WASHINGTON, D.C., October 10, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Speaking in the nation’s capital, a 28-year veteran California teacher explained that most teachers are disturbed by the decades-long push to indoctrinate and oversexualize school children by teachers’ unions dedicated to far-left cultural and political causes and not the well-being of kids.
“When you hear that teachers are behind comprehensive sexuality education or that teachers agree with the sexualization of children, that’s a huge deception,” said Rebecca Friedrichs.
On the contrary, “America’s real teachers are deeply distrubed by the sexualization of our children,” said Friedrichs.
“America’s real teachers have been silenced and bullied by the very organization that is pushing the sexualization of children: That is, labor unions,” she declared.
Friedrichs spoke at The Heritage Foundation’s summit on “Protecting Children from Sexualization.” She is a former elementary school teacher who fought against paying dues to the California Teachers Association because they were funding causes she did not support, including comprehensive sexuality education. Her case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she prevailed.
Friedrichs explained that for the last 60 years, the unions have pushed their sexual, social, and political agenda into our classrooms.
“The unions attack the very virtues that most teachers cherish. They have used the teaching profession to gain unfettered access to America’s children,” she explained.
“The unions have been dividing parents and teachers for decades,” she added.
Friedrichs talked about her experience attending state teachers conferences, where she was shocked to see rooms full of expo tables that push Planned Parenthood, gay-straight alliance clubs, other LGBT advocacy causes, and far-left politics.”
At National Education Association (NEA) events, “Teachers were wined and dined, and if you agreed to start a gay-straight alliance on your campus, you could get big money,” said Friedrichs. “You could also get money to push LGBT activism in the classroom. But can you get money to actually do something to help your students? No. Can you get support — as a union leader — for your colleagues? No.”
Most of the business items at NEA conventions “are about far left politics, the LGBT agenda, and divisive narratives,” said the veteran educator. “Every divisive word you hear or see in our culture was first mentioned or made up inside the unions.”
“At NEA representative assemblies, I have teacher friends who have been fighting against the oversexualization of our children for over 30 years,” recounted Friedrichs.
“Here’s how they’ve been treated: They have been spit upon. They have been screamed at. Their path back to their seats have been blocked. They have been barred from serving on sex-ed and health committees.”
“Two were told, ‘There’s a special place in hell for people like you,’” she added.
“This is how America’s loving teachers are treated by labor unions.”
Friedrichs described a drag queen event staged at an NEA representative assembly this summer: “The drag queen show began with a huge muscular man in a sequin vest over a bare chest belting out descriptions and positions of masterbation. There were little children and even a baby in the room.”
“And this is how they entertained teachers,” she said, “but what they are really doing is trying to indoctrinate teachers,” telling them this is normal behavior and you should push this.
“These are the people who are pushing this sexual agenda,” said Friedrichs. “Not loving teachers.”
“So teachers are bullied on every level, and we are horrified at the instruction we are being told to teach to your children,” declared Friedrichs.
She offered a few examples:
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We’re told to teach children of their ‘sexual rights,’ that they should have sexual pleasure at all ages;
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That out of wedlock sex with anyone you want is just fine from any age, and hey, you shouldn’t think you’re not bisexual or homosexual. Don’t knock it until you try it.”
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We are told that the number one goal we are to teach children is to prevent pregnancy.
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We are told to teach children how to use condoms by bringing in fully erect penics models for them to manipulate. Ten and 11 year olds.
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All of this has to be done in mixed company because we are told to tell the children as young as four, ‘your parents didn’t know your gender when you were born, so they assigned you a gender. There is really a huge spectrum of genders. You will figure out your gender someday. That is child abuse. It is also the abuse of parents. It’s also religious abuse.
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We are told we have to tell children how and where to obtain birth control, including the morning-after pill and abortion without parental knowledge or permission from age 12.
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“The details are so inappropriate that I cannot even mention them to you today,” continued Freidrichs. “But they’re being said to our children in America’s schools. That is evil.”
Because the unions determined long ago that teachers would never agree to teach these sorts of things, “so they’ve written into the laws that if teachers are unqualified, then the experts will come in and teach it, and Planned Parenthood will abuse your children.”
“Planned Parenthood is not the expert on children and neither are any of these other people pushing an agenda,” she asserted.
“Parents are the experts on their children,” she said with great authority.
Since the 1960s, the unions have bullied the PTA into silence, preventing them from taking stances that conflict with the teacher’s unions. “That’s why they support everything the unions tell them to support,” she said.
“The unions have taken over the librarians association, they have taken over the school boards association, they have taken over every angle of our schools.
“Unions are the real existential threat,” she said. “They have silenced teachers, and they do it by using deceit, intimidation, and massive power.”
Friedrichs then offered examples using slides:
Figure 1
The NEA adopted this amendment to science education. They basically obliterated the scientific method. They struck out ‘empirical evidence derived from valid scientific experimentation and they changed it to ‘scientific theory … leading to scientific consensus. Then they bully and shun anyone who doesn’t agree with their consensus. This is how they undermine science.
Figure 2
“Then they bully teachers like myself by saying they will not accept exhibitors who messaging is in conflict with those changes,” noted Friedrichs.
Figure 3
Friedrichs explained how some teachers who started an NEA ex-gay educators’ caucus were “heavily” bullied by the unions bully ex-gays. The teachers unions bully Christians because “their real goal is to remove our Judeo-Christian virtues.”
“So if you dare to bring in information on creation truth or ex-gays, you are considered offensive, obscene, and in bad taste. That’s how the unions feel about us.”
Figure 4
“Teachers and health professionals must be qualified to teach in this area and must be legally protected from censorship and lawsuits.”
“Why?” asked Friedrichs. “Because we all want to sue them.”
Figure 5
“How do they enforce this? The NEA works in partnership with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), NAACP, ACLU, GLSEN, the National Center for Trans-Equality, Human Rights Campaign,” said Friedrichs, and “will track all incidents of discrimination, racism, homophobia, and transphobia.”
“We’ve all seen the SPLC’s hate map … it’s loaded with Chrisitan organizations, conservative organizations” noted Friedrichs, explaining that the goal is to “eradicate us.”
The frightening thing is that when parents, teachers and school boards push back, it’s the ACLU that says “we’re going to sue you.”
Figure 6
Friedrichs displayed a toolkit available on the CTA website that the SPLC ACLU, GLSEN and others helped the teachers union to create. Children can report their teachers and classmates to the SLPC as “haters” via direct links provided on the website.
“It’s Orwellian,” she noted.
Figure 7
Using teachers’ money, the unions were able to pass transgender access to opposite sex bathrooms and locker rooms.
“I don’t know one parent or teacher that agrees with this,” but the unions bragged that this effort was supported by teacher and parent organizations — including the California PTA and the California Teachers Association.”
“Why would the PTA support that? They don’t. They’ve been silenced,” she said.
The unions are 100 percent out of their jurisdictions in pushing all these issues. Friedrichs wants to see the end of all government employee unions. “They do not belong in our government or our schools, or anywhere that is taxpayer funded.”
They are destroying academic rigor, excellence, science, and they are purposely undermining Judeo-Christian virtues — American virtues — which are essential for a free Republic.”
“Teachers do not know they are funding this nightmare,” said Friedrichs, “they have no idea.”
“Our schools are on fire. Our kids are inside. Unions are the flames,” she said.
“So let’s get teachers out of unions,” concluded Friedrichs. “Let’s get unions out of our schools.”
Rebecca Friedrichs is author of Standing Up to Goliath and Founder of For Kids and Country.