This Week's MIP Digest

The best info we shared on Facebook, in your Inbox!

Apr 07, 2023

Last week we introduced the MIP Digest, a regular feature where we share the great information that has been posted to the MIP Facebook group during the previous week. The MIP Digest won’t capture all of the interesting comments and conversations that happen in the Facebook group, but it will include the highlights and provide a quick overview of the content, in case you missed it.

First, here are the posts from our Admins:

Parent elected to school board leaks science curriculum that states biological sex isn't binary

Is your school district using science textbooks that teach sex is not binary, like the school featured in the article below? If so, MIP wants to know about it. Comment on this post or send an email to massinformedparents@gmail.com.

CLICK HERE for article.

Easthampton rescinds job offer to school superintendent candidate, citing “microagression” in email

Easthampton school committee wants to rescind a job offer for superintendent because of a “microaggression.” Read THIS ARTICLE to see what the offense was.

Seriously? The world has gone mad.

From the article:

Vito Perrone, the current interim superintendent of West Springfield Public Schools, told the Daily Hampshire Gazette that the committee rescinded its offer after he addressed an email to committee Chair Cynthia Kwiecinski and Executive Assistant Suzanne Colby as “ladies” in the beginning of the email.

“I was shocked,” Perrone told the Gazette. “I grew up in a time when ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’ was a sign of respect. I didn’t intend to insult anyone.”

Boston Children’s Hospital head calls for drastic expansion of gender surgeries for minors

MA schools indoctrinate kids w/ trans ideology.
The state uses taxpayer funds to remove their healthy body parts and to give them harmful drugs.
A leading MA medical institution cashes in.

Read full article HERE.

Attention mama and papa bears speaking up to protect kids in MA schools!

The MA SJC recently ruled in Barron v. Kolenda that public bodies can no longer silence dissent.

Bullet Point Summary:

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held that the chair of a town’s board of selectmen violated a woman’s rights to free speech and petition when he stopped her from speaking at a public meeting because she allegedly violated the town’s “civility code.”
Decision means that if city councils, school committees, and other public bodies allow public comments during meetings, they may not stop someone from speaking simply because they think that what the person is saying is rude or inappropriate. If they do, courts may hold them personally accountable for monetary damages.
Public bodies can, however, still impose “time, place, and manner restrictions” on speakers, such as limiting how much time people can speak and requiring that people not disrupt other speakers or make threats. They likely can also require that all comments be related to an agenda item.

Read the latest blog post published by Massachusetts Family Institute HERE.

Find a PDF of the case brief in English HERE.

Find a PDF of the case brief in Spanish HERE.

Dover-Sherborn Parents: Do you know what your kids are learning in Sex Ed?

The Analysis of Sex Education Resources used in the Dover-Sherborn School District has just been posted to the MFI Sex Ed Map. Dover-Sherborn parents: Beware!

The Sex Ed curriculum used in Dover-Sherborn heavily promotes controversial gender ideology and includes many explicit and non-age-appropriate resources.

This is part of the 5th grade curriculum.

Here's just a sample of what we found:

Instead of female or male, students are instructed to say "person with a uterus" or "person with a penis," starting in 5th grade
The Genderbread person, taught starting in 7th grade
Exposure to AMAZE, graphic cartoon-style sex ed in 5th and 7th grade
Discussions of "Identity," including sexual orientation, race, etc.
LGBTQIA+ history (in health class!)
Sexuality as something that starts in infancy (!)

Check out the photos in this post. These are slides taken directly from the curriculum provided by the district, received through Public Records Request. This is only a small sample of the harmful, confusing, unscientific information taught to students in the Dover-Sherborn school district.

This is taught to 7th graders. In the video pictured, kids are informed that “Gender is who you got to bed AS, sexual orientation is who you go to bed WITH.”

To read MFI's full analysis of sex ed in the Dover-Sherborn school district, click HERE. The report also contains a link that will take you to all of the information provided by the district, so you can see it for yourself.

