Ministry of Education recalls manual that had pro-gay remarks
A relentless media campaign, launched recently to raise public awareness on the debatable content of the Peace Corps Health and Family Life Manual, has prompted the Ministry of Education to withdraw the publication from primary schools across the country. The handbook, which was first introduced to pastors Luis Wade and Scott Stirm in December 2011, stirred controversy when it was learned that the subject matters being addressed within its pages promoted what Stirm refers to as the ‘homosexual agenda’. Since then a ten-member committee was tasked to carefully review the content of the HFLE Manual and compile a report, which was subsequently presented to the Ministry of Education. That report presumably languished on a desktop somewhere within the ministry until earlier this month when Wade and Stirm took to the airwaves to ventilate the dubious text. After much objection from concerned parents, the ministry issued a release on Wednesday stating that the HFLE handbook has been retracted from the education curriculum. News Five spoke with pastors Wade and Stirm today about the manual.
Pastor Luis Wade
Luis Wade
“In the first week of December of last year there was a Belize Action ‘Take A Stand’ rally where we brought together churches from across the nation and several organizations, including representatives from across the political parties to simply highlight the beginning of the LGBT agenda in Belize through the lawsuit. It was at that event that a teacher from Orange Walk brought a copy of the manual to me and said, “Could you please take a look at this,” and took me to page sixty-six, I believe it was, where the individual [had] already highlighted two parts that he had some issues with. I looked at it, immediately saw it for what it was and I went up on the podium and I just read briefly from the manuscript.”
Pastor Scott Stirm
“It was obvious to us, you could see a homosexual agenda that was in the manual but the general feel and overtone of the whole manual was kind of like stepping on the gas concerning sexual activity and that flies right in the face of some of the policies of the Ministry of Health and some of the others that are saying to discourage sexual activity among young people, particularly adolescents or pre-adolescents and yet here this is geared for standards four, five and six, ages nine to twelve and it’s asking questions like: how long should a couple date before having sex? If a guy pays for the date is he entitled to, you know, kissing, touching, having sex? This is to our nine and ten year olds right, and so those kinds of things just immediately started to jump out, as well as at the beginning of the manual it’s very strongly the emphasis that they are talking. They are intentionally presenting values that they know are going to fly right in the face of the parents of these children.”
Pastor Luis Wade
“I would want to know to know what the people of the nation have to say about that. Whether or not the majority of people within this country are interested in the liberalization of our values. For a critic or an opponent or somebody to simply say, “the world is moving in this particular direction, why don’t we just get along?” The world is made up of over two hundred countries and from our experience, as we monitor the world on this particular issue, there are probably seven to ten countries, [including] Australia and Brazil, where this is a very, very hot-button issue. The other countries have made up their minds either for or against and many of them are against.”
Scott Stirm
Pastor Scott Stirm
“We’re grateful that there was a concession from the Ministry of Education on the removing of this manual and secondly, all we did was inform the people. I believe that is a very loud statement that when people start to see it for themselves, people are saying, “no we don’t want this!” So within a matter of days we had almost a thousand downloads of the manual from the Plus TV website.”
Pastor Luis Wade
“We have a responsibility to inform the people that a value that we hold highly, collectively, is being violated by a few, and I think that [that] is what this is all about. It is not about the church or Christians pushing their will on a people but simply the church telling the people that a value that we hold collectively is being violated by a few.”
Pastor Scott Stirm
“That was early December we got the manual, by the end of January we had a collective report that had been pulled together by ten different professionals and we submitted that to the Ministry of Education, the prime minister, the teachers union and so [on]. Again, I am grateful that there was a concession. I am still concerned of the fact that the whole thing was approved in the first place because that didn’t happen without approval. Maybe somebody just browsed it in that vetting process, I don’t know but we didn’t browse it. We went after every detail and it was horrendous what’s in there.”
The Ministry of Education in a press release says that the delay in taking a decision on the publication was because of the general elections.
THE CHURCH ATTACKS THE GAY girlie men…
BUT THEY SAY NOTHING OF VIOLENT CRIME IN THE STREETS AND CORRUPT POLITICIANS…
Wow. Look how Obama is trying to push his gay agenda on the people of the world this is embarrassing for the American gov. This is the first thing I have seen positive from this udp gov. Hurray you got something right this is why the us is having all the problems they are having in the world because they want to force their agenda on the world do not bring your nastiness here to Belize we have enough sleckness in our country we do not need to endure your gay agenda on our kids shame on the us embassador and the us gov.
