A well-known anti-SOGI activist made a stop in the Cowichan Valley.
Jenn Smith was at the Island Savings Centre for an information session about SOGI which focused on his beliefs that it was bad for children to be taught from the material.
According to the Ministry of Education, a sexual orientation and gender identity-inclusive education means having conversations about diversity and learning the importance of treating everyone with dignity and respect in our schools.
Here, as in other stops on the Island, protestors gathered outside the event.
Zvithen Osiris Graham-McGregor, a transgender man who came to protest Smith’s views, believed it would be better to have the resource in the school system.
“I know, for myself, if I were to have the SOGI 123 policy in place when I was in school, my education would have looked very different in the best possible way.”
There is no “SOGI curriculum” in schools, rather, throughout the K to 12 curriculum and school activities, students and teachers explore the topic of human rights and what it means to value diversity and respect differences.
SOGI 123 is a resource that supports educators when it comes to dealing with various topics.
