The word ‘family’ has caused controversy for this Ontario school board. Here’s why

The School Board of the District of the Waterloo region has been talking a lot about the word “family” this month.

The Board has published two separate statements so far in June after media reports and rumors distributed online that teachers were taught that the word “family” is racist.

It is derived from a training day of the Professional Development Day in November 2023 when the Teachers of the High School of the District of Waterloo-Oxford near Baden, Ontario, discussed several words and what they meant for the students, says the school board.

The screenshots of a presentation called “White dismantling in WO: Words Matter” have appeared in alternative media sites such as Juno News and Rebel News. The photo of a Slide Show presentation shows that the word family has been “identified as harmful by our racialized students.”

The head of the news of Juno says: “The School Board trains the staff that the term ‘family’ is harmful, racist.”

In a video report, which was published on YouTube on June 6, the senior editor of Rebel News, Tamara Ugolini, criticized the Board.

“When someone tells him that the term ‘family’ is rooted in white supremacy and dismantles the family unit because he is rooted in patriarchy, he can tell them where to go,” says Ugolini in the video.

Maedith Radlein, president of the School Board of the District of the Waterloo region, says that the reprinted training materials by these media were shared out of context “and incorrectly interpreted.”

“That screenshot was interpreted that it meant that what was said was that we are against the family. That screenshot was, in fact, part of a larger presentation that was a discussion about language,” Radlein told CBC KW’s The morning edition The host Craig Norris on Wednesday.

Radlein says that people have been sending emails to the Board staff and the trust and “are, of course, very annoying because if that were a message it would be something to be very worried.”

“I would like to say unequivocally that this is not our message. We value families and work with them every day while we seek to help their students achieve and enjoy their school experience,” he said.

Listening | The president of the School Board of the District of the Waterloo region, discusses the controversy about the word ‘family’:

2 statements

The School Board issued its first statement on June 6, stating that they were aware of the media reports and wanted to clarify and provide context about what had been informed.

“The session explored how different communities can experience public institutions differently, and how educators can be reflective and inclusive in their communication,” said the statement.

“These discussions are part of our continuous commitment to human rights, equity and learning.”

The second statement was published on June 10. It was a letter to the Radlein community in which “the word ‘family’ and what it represents is essential for everything we do.”

Alternative media reports say that the training was offered by the Federation of Teachers of Secondary Schools of Ontario (OSSTF).

Dave Vandenberg, president of District 24 of Osstf, said in an email to CBC News that the slides in Juno’s news position were not a presentation created by the teacher’s union.

“All staff meetings include the time for OSSTF. It seems that the inclusion of OSSTF time at the end of the meeting was misunderstood to mean that OSSTF created the presentation,” he said.

The school board told CBC News that the presentation was prepared by the school board staff.

Reports linked to the movement of parents’ rights: researcher

Lisa Gassson-Gardner is an assistant professor of religious studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary and investigates new religious movements. She says that messaging in the report of this story by the alternative media seems to be linked to the parental rights movement.

“People concerned with the critical theory of the race are also worried about parents who have rights, they are also concerned about gender ideology,” he said.

Gassson-Gardner says that the base groups that are part of this movement know how to communicate. They say things that “seem certainly true,” as parents must be informed about what their children are learning at school, but then there is an underlying message that the average reader can lose.

“Consider that, when we say: ‘Oh, we want to have a neutral classroom or a policy -free class classroom’ What is neutral of what we are not talking about?” She said.

Gassson-Gardner says that parents’ rights groups are good to mobilize and have seen evidence that they have worked so that people choose school boards in Alberta and Ontario. That is why she says it is important to understand who are the people who run for these positions, especially with the municipal ontarium elections established by October 2026.

“If you care about education, you have to pay attention to what is happening,” he said.

Objective is to create ‘moral panic’

Carmen Celestini is a professor of full -time religious studies at the University of Waterloo. She says that there are also groups that try to create “moral panic” about the critical theory of race in education.

The critical theory of race is the idea that racial bias is inherent in certain systems, including legal and social institutions.

She says that the arguments made in alternative media reports are similar to anti-critical breed theory in the United States.

They “believe that [critical race theory] It is an attack on national values ​​and beliefs. These values ​​are expressed in their beliefs and values ​​with little concern for others, “Celestini said.

“The School Board must respond and be transparent to address issues like this,” said Cestini.

“However, those who believe that these negative narratives probably distrust institutions such as education and the media inherited, so the Board will not convert the mentality of those who believe this, but will involve those who may have heard of this.”

Board ‘meet the needs of all students’

Radlein said the language training session took place on a professional development day and observed several words. The family was one of the words.

“The message was that the word family does not mean the same for everyone,” said Radlein.

Radlein said that the school board staff must educate and be aware of where they can assume something about students or have an unconscious bias.

She says that this is not the first time that the Board has been a goal for people who disagree with their philosophies.

“Certainly I believe that the initiatives that our Board makes around truth and reconciliation, around equity, about gender identification and orientation, certainly I think it is a lightning rod for many groups that have different opinions,” said Radlein.

“I cannot talk about why this is happening, but I know that we are a meeting known for our commitment to meet the needs of all students, welcome everyone, no matter who they are. And some people may not agree with that approach.”