Ireland - Dept of Education removes ‘homophobic’ teaching material

[Jim Allen]

The below story is that homophobic content from the Department of Education developed in the 90s was in-service until the spring of 2021 for social, personal and health education (SPHE).

It included statements for class discussion such as "All gays molest children" & "All gays are HIV positive"

To be honest, it's vile, and I'm disappointed but not surprised this type of material was still in use in 2021. I'm doubtful the replacement will be much better as it's Ireland, and whenever dealing with my kid's schools, it does feel like I have time travelled back a few decades.

I have not yet, seen any comment from our education minister Norma Foley, TD, on this story.

Source of the pictures: https://twitter.com/pamelora/status/1458063778210361346




News coverage:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/11/ireland-homophobic-booklet-gays-school/

&

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/department-of-education-removes-homophobic-teaching-material-1.4724061

The material was included in online teaching resources provided by the department for social, personal and health education (SPHE) classes at Junior Cycle level until recent months.

 
The Department of Education removed online teaching material criticised as “homophobic,” which asked secondary school students to discuss a number of statements, including whether “all gays molest children”.

The material was included in online teaching resources provided by the department for social, personal and health education (SPHE) classes at Junior Cycle level until recent months.

The teaching booklet directs students to read through several statements and outline whether they agreed or disagreed with them.

The statements said; “all gays are HIV positive”, “boys who don’t play sport are gay”, “you can change from being a homosexual”, “girls who don’t wear make-up are lesbian”, and “homosexuals shouldn’t be allowed to marry”.