Just weeks ago, I wrote a piece about Mark Latham’s Education Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill, one that would ban the teaching of damaging woke gender ideology in New South Wales schools. It went more to the problems occurring within the Catholic system, and the divide this Bill had caused between the Paramatta Diocese and everyone else. With the latest development in NSW education, it is of great importance that Latham’s Bill is supported and passed as soon as possible. The time for this division is over. The Catholic system must put up a united front and support this Bill. Because if recent changes are anything to go by, the pervasion of this destructive ideology only stands to get worse, and much more quickly than anyone had anticipated.
By now you’re probably wondering: “What in the world have they done now? How could it possibly have got any worse?” Well, when it comes to the woke folk, it should surprise no-one when they do whatever they can to corrupt the systems in place that maintain stability in society. Credit where it’s due, they do work hard to bring Western Civilisation crumbling to the ground. It is this penchant for destroying the pillars of Western society that brings us to their latest shenanigans.
Earlier this week, the NSW Department of Education issued a directive to NSW schools and principals, which goes to how student names are used and recorded by schools. It particularly covers the legal boundaries of name changes for children, especially with regards to the change of a surname after a divorce or family break up. This is obviously something that is difficult to deal with, given family matters such as these are often complex in nature. However, there is one section within this directive that takes it further, dealing with name changes for transgender students, which instead goes to a changing of the child’s first name. The concerning part of the directive reads as follows:
“If both parents consent to change the way the first name is used and recorded by the school, that name can be used and recorded as the child’s first name. If either or both parents object to the change to the way the first name is recorded by the school, the principal needs to make a decision about what is in the child’s best interests.”
“The principal needs to make a decision about what is in the child’s best interests.”
Do you see where this is going? The State is attempting to take on the role of the family in whatever way they can. They are slowly but surely erasing parental rights, allowing themselves to indoctrinate and recruit young, malleable minds into their ideological army more easily. Although, as mentioned in my previous piece on Latham’s Bill, these people do not seem to think parental rights exist, or at least the head of the Parramatta Catholic Education Office doesn’t. Greg Whitby has made the audacious claim that parental rights are “long discarded in Australia”. That is dangerous rhetoric from someone in charge of an entire Diocese of Catholic schools.
Giving principals the power to make a decision on the name of a gender-confused child is beyond absurd. Children are vulnerable in the first place. It may stand to reason that someone is pushing this upon them, making them think they are the opposite gender when they most definitely are not. I will probably be labelled “transphobic” for saying this, but rest assured I am not afraid of transgender people, nor am I attacking them.
What I am saying is that children are much too young to be making ill-informed, life-altering decisions like this. Their brains are still developing, and will continue to do so into their twenties, with full development usually not being achieved until around 25 years of age. In fact, the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain which is responsible for the planning of complex behaviours and expression of one’s personality, is still going through important developments well into one’s twenties. So, the decision to change one’s gender is incredibly impactful, and can have an increasingly negative effect on the mind of a child, especially on their mental health. That is not speculation. That is a fact. If you want to call me transphobic for it, go ahead. But as someone who deeply cares about mental health, and preventing suicide, I cannot argue in favour of changing the genders of children and mentally confusing them in the process.
So, giving principals what should be parental rights? Most definitely not ok. Who knows what views these principals might have, what ideologies they may subscribe to? If a principal is part of the woke brigade, one of those who believes in sinister gender ideology, then who is to say they will not make decisions based on their own ideological beliefs rather than doing what is best for the child? What would be best for the child is that they are not forced into believing they are something they are not, a difficult concept for those who espouse the gender agenda to comprehend. Even if one parent decides that their child’s name should not be changed, the principal can still override them. Just take a moment to think about how much damage that could do to a child and the ties that bind them together with their family.
Again, this latest move from NSW Education is another measure seeking to destroy the concept of the family as it currently stands and reform it into something that it is not, but which these ideologues can use for the purpose of forwarding their own agenda. If NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell had any sense at all, she would rescind this disgraceful directive immediately, and I would call on her to do so, as I’m sure many others would if they have not already.
The education front is an important part of the culture wars. We must stand up and defend our children from this pervasive doctrine that seeks to corrupt their minds. Winning the war on education is vital to protecting Western Civilisation. It is no easy task, but nothing worthwhile ever is.
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Joel Agius is a young Catholic conservative writer currently studying journalism and creative writing with Griffith University. He writes on freedom, religion and the human condition, mainly focusing on the Australian and US social and political scenes. He also volunteers as a Special Religious Education teacher in State primary schools, and occasionally contributes to The Spectator. You can find him on Twitter or read his work over at his blog. If you would like to support his work, you can click here.
