Letter from OCDSB [Ottawa School Board] to families with kids in the system on the anti-SOGI march September 20th

I will post the body of the email here short of the addressee information.

It would be great if readers of this site would read it carefully and think about what the implications, both overt and more subtle actually are for this email. To what extent is this political? How much does it have to do with educating children? Is the school impartial on the issues? Think of other aspects of this email that need parsing and add your thoughts in the comments.

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From: OCDSB Communications [mailto:di**********@oc***.ca" data-original-string="AgtTcgDFZfpGGwBuUWHaG8DKhGjAMUy/P2qhmPsakxA=" title="This contact has been encoded by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.]

Sent: September 22, 2023 3:34 PM
To:
Subject: Parent/Caregiver Update: September 22, 2023

Dear OCDSB Families,

Earlier this week, rallies were held across the country and on Parliament Hill “against how schools teach gender ideology”. This has become very divisive and commonly pits claims for parental rights, protection of children, and indoctrination against claims of hate, transphobia, and safety. These demonstrations foster a culture of hate and fear.

What is unfortunate is that the demonstrations and counter demonstrations do not lead to conversation. They do not generate critical thinking, dialogue, or discussion. There is no learning from each other, there is little respect, acceptance or empathy. 

Schools are places of learning. We have a responsibility to provide an education to all students in a safe, caring, and welcoming environment. We stand unequivocally with the 2SLGBTQ+ community who we know are facing rising discrimination and violence. Please read our statement.

The rest is on unrelated matters. Do comment. Another aspect could be, does this email conform to Marcuse’s “Liberating Tolerance” dialectic?

Here is a link to quite an excellent Tweet. While his analogy is far from perfect for a few reasons, it is still an excellent example of the problems with the normal reasoning as applied by the letter above. Also read the thread below. Its quite clear.