A Catholic school in Ontario has been criticized for an 8th grade assignment that requires students to make anti-abortion posters for grades and a chance to win a cash prize.
The assignment in the Catholic primary school “St. Patrick’s in Woodstock involves students creating a poster that includes the words “Unborn babies matter,” along with a photo or photos that include the theme. The class task is assessed and included in a competition conducted by a local anti-abortion group.
“Parents have not been told about this and are not allowing children to learn about the other side of the issue,” said Rachel Lynn Dixon, whose daughter, Cadence, 13, warned her mother about the task. “It’s a Catholic school, but it’s also funded by the public. This is a primary school that asks children to Google images of abortion.
“I want her [Kaydence] to form her own opinion, “her mother added.” I understand that this is a Catholic school and teaches Catholic beliefs, but we live in a day and age where women’s rights matter. With everything that’s going on in the world, I don’t think these kids need to add that to it. “
Cadence Lee Dixon, 13, says the competition at the school, in which she and other 8th graders make anti-abortion posters, is worrying. (Submitted by Rachel Lynn Dixon)
Dixon spoke to the school Thursday morning and said he plans to withdraw his two children from the Catholic system later this school year.
She said it was problematic that the competition was run by an outside group not affiliated with the church and that the marks were awarded along with possible cash prizes, which was problematic.
“It’s not the teacher, it’s not the school. It’s not even the church. This is a competition through an external group. If nothing else, it was supposed to be a giveaway, so if the kids want to participate, they can talk to their parents and do what they want, “Dixon said.
A doctrine of the “holiness of life.”
Students in the class are studying the Catholic Church’s view of the “sanctity of life” as part of the 8th grade religion curriculum and given a poster assignment to complete on the topic, said Mark Adkinson, a spokesman for the Catholic School in London. board.
“Students can choose to create a poster that meets the criteria for both the assignment and the optional third-party competition,” he told CBC News in an email.
Cadence plans to talk to his teacher and class about why he finds the task and the competition disturbing.
“I think it’s good to talk about abortion with children, but what’s not good is just teaching them pro-life. “I think that instead of our current project, we should be allowed to make election posters and we should have a debate on the subject, because all opinions matter and everyone has the right to be heard,” the teenager wrote in a speech.
Woodstock’s mother, Rachel Lynn Dixon, is withdrawing her children from Catholic schools because of a task and a race against abortion in the classroom. (Submitted by Rachel Lynn Dixon)
The anti-abortion competition is part of Oxford County’s Right to Life group’s proposals in 20 years, but this is the first time a teacher has used it as a task, said Mary VanVien, who leads the group, and said it was not affiliated with Catholicism. church.
“We currently have a culture of abolition in which people want to get rid of people who have values. We hope that students in 7th and 8th grade will think about human life, express themselves in art and have a discussion about it at home and at school, “said VanVien.
The VanVeen competition is offering a $ 50 prize. The blackboard assignment offered a $ 150 reward, which a board spokesman said was a typo.
“Parents were not told about this task. It says that it can be done only in class. This is scandalous. I want my daughter and son to always come and talk to me about everything they are worried about, not to be told not to do it by their teacher, “Dixon said.
Linking the task to a competition gives students little choice, she said.
“One of Cadence’s friends tried to talk about it in class, but her grades really mattered to her. She’s in the honorary roll, graduating this year, so she’s still working on the project after all, even though it made her uncomfortable. ”
Dixon said she was proud of her daughter, who told her about the task and would talk to her teacher about her objections.
Ontario’s Catholic Curriculum, which mentions abortion:
Grade 6: Students should be able to “articulate the Church’s teaching on the Fourth and Fifth Commandments — Honor your father and mother; You must not kill “and apply them to the moral problems facing society today (eg the sanctity of human life – abortion and euthanasia, the dignity of the human person …”
Grade 7: Students should be able to “summarize the Church’s moral teachings on specific life issues (e.g., marriage, sexuality, cloning, abortion, genocide, euthanasia) and social order (e.g., technology use, economic injustice, environment. ). “
“I hope her teacher will think that a healthy debate is a good idea on this topic. I am a Catholic. I was baptized a Catholic. I am a modern Catholic and live our lives with grace and love in our hearts. That’s what it’s like for me to be a Catholic. ”
Dixon will be at the school on Friday morning to protest the assignment and the competition and how it was given to the children.
The assignment does not allow for different opinions and this is problematic, said Joyce Arthur of the Coalition for Abortion Rights in Canada.
“Congratulations to this young girl. It took courage to speak out, “she said. “This is really a violation of students’ conscience and their own beliefs, because they must be able to choose what they believe on this issue and not be influenced by Catholic doctrine, because this is mainly a political issue.
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