BC Conservative Party wants to ban books that ‘indoctrinate’ students | BC Election 2024

If elected in October, the British Columbia Conservative Party is proposing to review school literature to exclude content it deems inappropriate for students. The measure has some parents cheering but has raised concerns among experts and education officials.

In a meeting with the editorial board of the Globe and MailIn June, Conservative Leader John Rustad said he planned to set up a committee to review school textbooks and library books to ensure they are neutralif his party won the provincial elections.

It should not be about indoctrination, whether we are talking about the environment, politics or sexual content.John Rustad argued at the Globe and Mail.

In a statement sent to Radio-Canada/CBC on Wednesday, Shon Amayev, press secretary for the Conservative Party, specified that those who will sit on this committee will be experts. However, he left unanswered the type of expertise profile sought and the criteria on which this indoctrination would be evaluated.

All areas of academic literature seem to be affected by this measure, but resources on inclusion and gender diversity (OSIGor SOGI in English) could be particularly targeted, John Rustad having opposed it on numerous occasions.

Last year, the Conservative leader called for the withdrawal of these policies during interventions made in the Legislative Assembly.

Earlier this month, he also claimed that these resources OSIG – which do not constitute a program or a school curriculum – had become the lightning rod for the denial of parents’ rights.

Pierre Barns, a parent of four who has participated in several protests against resource OSIGsees this policy regarding school books in a positive light. He hopes that it will help to eliminate ideologies, gender theory and the books with sexual content in schools.

There are many people who tell me: “I am a teacher, and I have never seen these books.” You have never seen the books, because you do not know their titles. There are thousands of books in a school board.

The fact that the Conservatives seem to want to do a real review is really important. We need to be able to identify the titles that are really inappropriate for children.

A minority of parents?

For Robin Tosczak, 2^e Vice-President of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation, this policy suggestion is scary.

There is a small group of very vocal, critical people who are trying to create fear, to create a sense of panic, which is not really representative of the general opinion of students, parents and people who work in schools.

She’s concerned that school literature that includes 2SLGBTQI+ characters and families will be in the committee’s crosshairs, as well as reproductive rights and resources related to the climate crisis – a phenomenon the Conservative leader and several of his candidates have openly deniedshe said.

Robin Tosczak also wonders how certain issues, genocides and colonization, for example, can be taught in a neutral. Students need to learn facts, but also political motivations and the broader context. One of the key points of education is to teach young people to develop their critical thinking, she emphasizes.

The idea that partisan politicians have any role in defining what is “neutral” and appropriate for schools is a shocking suggestion.adds Robin Tusczak.

To us, this looks like radical political interference.

A conspiracy policy?

Who will be part of this committee? On what criteria will the neutrality How will these resources be determined? John Rustad’s remarks lack clarity, argues Lindsay Gibson, assistant professor in the department of curriculum and pedagogy at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

New resources are being created all the time. Even in terms of feasibility, how are you going to do that? Review every resource, for every subject, in every classroom in BC? That seems like a promise that will never be kept.

In 2002, John Rustad further stated that education is not a political issuein the Prince George Citizenwhile he was a councillor for Prince George School District 57. Gibson said the comments were inconsistent with the Conservative Party’s current position.

It makes people wonder: Is this a conspiracy? Some kind of dog whistle to certain groups of people who talk about parental rights? How serious are they about this measure? I’m not sure.

It seems like a distractionsays Robin Tosczak. It seems that there are conservative politicians who want to distract people and make them believe that the most important issue in education is access to books in libraries.

However, she believes that schools are indeed facing challenges, including a glaring lack of staff.