Over the past few weeks, many parents have reached out to us following an assembly at Quamichan School hosted by Kerri Isham of POWER UP Education. The day after, viral Facebook posts began circulating from parents who stated that their children came home with the impression that they were taught about a “MAP” (Minor Attracted Person). Some parents expressed concern that the main takeaway for their kids was a rebranding of the term pedophiles to MAP(s).
We were contacted by numerous parents and will attempt to share their varied perspectives on the presentation and related programs. We also requested the cost of this presentation from the School District, which has not yet responded as of this publication.
On Kerri’s Facebook page, she reiterated her reason for using the term MAPs was to educate children about the dangers associated with such individuals: “UPDATE REGARDING SCHOOL PRESENTATION. After speaking to a local parent for an hour today, I would like to release this statement to provide clarification. When I used the term MAP during a recent school workshop, I was referring to pedophiles who use this term to dilute the fact that they are harming children. This behaviour is illegal. I do not condone it in any way. It was shared to warn the youth about dangerous people online.”
Some parents defended Kerri on social media, praising her efforts. One parent noted that some families do not educate their children about the dangers of pornography and expressed appreciation for someone like Kerri addressing such issues.
Kerri’s website states she is a sexual educator with over 20 years of experience. Her resource page lists many workshops available for different age groups, focusing on safety and abuse prevention.
However, some parents questioned why Kerri’s presentation was added to the regular sex education taught by PE teachers, who they feel are well-qualified and whose curriculum is shared with parents in advance, allowing them to opt-out. Parents also noted that, unlike typical notifications for assemblies, they were allegedly not informed in advance about this one, nor its content.
One pregnant mother reported that her son came home saying he was told gender reveal parties are outdated and that children choose their gender at age five. A quick search of Kerri’s videos on Facebook shows her describing gender reveal parties as “outdated.” This mother stated she tried to express her concerns to the principal but felt dismissed.
Two other mothers reported that their children came home discussing MAPs and were confused about the term. According to Kerri’s statement, she aimed to explain that MAPs represent dangerous individuals. However, these parents felt that this message was not clearly communicated during the assembly. One child reportedly asked to leave and was told they could not. Another parent expressed concern over the “no cell phone” rule, feeling it was problematic and “suspicious” in situations like this.
During the recent election, local news stations frequently mentioned SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) as a prominent election topic, particularly in areas with large immigrant populations. In September 2016, the Minister of Education mandated that all British Columbian school boards include SOGI in school codes of conduct.
On the SD79 website, some SOGI-related links, like “educational resources” and “SOGI books,” are broken or inaccessible to parents. However, links like “Love Has No Labels” lead to external resources sponsored by large organizations such as the ADL and Bank of America.
Under the BCTF LGBTQ+ resource page named ‘Social Justice,” we find links to multiple PDF downloads with titles such as “Climate Change Heroes: A Lesson Plan,” “Beauty Is Skin Deep”, Climate Justice in B.C.” and the 66-page handbook “The Gender Spectrum” reference codes of conducts expected for all BC schools to include “Adopt a school policy that protects trans, two-spirit and gender expansive students’ rights. These include the right to be addressed by one’s preferred name and pronoun, to participate in gender-segregated activities and sports in accordance with one’s gender identity, and to have access to safe restroom and locker room facilities that correspond to one’s gender identity.” Some parents, as well as female athletes, expressed concerns about males identifying as females participating in certain sports, given physical strength differences. One father stated that, while he believed the majority of trans students pose no issue, he would be deeply angered if even one male used gender identity as an excuse to enter his daughter’s space while she was changing.
The handbook suggests incorporating these themes into subjects like Math, English, and Social Studies. In its confidentiality section, it emphasizes the right of students to privacy regarding their trans status, noting that staff should not disclose their ‘identity’ to parents or other teachers without the consent of the child, except in emergencies. “Teachers should privately ask all students at the beginning of the school year how they prefer to be addressed at school and how they prefer to be addressed in correspondence to the home or at conferences with their parents”. Many parents have spoken out against these ‘secrets’ being kept by the school from the parents.
There is also guidance on avoiding gendered language in the classroom in career discussions: “Dos and Don’ts: Don’t refer to students as “boys and girls” or “ladies and gentlemen”. “Don’t use terms such as businessman, housewife, male nurse, woman pilot, woman doctor, postman, fireman, etc. Gender is irrelevant when discussing careers.”
The ‘avoid making heterosexual comments’ section includes: “Don’t say, during sexual health education, that it is normal to develop romantic feelings for the opposite sex.” and “Don’t say that all sexually active women need to use birth control to prevent pregnancy.”
Let Them Play section: “Encourage students to mix up their playgroups and get to know one another. Allow them to pretend to be male, female or an animal or inanimate object when they play. Don’t allow other students to “box students in” based upon their gender.” One father noted that it sounded like “typical kindergarten in the past”, which allowed children to play and imagine “without needing coaxing from a teacher to do so.”
K-6 “This lesson will explore identity, including societal stereotypes often held about gender, how these affect us, and how we can encourage everyone to be authentic to their passions and interests. You can vary terminology and depth by grade level. The lesson notes use the term biological sex (which is assigned at birth based on external characteristics) and is sometimes different from gender identity (which is someone’s personal sense of being a girl/woman, a boy/man, or somewhere in between along the gender spectrum).”
The Gender Spectrum Lesson Plans include. Grade 3-4 “Note: If students or parents question why you are talking about these topics, explain the importance of treating everyone fairly (equality) and how it is important that students know the terms racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. By knowing about different forms of oppression, they are better able to keep themselves safe and to seek help from adults when it is required.”
Grade 6-10 “: Elicit the following terms and write them on the board: What is it called when a girl is told she cannot do the same jobs or activities that boys get to do? (Sexism.) What is it called when a boy is told he cannot wear girls’ clothing? (Transphobia.) What is it called when a man is disliked because he has romantic feelings for another man? (Homophobia.) Ask the students to discuss in their groups how the “gender laws” they identified earlier are sexist, homophobic or transphobic.”
A Grade 8-12 lesson includes the suggestion to read the book No Bikini, about a six-year-old girl who chooses not to wear a bikini top, or any top for that matter – just shorts, at a swim camp, leading instructors to believe she is a boy. A parent found it strange to suggest this book to pubescent students.
Additionally, within a day or two of the assembly, two parents reached out to say their grade 9 daughters took a picture of a book called ‘Absolute True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian’ that was being “showcased in the school”, which also, after posted to social media, infuriated many parents, as witnessed by reading the comments and hearing from them privately.
Ultimately, many parents feel less trust in the system and are frustrated that they do not know exactly what is being taught to their children. Some parents feel that their religious beliefs are disregarded, while others believe that focusing so heavily on these topics may unintentionally create division among children.
One parent commented that “starting these discussions in kindergarten seems unnecessary, as young children are naturally accepting, but they begin to notice differences when they are explicitly pointed out.”
The result of this surprise assembly is that many children did not fully understand the intended message, while some absorbed only parts, such as there being no gender assigned to babies. This left many parents unhappy, confused, and without clear answers from the school.
With SD79 facing some of the lowest educational outcomes in the province, parents are questioning why this topic seems to take priority over core educational goals. SD79 has barred parents from school board meetings for a school year, and relegated them to low-grade Zoom type of interactions where a parent must type in their name and address and the question, which may be answered, but a parent is not allowed follow up, has caused parents to feel shut out. And often receiving delays or vague responses to their concerns, it remains to be seen if parents will raise their voices more prominently in this district in the school year ahead.
