In a BBC video, children as young as six are told to write a gay love letter to promote diversity.
The video, from BBC Radio Manchester, shows primary school children from a class at Bewsey Lodge Primary School placing themselves in a fairy tale scenario imagining themselves as ‘Prince Henry’ writing a letter to his male servant, ‘Thomas,’ asking for his hand in marriage.
The teacher, Sarah Hopson, guides her class through the exercise.
According to the video:
“This school teaches children about LGBT relationships from an early age,” the text over the video explains. “This class of 6 year olds is learning about gay marriage […] all ages take part in LGBT lessons.”
Hopson told the BBC that the children are “going to go out into that world and find this diversity around them, and they’ll find that at a young age as well. And the more they can be accepting at this age, you’re not going to face it further on because the children will be accepting now and will be accepting this diversity around them.”
According to CBN, the lesson isn’t the first of its kind. The school is known for being LGBTQ friendly and recently won the pro-LGBT “Educate and Celebrate” Best Practice Gold Award, which is handed to schools that tackle “homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.”
Life Site News reports that the school follows a “Personal, Social, and Health Education” (PSHE) program which seeks to “provide pupils with […] opportunities to explore, clarify and if necessary challenge, their own and others’ values, attitudes, beliefs, rights and responsibilities.”
Life Site News continues:
The program lists “Diversity and equality (in all its forms)” as one of its overarching concepts, with goals to teach students “to be a productive member of a diverse community” and about their “rights and responsibilities as members of diverse communities.”
Specifically, it calls for teaching about “sources of support and reassurance” for “diversity in sexual attraction and developing sexuality,” the “difference between sex, gender identity and sexual orientation,” recognition of “diversity in sexual attraction,” understanding “accepted terminology” on LGBT topics, the “need to challenge” “sexist, homophobic, transphobic and disablist language and behaviour,” and more.
However, the classes drew criticism from some commenters, questioning the teaching material: “Why not teach them life skills, how to cook, how to wash and iron, how to manage money and save, learn about bank accounts and mortgages?” one asked. Another blasted the school for “imposing an adult agenda onto little children,who could not care less about the topic, if not compelled by adults.”