This is for High School Sex Ed. Why does the school system get to decide what constitutes “Healthy sexuality?” That is a question of values and morals, not scientific fact.

All parents: resources like these have been found in districts across MA. To see what was found in your district, visit the MFI Sex Ed Map here:

https://www.mafamily.org/sexed/

Click the link and then scroll down until you find the map. Click on your town to see if your district report is ready! New reports are being uploaded to the map every week. If your district report isn't posted and you want to help MFI get information on what sex ed curriculum is being used in your district, email us at massinformedparents@gmail.com.

Remember, per MA law you can OPT YOUR CHILD OUT of sex ed! Click here for more information on your rights and a link to a sample out-out form:

https://www.mafamily.org/.../11/SexEd_KnowYourRights.pdf

Parent Alert: Do Your Kids use Tumblr?

We all know that social media can harm children and teens, but many of us aren't familiar with the different platforms being used today. Back in January we brought you information on Discord, which started as a platform for gamers and now has broader acceptance among teens. You can see that post here: https://www.facebook.com/.../permalink/1540285876488408/

Today we are focusing on another harmful and potentially dangerous social media platform, Tumblr. Tumblr has both a website and an app. The minimum age to set up a Tumblr account is 13 years old.

Tumblr says you have to be at least 13 years old to join, yet their app makes it physically impossible to enter an age less than 13. Any child under 13 can just pick a different year, and they’re in!

On Tumblr, users can share various content such as photos, artwork, videos, microblogs, GIFs, etc. Tumblr has been around since 2007 and suffered a large dip in popularity, but now is rebounding. According to the article below, 61% of its new users are Gen Z (which makes them approx. 11-26 years old).

https://www.newyorker.com/.../how-tumblr-became-popular...

A recent study shows, Gen Z is also the age group where transgender and queer identification is growing most rapidly.

https://thehill.com/.../3811406-new-studies-find.../

This post encourages girls who have recently started taking testosterone and are not feeling happy with their choice to just keep going with their trans identity.

While it is true that correlation does not equal causation, it is also true that a connection between Tumblr and adopting a trans identity exists for some youth (keep reading for one example). And regardless of whether we are talking about sexuality issues or other mature themes, Tumblr is home to a great deal of material that parents would not want their minor children to see. This includes (but is certainly not limited to) groups that promote gender ideology and diverse "identities" such as furries.

20,000 people took this poll and only 6.3% of them did not claim any sort of queer or alternate identity. Any impressionable minor who sees this would instantly feel pressured to join one of these identity groups.

Tumblr, like every social media site, has some content that is benign, or even beneficial. But it is also a platform that enables the sharing of dangerous and damaging material that targets vulnerable young people who are looking for friendship. The identity-related communities can be especially attractive to a young person who is searching for a place to belong.

Because Tumblr only requires users to be 13 years old to join, Tumblr provides a place where middle-school-age kids can interact with unknown adults and adult-oriented material. But even worse, Tumblr has no form of age verification, so children younger than 13 could easily sign up.

Helena Kirschner, a detransitioner who has been vocal about her story, identified as transgender from 2013-2018. She points to Tumblr as both the initial source that influenced her trans identity, and notes the powerful persuasion it wields in the lives of many other trans youth. To better understand her story, and the Tumblr platform, check out this article she wrote here:

https://4thwavenow.com/2019/03/20/tumblr-a-call-out-post/

or, listen to her in this video here:

The pictures in this post are just a snippet of the troubling material that can be accessed only minutes after setting up a Tumblr account. Not only is the normalization and encouragement of transgender identification pervasive, there is a demonstrable connection between gender identity and other types of "fandoms," many of which have a dark side.

Much of the furry-related artwork is cutesy and would appeal to young children. Also, even though there is no #trans on this post, the presence of trans ideology is evident.

So parents, beware of Tumblr. Discuss the dangers of Tumblr with your kids (or even better, don't let them use it at all). It is not the only dangerous social media platform, but it is one that most Gen X/Millenial parents don't know anything about.

Knowledge is power.