It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, August 26, 2023
"I think there's going to be an army there': Advocates to rally in Saskatoon against new Sask. education policies
Fran Forsberg, one of the organizers of a rally set to take place Sunday afternoon at Saskatoon MLA Don Morgan's office, says schools need to be a safe place for children to be themselves — whether or not they come from an accepting home.
Fran Forsberg is an advocate for trans and gender diverse youth in Saskatchewan. PHOTO BY MATT SMITH /Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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Following new education policies announced this week that will require Saskatchewan youth under 16 to get parental permission to change their names or pronouns in schools, and that ban outside groups from giving sex-ed presentations in class, many educators and advocates are speaking out against the changes.
Fran Forsberg is one of the organizers of a rally set to take place Sunday afternoon at Saskatoon MLA Don Morgan’s office, where she and others will voice their opposition to the policies.
When Forsberg heard about the new policies on Tuesday, she recalled a conversation she had with now-Education Minister Dustin Duncan about rights and dignity for transgender people in Saskatchewan more than six years ago.
“He said to me that he was a 40-year-old from (Weyburn), so he didn’t really understand or know about all this,” she said. “And I said, in this day and age, where this information is so readily available, his kind of ignorance is not acceptable.
“Now, he’s had a lot of time to learn. And I’m older than him by 20 years. I learned about transgender people. I educated myself and I understand how important this issue is. What’s his excuse?”
Jolene Brown, who sits on the board of Prince Albert Pride, says these new policies are “harming more than helping, while pretending to help.” Prince Albert Pride is calling on the government to rescind Tuesday’s announcement.
“To me, this policy change is not positive,” said Brown. “It solves no existing problem. It just shackles teachers’ ability to help (and) all this is doing is removing resources. It’s putting a cage around teachers, and it’s putting a cage around kids, too. I just can’t imagine how a parent would want that.”
Forsberg says schools need to be a safe place for children to be themselves — whether or not they come from an accepting home.
“Being a foster parent, I’ve seen so many kids literally kicked out of their homes because of their sexual or gender diversity,” she said. “I’ve seen physical violence towards these children and youth.
“The government is saying this is for the safety and well-being of children and youth, but I think they’re just pandering to the far-right. It’s ridiculous, and it’s so backwards.”
Brenda Montgrand, who works as a school counsellor at Hector Thiboutot Community School in the village of Sandy Bay, says that especially in remote, isolated communities like hers schools need to be safe havens for LGBTQ2S+ youth.
“They hang out in the school, even after classes in the evening,” she said. “If I was doing something in the evening — even showing a movie and having a talk about it afterwards — they’ll stay for that. Because a lot of them don’t want to go home. It’s not comfortable there, or they may not feel safe. So it’s nice to have them here, and we don’t mind being there for them.”
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Some of Montgrand’s gay, trans and two-spirit students have recently started a GSA. She says these students are “brave, and they want to do something,” and eager to learn more about their own identities and those of their friends.
“We want to be able to talk openly amongst each other,” she said. “We all need to be able to look and talk more openly. But we need more, in that area, for them to learn about what it is to live a gay life and to be more comfortable. And if these kids are getting treated differently because they’re changing how they want to be called, that’s going to have an effect on them.”
Forsberg also worries about how the changes to sex education in schools will affect the rates of STIs and unplanned pregnancies in Saskatchewan, which are already much higher than the national average.
“When we know better, we do better,” she said. “This education can do nothing but help kids make the right decisions for them. I know of nobody who has ever been harmed by too much education; quite the contrary.”
Forsberg says speakers at the rally on Sunday will include teachers, community advocates, and Saskatchewan NDP education critic Matt Love. She expects many more people from the community will turn out to voice their opposition, as well.
“I think there’s going to be an army there; I really do,” she said.
'A protected right': Saskatchewan family speaks out over pronoun and name changes
Dennie Fornwald, an early childhood educator, embraces her 10-year-old child, Kiké Dueck, in Regina on Aug. 24, 2023. Fornwald says she's upset with the Saskatchewan Party government's decision to require parental consent when children under 16 years old want to change their names or pronouns at school, as it would affect children, such as Dueck, who is nonbinary. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeremy Simes
The Canadian Press Published Saturday, August 26, 2023 10:21AM EDT
Kiké Dueck loves gym class, especially long-distance running.
The 10-year-old, who is nonbinary, says everyone at school "is really good about gender," but knows not all parents are accepting.
"There's a few people in my school that are in the LGBTQ2S+ community but are afraid to tell their parents," said Dueck, sitting beside their mom, Dennie Fornwald, in their Regina home.
"I don't know anybody in my class that has wanted to change their name, except for one. But for pronouns, there is one person."
The mother added, "There was one kid that said, 'Hey, I'm not ready to use these pronouns at home yet.'"
That's one reason why Fornwald, an early-childhood educator at a public school in Regina, is concerned about Saskatchewan's new changes requiring parental consent when children under 16 years old want to change their names or pronouns.
She said because kids will need their parents to sign a consent form, it would likely result in some having to go back into the closet.
Fornwald also worries about the changes affecting her own kids, saying it could embolden people to express homophobic or transphobic views. She has another child who is gender diverse.
"I've been teaching a long time," she said, with tears welling in her eyes.
"I know a lot of kids that this is going to affect negatively, kids whose families I know and I like. I think of all the kids out there who don't have a safe person at home — hopefully yet. I think some of them could get there."
Earlier this week, Saskatchewan Education Minister Dustin Duncan announced the changes he said stemmed from concerns he heard from some parents and teachers. He said he also wanted to standardize policies across all school divisions.
Duncan also announced parents could pull their children from all or some sexual education courses, and that third parties can no longer teach those courses.
“If we are requiring school divisions to get parental consent to a half-day field trip to the science centre, I think we need to be treating this issue with the same amount of seriousness," Duncan said.
Fornwald balked at that comparison.
"This is different, this is identity," she said. "This is something essential, a protected right."
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has said it's considering legal challenges against the province for the move, saying it puts some LGBTQ children at risk if they're not accepted at home.
"I just found that it was quite surprising," Dueck said. "(Kids) need a safe place to discover who they are."
Duncan said teachers would be required to address students by their birth name if their parents did not provide consent, something human rights groups say is also harmful.
Fornwald said her child was initially a little scared but then felt relieved after opening up about being nonbinary, or neither male nor female.
As an educator, she said she won't out any kids.
"I'll work from an assumption that families want what's best for their kids. I always start the year getting to know families with that assumption in mind," she said.
"For those times that I'm not sure if we're on the same page when it comes to gender diversity, I know that the curriculum supports me to support all of my students."
Duncan said teachers won't be penalized for not following the policy.
Jaimie Smith-Windsor, president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, said the changes have put school divisions in a "very difficult position," and has asked the province to pause the policy until the child advocate's independent review is completed.
Smith-Windsor said the changes cast doubt on teachers' relationships with parents, despite parents being involved.
"It's definitely not the message we would send to the public, to parents, and especially to students and staff when they return to school in a couple of weeks' time."
Fornwald said parents have always been welcome in the classroom and to read the curriculum.
"I trust that they care for and want the best thing for their kids, and I want them to know that I want what's best for my students," she said.
"I view kids as individuals, as full humans. And I think that the only time that I would have a problem letting parents in is if I think it's violating the privacy and the rights of my students. Otherwise, we're a team."
The mother looked at her child and said she hopes the adults can figure it out.
"You're also kids, and kids need to be kids."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2023.
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