For many parents, the influence of school teachers and counselors regarding mental health and transition surgeries has crossed the boundary.
Children are very much open to suggestions, and the woke ideology among teachers terrifies parents that their children will be talked into something rather than allowing them to grow up and discover who they are.
An order by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is calling for mandatory mental health evaluations of school-aged children, and parents are screaming government overreach.
I can tell you from personal experience that teachers are pushing ideology on children, as I have had many friends discuss this issue with me regarding their children.
One friend’s male child picked up a Barbie doll in his classroom, and my friend claimed the teacher immediately started to ask the child about sexual tendencies. When the child came home and told his father what had happened, he went ballistic, and rightfully so.
On a national scale, we see these reports all the time, such as the case of Jessica Konen, a California resident, who said teachers planted the seed in her daughter’s head that she may be bisexual, and later transgender.
Konen stated, “I literally was caught off guard. I was blindsided. I didn’t even know what to feel like because I didn’t even know where it came from.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took action against this type of influence, signing legislation that was dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by the media and Democrats, even though the legislation said no such thing.
The legislation did, however, block teachers from having discussions with students that should be held with parents.
The bill stated, "Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."
I thought the bill was fantastic and appropriate. Parents should be the ones to decide on who has these conversations with their children, not teachers or principals. By all means, if a teacher has concerns, bring them to the parents, but then the ball is in their court.
On July 31, Governor Pritzker very quietly signed legislation that made the state of Illinois the first state in the country to have mandatory mental health screening for grades three through 12. It is set to go into effect with the start of the 2027 school year.
While the legislation does offer parents the right to opt out, considering the ideology in schools these days, there is a very serious concern that counselors will be planting thoughts in children’s heads, creating mental health issues where they do not exist.
Abigail Shrier, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, stated, "I want to be on-the-record and crystal clear. This is a disastrous policy that will do vastly more harm than good. Watch as tens of thousands of Illinois kids get shoved into the mental health funnel and convinced they are sick. Many or most of which will be false positives."
Katherine Boyle, a partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, added, “If a school nurse or a state-mandated mental health test tells you you’re sick, you’re going to believe them. This is why so many families are opting out of primary school completely — the overreach is astounding."
I will be the first to admit that there is a very real mental health issue in younger generations, but I do not believe this is the way to deal with it. These are decisions best left in the household. Again, if a teacher sees something worth noting, tell the parents, and let them handle the situation. It just seems like another case of Democrat overreach in a very sensitive area.
