Parents pull children from class over gender diversity school lesson taught by drag queen

Multiple parents of students enrolled astatine a Canadian schoolhouse pulled their kids retired of people connected Friday aft learning astir a gender individuality presumption that took spot past week. 

It emerged that the presumption to seventh to ninth graders - ranging successful ages from 12 to 15 - astatine Oyster Pond Academy was successful portion delivered by Teo Ferguson, a nonbinary resistance queen with plentifulness of risqué photos connected their societal media profile.

Per their Facebook profile, Ferguson is besides employed arsenic a originative programming facilitator astatine The Youth Project, a non-profit enactment that provides enactment to young radical struggling with their sex individuality oregon intersexual orientation. 

The presumption covered topics relating to intersexual orientation, sex individuality and relationships. Ferguson told DailyMail.com that children were taught however queer-identifying radical mightiness explicit their gender.

While immoderate parents of kids astatine the Nova Scotia schoolhouse were outraged by the contented of the presentation, it is understood that others were furious erstwhile they recovered retired that the presenter is simply a resistance queen successful their spare time.

Ferguson told DailyMail.com that erstwhile parents discovered this, they attacked them connected Facebook and sent nonstop messages to condemn the behavior.

Much of the outrage has allegedly travel from the information that Ferguson shared their resistance relationship with an underage student.

Two of their profiles, 1 connected Facebook and 1 connected Instagram, incorporate images of Ferguson wearing scantily-clad outfits portion successful provocative poses. 

Ferguson's signifier sanction is 'Cookie Cunningham.'

The Halifax Regional Center for Education, which houses Oyster Pond Academy, acknowledged that this occurred successful a connection to CTV News, though didn't sanction Ferguson specifically.

'One of the presenters shared their idiosyncratic societal media details, which prompted immoderate of the students to presumption contented that is intended for an big audience,' the connection read.

Hollie Riggs was 1 of the parents who opted to propulsion their kid retired of schoolhouse for that day.

'It went supra and beyond what should beryllium taught successful the classroom,' Riggs told CTV News. 

'It was the information that however overmuch of it was discussed and what the kids had entree to aft the meeting,' she added, referring to resistance relationship being shared by Ferguson.

In aggregate societal media posts and statements to the DailyMail.com, Ferguson explained that they gave retired the details to their resistance relationship by mistake.

'The world is simply a teacher was truly excited initially to spot maine successful their schoolroom talking astir gender, identity, and intersexual predisposition from people 7-9,' Ferguson primitively wrote successful a Facebook post. 

'Now grades 7 to 8 did not perceive astir my societal media, but successful people 9 they did owed to a teacher's excitement.'

Ferguson went connected to explicate that toward the extremity of the people 9 presentation, different teacher and a pupil approached and asked for their societal media.

'In that infinitesimal is erstwhile I made the mistake successful judgement and gave my resistance relationship information,' Ferguson told DailyMail.com, adding, 'I did not physically amusement them my relationship whatsoever.'

'I indispensable besides accent that astatine the commencement of each presentations I told each classes bash not look for maine connected societal media,' Ferguson besides said.

Another parent, Greg Austin, told CTV News that students weren't allowed to permission the presentation. 

'My lad came location from schoolhouse yesterday. He was telling maine astir the interactions helium had with the influencer,' Austin said. 'Mostly for maine arsenic a parent, we had nary thought that anybody was coming to speech to our kids.'

Austin added that his lad told him others weren't comfy with the lecture being given.

'He could spot radical were not comfy and that different radical asked to leave, and they weren't allowed to,' Austin said. 'There wasn't immoderate different option.'

DailyMail.com reached retired to the Halifax Regional Center for Education to corroborate whether the presumption was mandatory for students oregon not.

After receiving complaints from parents, the main and vice main of the schoolhouse sent a missive to parents explaining that they were legally required to travel the Health Education curricula provided by Nova Scotia Department of Education.

Curriculum documents seen online for 8th graders outline immoderate of the topics that wellness educators are mandated to screen successful class.

Students 'will analyse methods for preventing unintended gestation and sexually transmitted infections. They volition research puberty, encephalon development, and changing relationships arsenic markers of the teen signifier and however these subordinate to assemblage image,' according to the document, past updated successful 2022.

Students are besides introduced to 'pornography, consent, and intersexual violence,' and are fixed guidance connected 'how to question assistance related to intersexual and reproductive wellness concerns.'

One genitor told CTV News they had nary occupation with the presumption astatine the schoolhouse and said their child, who is struggling with their sex identity, recovered it helpful.

The Halifax Regional Center for Education besides said administrators visited the ninth people people to sermon the aftermath and explicate that the societal media relationship shouldn't person been shared.