Just as I thought the Dropbox lessons are not the actual curriculums. The cited sample plans were part of a website that was included as a link to illustrate the type of possible resources for school districts shared by the N.J. Department of Education. They are resources only and they are not state-mandated.
The following is an article from the Washington Post which I am pasting because of the paywall:
It’s a story that defenders of Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law increasingly cite. Critics have attacked the law for overzealously restricting teachers from broaching gender identity and sexual orientation. But a blue state has adopted education guidelines that, according to defenders of the Florida measure, prove this isn’t a made-up issue.
Over the past week, conservative media have repeatedly pointed to guidelines in New Jersey that say children will be taught about gender as early as second grade. And they’ve focused particularly on sample lesson plans that go quite a bit further, including discussions of male and female genitalia.
Much of the coverage, though, has gone significantly beyond the facts — claiming or otherwise suggesting that these lesson plans are actual school curriculums, when those involved have emphasized they’re not.
At issue are sample lesson plans distributed at a Feb. 22 meeting of the Westfield, N.J., school district, drafted by a progressive group called Advocates for Youth. One sample lesson plan for first-graders, titled “Pink, Blue and Purple,” says students are to be taught, “You might feel like you are a boy, you might feel like you are a girl. You might feel like you’re a boy even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are ‘girl’ parts.” Another sample lesson plan for second-graders involves identifying the body parts and states “there are some body parts that mostly just girls have and some parts that mostly just boys have.”
Repeatedly, Fox News and others have framed this as something amounting to actual school curriculum. But the school district and the advocacy group both say that’s not the case — that these were sample materials that the district shared as it reviews the state guidelines.
“The sample plans you reference are not lesson plans in the Westfield Public School District,” superintendent Raymond González told The Washington Post. “Nor were they handed out to parents at the February 22 Board of Education meeting.”
González added: “The cited sample plans were part of a website that was included as a link to illustrate the type of possible resources for school districts shared by the N.J. Department of Education. We have said repeatedly that these are resources only and that they are not state-mandated.”
The sample lesson plans were shared last week by state Sen. Holly Schepisi (R) with the conservative Save Jersey blog. Fox News’s website soon picked up the story, sharing further details from the sample plans and saying that they “appear to be reflective of the Garden State’s new, broader sex education curriculum.” The story ultimately quotes González emphasizing these were not the district’s actual curriculum.
Since then, Fox has run two more stories on the lesson plans — one on Gov. Phil Murphy (D) not commenting on them, and another that details another sample lesson plan for fifth-graders. Each piece, though, acknowledges González saying these aren’t actual curriculums.
Continued
The following is an article from the Washington Post which I am pasting because of the paywall:
It’s a story that defenders of Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law increasingly cite. Critics have attacked the law for overzealously restricting teachers from broaching gender identity and sexual orientation. But a blue state has adopted education guidelines that, according to defenders of the Florida measure, prove this isn’t a made-up issue.
Over the past week, conservative media have repeatedly pointed to guidelines in New Jersey that say children will be taught about gender as early as second grade. And they’ve focused particularly on sample lesson plans that go quite a bit further, including discussions of male and female genitalia.
Much of the coverage, though, has gone significantly beyond the facts — claiming or otherwise suggesting that these lesson plans are actual school curriculums, when those involved have emphasized they’re not.
At issue are sample lesson plans distributed at a Feb. 22 meeting of the Westfield, N.J., school district, drafted by a progressive group called Advocates for Youth. One sample lesson plan for first-graders, titled “Pink, Blue and Purple,” says students are to be taught, “You might feel like you are a boy, you might feel like you are a girl. You might feel like you’re a boy even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are ‘girl’ parts.” Another sample lesson plan for second-graders involves identifying the body parts and states “there are some body parts that mostly just girls have and some parts that mostly just boys have.”
Repeatedly, Fox News and others have framed this as something amounting to actual school curriculum. But the school district and the advocacy group both say that’s not the case — that these were sample materials that the district shared as it reviews the state guidelines.
“The sample plans you reference are not lesson plans in the Westfield Public School District,” superintendent Raymond González told The Washington Post. “Nor were they handed out to parents at the February 22 Board of Education meeting.”
González added: “The cited sample plans were part of a website that was included as a link to illustrate the type of possible resources for school districts shared by the N.J. Department of Education. We have said repeatedly that these are resources only and that they are not state-mandated.”
The sample lesson plans were shared last week by state Sen. Holly Schepisi (R) with the conservative Save Jersey blog. Fox News’s website soon picked up the story, sharing further details from the sample plans and saying that they “appear to be reflective of the Garden State’s new, broader sex education curriculum.” The story ultimately quotes González emphasizing these were not the district’s actual curriculum.
Since then, Fox has run two more stories on the lesson plans — one on Gov. Phil Murphy (D) not commenting on them, and another that details another sample lesson plan for fifth-graders. Each piece, though, acknowledges González saying these aren’t actual curriculums.
Continued
Last edited:
