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Sex Ed and the
Cherry Hill Board of Education
In preparing for the run for the Board position, I reviewed the NJ Health and Physical Education curriculum. Several sections of the curriculum are worthwhile. But the areas under “sexual health” represent a 180-degree turn from the thousands of years of our most fundamental understanding of human sexuality. Dating back to Aristotle, the idea of two genders, male and female, has worked quite nicely. But not so for the NJ legislature and the current Cherry Hill Board of Education.
This sexual health curriculum in Cherry Hill begins with a confusing notion introduced to our students in their first year of kindergarten: that of a boy, a girl and a “gender identity.”
As the student progresses from second through fifth grade, the lesson plans usher our students along, expanding the scope of gender and gender identity using role-playing, games, videos and coloring books. Thrown into the lessons are terms like cisgender, queer, transgender, and LGBTQ, all casually dropped into the instruction. Pronouns are discretely changed to ‘they/them.” References to women and girls slip away, quietly replaced with “someone with a vulva.”
Later, the ante is upped with discussions of puberty, changing bodies, new feelings, consent and non-consent, and someone who becomes “more than a friend.” It culminates with the introduction (for some reason) of oral sex and anal sex in eighth grade.
In grades 9-12, pretty much everything is on the table.
It is no mistake that this type of “sex education” starts at the earliest age. It is this very fact that makes this curriculum so corrosive to the development of young boys and young girls as they develop their most nascent notions of self-image. Once a child’s innocence is lost, it’s gone for good. There is no getting it back.
The State of NJ and the Cherry Hill Board of Education have crossed a boundary with our young people. In my view, this curriculum is very unhealthy for young children.
If elected to the Board of Education, I cannot support this instruction.
Sex Ed and the
Cherry Hill Board of Education
Plan A, Plan B, Plan C
PLAN A: I am proposing a District wide OPT-OUT for all students, K-12 as it relates to the “sexual health” curriculum. Interested parents are welcome to OPT-IN for their children’s instruction.
PLAN B: I am proposing a one-time once-and-done parental OPT-OUT for your child, K-12. This will act as a permanent OPT OUT for your child K-12 for lessons relating to sexual health.
TBD, if elected
Saving Carusi and Beck
Bold Steps Need to be Taken
Yes, we need to hire more teachers, but that’s the business we are in.
Students struggling coming out of Beck or Carusi will likely struggle in high school. Given the instructional time lost because of the shutdown, we cannot continue with business as usual. We need to do something different and in a big way.
I propose that Cherry Hill build a new program for Elementary through Middle school, focusing on finding those struggling students as early as third and fourth grade. This would be a parallel track of classes of ten or fewer students staffed with newly hired teachers. These teachers would provide on-grade-level individualized instruction during the day to strengthen the student’s learning skills.
For success, it takes effort from the student – the parents – and the school. We will require parents to be involved with their students, counter-sign homework, and attend conferences more often, with the student present to discuss progress. The program’s success would be measured by the student’s graduation from Carusi or Beck. As we fill these new classes, it will naturally lower the class size in the primary classrooms. So, it’s a win-win.
Teacher Performance Bonuses
Long Overdue
Performance bonuses for our most outstanding teachers across the district
This has been discussed year after year. We seem to have money for everything else except our most important asset: our instructors. We all know it’s the right thing to do. It is about time to get it done.
For each academic year, I am proposing that we allocate in the budget: 1) a single performance bonus of $10,000 for a most outstanding teacher and 2) five $5,000 performance bonuses for outstanding teachers across the district.
The Superintendent or designee will chair a small team to determine the selection process.