that is....
15
Oh, please--parents don't care about whether their children are emotionally scarred from sexual trauma, what they care about is the gay contagion this teacher is coughing up all over her students. These kids could get the gay cootievirus, and then bring it home and sneeze on Grandma or something. It's like headlice. Which is way worse than sexual molestation.
16
46%?
Really?
So we guess by Canadian standards it would be mandatory for 60% Mormon Utah to have tax supported Mormon Schools?
Wow.
You Canadians are full of it.
Surprises, that is....
------------
Wow. She never said it was mandatory. How about you actually read something and comprehend it before posting stupid fuck comments like this.
Really?
So we guess by Canadian standards it would be mandatory for 60% Mormon Utah to have tax supported Mormon Schools?
Wow.
You Canadians are full of it.
Surprises, that is....
------------
Wow. She never said it was mandatory. How about you actually read something and comprehend it before posting stupid fuck comments like this.
17
@ 10
Where the hell are you getting 46% from? That's total bullshit. Yeah maybe 100 years ago . . . check StatsCan today for accurate info.
Where the hell are you getting 46% from? That's total bullshit. Yeah maybe 100 years ago . . . check StatsCan today for accurate info.
20
Ok so...
1. Do people really think their kids will become gay because a lesbian has contact with them, in this day and age?
or is it, as I suspect
2. They're secretly afraid that their kids will be comfortable with gays and support gay rights if they actually have positive experiences with gays?
1. Do people really think their kids will become gay because a lesbian has contact with them, in this day and age?
or is it, as I suspect
2. They're secretly afraid that their kids will be comfortable with gays and support gay rights if they actually have positive experiences with gays?
21
Just listened to an interview with the chair of the school, Celso Boscariol, on "As It Happens." It's the first seven minutes here:
http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/asithappens/…
It made my skin crawl to listen to Boscariol repeat his little party line over and over - "We are a faith-based learning institution, and we expect the precepts of the Catholic faith to not only be taught but also abided by our teachers" - to almost all of the questions asked of him to justify the discrimination.
He did admit that "less than a third" of their money comes from public funding. Attn. Canada and citizens of Vancouver: Make it zero.
http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/asithappens/…
It made my skin crawl to listen to Boscariol repeat his little party line over and over - "We are a faith-based learning institution, and we expect the precepts of the Catholic faith to not only be taught but also abided by our teachers" - to almost all of the questions asked of him to justify the discrimination.
He did admit that "less than a third" of their money comes from public funding. Attn. Canada and citizens of Vancouver: Make it zero.
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