Parent group fights radical indoctrination in Wauwatosa
Parents with children in Wauwatosa School District are rightfully upset. The district is doing everything it can to indoctrinate their children, starting as early as kindergarten, by exposing them to inappropriate instructional material as part of its Human Growth and Development curriculum.
The board notified parents the first week of August about proposed changes to the Human Growth and Development curriculum, which include classes on gender identity, sexual-orientation, and other sex-themed topics from kindergarten through high school.
By fourth grade, students will be expected to “have awareness of different definitions for gender, including transgender, cisgender, and non-binary,” “understand that individuals may identify beyond male and female,” and “understand the use of pronouns around gender identity.” The full guidelines can be found here.
The curriculum is possibly the most radical that we’ve seen. It exposes 5-year-olds to concepts and visuals they are in no way prepared to handle.
The push to convince children that their biological sex is a fiction and change be changed and that homosexuality is normal and even healthy is intentional and extreme. They audaciously start as young as they dare—in this instance kindergarten—and continue bombarding the students with lies wrapped in strong emotional language and pseudo-science.
Thankfully, concerned parents and other citizens have organized and done an incredible job of showing up, speaking up, and standing up, letting the school board know that the changes to the district’s sex ed program are entirely inappropriate. This organized group of parents and other concerned citizens now has an official name—Awake Tosa.
What we first noticed about the parents’ efforts and approach was how very knowledgeable they were about what Wisconsin’s law actually says about these programs. For instance, they knew that nothing in Wisconsin’s law requires a school district to have a Human Growth and Development, aka, sex-ed program. Having such a program is totally at the discretion of the school board.
This group also knew that if a school district decides to have a sex-ed program, then certain things are required, including an advisory committee comprised of representatives from certain groups of citizens, including medical professionals, members of the clergy, and parents. The law also clearly limits how many school-district-related people can be on the committee.
Importantly, a number of those involved with this effort have actually spent time looking at the proposed curriculum and related instructional materials. They knew exactly what they were talking about when they stood before the school board and voiced their concerns. Some read directly from the material and others made specific references to certain objectionable elements and noted the grade level. That kind of specificity shows the board and other district officials that people have done their homework and are not just speaking generally or without firsthand knowledge of what’s in the program. Specifics make it hard for officials to dismiss the allegations.
Finally, this group has paid close attention to what the district has been doing with scheduling meetings and other actions it was taking, including a public survey on the proposed changes. Using emails, texts, phone calls, and word-of-mouth, people concerned about what was happening informed others, letting them know, for instance, that the survey was available online and encouraging them to weigh in before the deadline. That’s a smart move. If the school district is going to solicit public input, then it’s fair game for people to let others know and urge them to use the mechanism the district is providing.
Unfortunately, the board approved the Human Growth and Development program with the onerous changes on Monday, September 26, 2022, but Awake Tosa still acts as a source of hope. They are pressing on and setting an important example that’s worthy of emulation. It’s vital that parents put pressure on school boards when they reach beyond their boundaries.
We hope Awake Tosa will remain organized and even expand. They are learning good lessons as they go along—lessons that will help them tackle other issues impacting their children. The very best way to bring about positive changes in school districts is for parents and other citizens in that district to take an active, on-going interest. One-and-done doesn’t work; it takes persistent and consistent work. And all the evidence we see right now says Wauwatosa concerned citizens understand that and will continue showing up, speaking up, and standing up for the children.
We should find solace in the fact that parents are waking up and paying attention. Hopefully, they will take their frustration to the polls this fall and elect candidates who will protect their children from radical indoctrination.
There is power in numbers, and parents really can make a difference when they band together.