Belize cannot afford to be “diplomatic” nor “soft” on these
issues that are killing the morals and ethics of our country.
We all need to Stand Up and Fight against these hidden
agendas that aim to destroy who we are as a people!
Good Job Men of the Clergy!
shame on patrick
Im surprised that we dont have more comments on this article. Im so thankful that the M.O.E. took this manual out. I think they realized they did something in a rash way. I would rather give my life than to have my kids hear these nasty things!!!!!!!!!
Children having chidren….fathers raping children….children forced to perform sexual acts on adults….church leaders having sex with minors…and where are the good Stirm and Wade???
No where to be found. A handbook sensitizing children about their bodies, sexuality and accepting diversity could hardly do more damage than not having no handbook at all and having television raising our children.
Zealots are being allowed to turn our senses to their own out of fear and dis-information.
A question that should of been asked of Wade & Stirm is who exactly was on their panel that reviewed the manual. Despite Wade boasting of people with masters degrees and counsellors, did he just assemble a panel of like minded conservative christians? Was anyone with actual experience and expertise in the teaching of sexual and reproductive health asked to join Wade’s ad-hoc censorship committee? If this manual is as “abhorrent” as Stirm claims it to be, would not even someone from BFLA be able to find cause for concern? Wade & Stirm have their own agenda, which is to create a dominionist theocracy in Belize. Coordinating a small group of educated but ultimately like minded people from their clan does not grant them the right to determine what should or should not be not be taught in public schools. Anyone who is celebrating the fact that MOE capitulated on this issue is missing the much bigger point. The tail just wagged the dog. We should all be very concerned about what just happened.
This LGBT is more open than ever before & people need to be informed whether you like it or not. If you are not HOMOSEXUAL you can’t CONTRACT IT. This is not contagious, PEOPLE ARE INHERENTLY BORN THAT WAY.
krdt…..for precisely the reasons you state, the only moral guidance some children will receive is from the school system. trying to sneak this manual into the school was a huge mistake, thank GOD for Pastor Wade and his determination to bin this immoral and factually incorrect manual. I have no doubt that if it was not for the efforts of Pastor Wade and his pointed attention to it, this manual would still be in the schools and used to brainwash the next generation of Belizeans.
Pastor Wade, love him or hate him, he is a Belizean hero and we desperately need more.
It is like you say “krdt” But all the above things that you mentioned dont even come close to the damage a manual such as this would do. To have kids get an influence of such immoral ideas from an educational standpoint is the most damaging thing you can do. A person learns the most and best values at a young age. That also means that if these types of things would be taught, that is what our children would express. HOW TERRIBLE that would be
@KRDT and Earl Grey….Both of u are senseless. Loot at the issue with your head and not with your butts
The end of the world is near — I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I agree with something Rod said.
The Peace Corps, Obama’s government, and the United Nations all promote a radical sexual agenda — free abortion on demand, gay marriage, and the idea that SCHOOL-CHILDREN should be taught that there is no right or wrong in sexual behavior, just do what feels good. I don’t accept those radical beliefs, and I sure don’t want our school-children exposed to them! We must help them grow up decent to adulthood. After that they will choose their own path. This is the Jewel, not Sodom or Gomorrah.
Marie, I’m not sure you are correct in all cases. In my own family I have seen a normal, innocent child raped by a homosexual at the age of 12, and it changed him COMPLETELY and permanently, and basically destroyed his happiness and stability — and that was more than 50 years ago.
i have also read credible studies that a vast majority of child molesters were themselves molested as children, creating an endless, vicious cycle.
So I think parents MUST do whatever is necessary to protect their children from outside sexual activists. When they are fully grown into young adults it will be time for them to go out into the world, and hopefully THE PARENTS, not the teacher’s union, not the Peace Corps, not UNIBAM, will have prepared them morally.
Anyone who lays a finger on one of my young children better be prepared to meet his Maker the moment I find out about it.
I’ve read the manual. Have you?
Good job, Wade and Stirn.
It is interesting to note that my respect for Rod actually rose a couple calibers for his statement on this article’s comments. I’m surprised.
Thank God for the person that brought it to your attention. This is exactly what we need to do to keep things in line. We need to scrutinize everything the world is trying to bring that is contrary to God’s word and to this nation’s law. It’s not about us going the way the world is and accepting it, but the world respecting our values and standing up for what is right.