Are you hesitating?

Please sign our Open Letter

Have you signed the Open Letter to the Minister of Education yet?

In case you are hesitating, here are some FAQs:

1. What is the Open Letter about?

Resist Gender Education has written an open letter to the Minister of Education urging her to promptly rewrite the 2020 RSE Guide to remove all the discredited gender identity material with which it is riddled. The public is invited to sign this letter to demonstrate to the Minister that it is not just a “small number of highly conservative people”, as the Mental Health Foundation claims, who are alarmed by the unscientific content of the Guide. Here is our Press Statement from 24 April.

2. What’s the point / what good will it do?

Unless we speak up, loudly and often, our children will continue to be harmed by the gender ideology currently being taught in schools. Adding your name to this Open Letter is an easy way to take some action and numbers do count. Our purpose is to alert the Minister to the depth of community feeling and signing it does not tie anyone to specific RSE content (apart from the removal of gender ideology).

3. What if I don’t want RSE in primary schools at all?

There is no possibility that RSE will be withdrawn altogether from schools because it has been part of the curriculum for over 40 years. What we aim to achieve is having the gender ideology material stripped from the current RSE Guide and replaced with age-appropriate and factual content. This is what the Open Letter asks for.

4. Why do young kids need to learn about relationships?

We agree that young kids don’t need to learn about intimate relationships. But they do need to learn about good friendships and healthy relationships with adults. RGE has a set of recommended lessons for Years 1-10 on its website. https://www.resistgendereducation.nz/information/lesson-plans

5. Shouldn’t topics like consent, pornography, and healthy relationships be taught by parents?

Parents will continue to have the right to withdraw their children from RSE lessons and teach the topics they choose at home. However, not all parents are willing or able to teach these topics, and having good quality RSE in schools means everyone’s children will be mixing with others who have learned about the negative effects of pornography and the necessity for consent. A large number of children are now coming across porn in their early teens and it is better to address that in schools, rather than leave teenagers free to be influenced by social and entertainment media, with no input from adults. For an example of how these topics could be handled, with community consultation, see our suggested lesson plans for Years9-10.

6. What if I don’t trust teachers any more?

This is an understandable reaction to the gross breach of trust that has happened at too many schools. But there are also thousands of teachers who do want to teach scientific and age-appropriate material but currently don’t have any guidelines to support them. A new, quality RSE Guide, as sought by the Open Letter, will provide the backing they need.

7. Can I sign anonymously?

Now is the time to bravely speak up for our children! We have been silenced for too long but the recent Cass Review has vindicated our many concerns. The more people who sign the letter, the harder it will be to denounce anyone and the more pressure will be put on the Government to make good on its promise to rewrite the RSE Guide. When you sign, you can state the full name you would like to appear on the letter.

8. How do I sign?

Go to https://www.resistgendereducation.nz/rse-open-letter and sign by clicking on the SIGN button and filling in the email form. OR send an email to openletter@resistgendereducation.nz, stating the full name that you want to appear on the letter.

9. When is the deadline for signing?

Sunday May 19.

10. When will the letter be presented to the Minister?

We have requested an appointment with the Minister of Education, Erica Stanford, during the latter part of May, at which we will present the letter, along with the list of signatories.

This Open Letter distinguishes its signatories from those making unrealistic demands to have no sex education at all. It also asks the Minister to remove the tag of “trusted organisation” from InsideOUT and any other organisations that dogmatically continue to support the RSE Guide despite the irrefutable evidence from Dr Cass that the wishful thinking it promotes is harmful to children.