FUREY: Peel schools presentation targets young men

Parents can make this an election issue, and tell their trustee candidates

Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration; not a photograph of the reported event.

Guest column

The other day a whistleblower posted a picture to social media of a troubling slide that’s being shown in Peel District School Board (PDSB) classrooms.

It should cause parents to speak up, especially now during this election season, and tell their trustee candidates they don’t support this type of division in schools.

The slide had the headline “toxic masculinity in schools” and appears to be part of a presentation given at the front of a classroom. It was provided by an anonymous student and posted by a parent.

“Toxic masculinity exhibits traits that are characteristic to men, such as: aggression; being stoic; physical and mental toughness; emotional insensitivity; self-sufficiency; discrimination against everything not [this line ends here on the slide and is incomplete”.

What are we to make of showing this to a group of school students? What is the message being sent — both to boys and to girls?

It claims toughness and self-sufficiency are toxic traits. It also plays in stereotypes, pushing the notion that all boys are insensitive and aggressive.

The presentation tries to do its own damage control, stating the following: “While the language may sound demeaning to males it doesn't criticize masculinity itself rather refers to the adherence men may have to societal standards for masculinity that can be harmful for males and general society.”

No, it’s garbage like this presentation that is harmful to males and general society. Toughness is what allows men to be firefighters. Toughness is what allowed hundreds of men to storm into the Twin Towers on 9/11 to save peoples’ lives.

It’s disappointing to see a school still presenting this sort of divisive material, given that there is now a widespread agreement that pushing “woke” agendas has gone too far.

The federal Liberal government recently deserves credit for its recently released Federal Men and Boys’ Health and Well-being Strategy.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his cabinet recognize that there’s a crisis in men’s issues and it isn't right to portray men as the villain.

The bureaucrats at the PDSB need to get with the program. One way to make this happen is for parents in Peel Region to speak out on these matters.

Demand that schools focus on academic excellence and giving all children the tools to succeed in life. Say no to political and social agendas being pushed in the classroom.

This election season isn’t just about voting for your Mayor or Councillor. Trustees will also be on the ballot. Parents can make these sorts of issues matter in this campaign.

Anthony Furey is a business consultant and former long-time journalist. Reach him at anthony@furey.ca