An Independent Senator has hit out at the inclusion of sexually explicit books on a reading list recommended for school sex ed by Ireland’s national curriculum body, adding that “there needs to be serious repercussions for whoever sanctioned this.”
Ireland’s National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) is a statutory body of the Department of Education, whose members are appointed by the Minister for Education.
On its website the NCCA recommends a reading list called Rainbow Reads, which contains a list of books recommended for various age groups. The NCCA advises that these books should be used in a classroom setting when discussing sex education and RSE curriculum.
This week Independent Senator Sharon Keogan raised some of the list’s entries in the Seanad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-tl9wV6Cyk&feature=youtu.be
“While many books seemed innocent and helpful enough, a few other entries jumped out,” she said.
“Notably, one book offers detailed instruction on manually bringing men to sexual climax, anal sex and oral sex, with accompanying childish cartoons. The book, titled “This Book is Gay”, is written by [Juno] Dawson.”
Keogan went on to read out a quote from the book, which reads that “perhaps the most important skill you will master as a gay or bi man is the timeless classic, the hand job. The good news is, you can practice on yourself.”
She also pointed out that while the book itself was not specifically aimed at children, the list is included in reading lists which the NCCA recommends for junior infants onwards.
“I am sure many members of the LGBT community would share these concerns regarding children and age-appropriate material,” she said.
“The literature about heterosexual relationships does not seem to be as graphic, for whatever reason. It is not a cherrypicked example from a sea of similar content. It is just that inappropriate content happens to be in this particular book.
“The NCCA leaves it up to individual teachers as to which material they will use, choosing from a list which spans children from birth to 18 years.”
The Senator went on to claim that she believes parents would not approve of the material being taught in schools if they were aware of it.
“Parents send their children to school and expect them to come back able to do long division and recite a little Robert Frost,” she said.
“Not to be able to inform their parents, as the book states, “each guy has become very used to his own way of getting himself off.”
“Nobody voted for this. I assure Members that there would be uproar if this was known by parents throughout the country.
“Can the Minister, [Education Minister Norma] Foley, urgently address the concerns of these parents and ensure that any and all material used in our schools is age-appropriate? I would say that there needs to be serious repercussions for whoever sanctioned this. It does not reflect the wishes of Irish parents and should not be acceptable in our schools.”
Earlier this year Gript reported that Ireland’s official curriculum body, the NCCA, has advised that babies and toddlers should be told stories about being transgender and “gender fluid.”
In addition to this, it also advises teaching children age zero and up that they can wear the opposite sex’s clothing, and encourages Junior Infants students to be read stories such as “The Boy In The Dress,” all about a boy who wants to wear girls’ clothes and change his gender identity.
An officially recommended reading list for schools, approved by Roderic O’Gorman, advises teaching boys as young as 2 that they can wear lipstick, makeup and girls’ clothes.#gripthttps://t.co/0K8uJMoITb
— gript (@griptmedia) July 20, 2022
The NCCA has also encouraged teachers to study “crossdressing” for “erotic enjoyment,” “drag,” “gender queer” and “gender-fluid” identities as part of an “SPHE and RSE toolkit” for primary schools.
Teachers were also discouraged from using the phrase “boys and girls,” and were told instead to seek a more gender neutral alternative.
Irish teachers have been encouraged to learn about “crossdressing” for “erotic enjoyment,” as well as “drag,” and “gender-fluid” identities by the Department of Education when preparing RSE & SPHE lessons for primary students.#gripthttps://t.co/b93l3tPd2U
— gript (@griptmedia) July 6, 2022
The same NCCA has admitted that many teachers in Ireland are uncomfortable teaching sex ed curriculum as they feel it isn’t “age appropriate.”
The biggest barrier to Ireland’s sex-ed curriculum is that teachers feel uncomfortable teaching material they feel is not “age appropriate,” the NCCA has admitted.#gripthttps://t.co/DGHDD4aEoU
— gript (@griptmedia) July 15, 2022
This recently prompted a teaching group called the Irish Education Alliance to call for the removal of gender ideology from Irish schools, arguing that “The promotion of gender identity poses significant risks to the welfare of children.”
“Confusing terminology being misrepresented to school children as fact”: A teaching group has called for gender ideology to be removed from the Irish school curriculum.#gripthttps://t.co/r9Qd0XKWAh
— gript (@griptmedia) October 12, 2022