a bit more from the article
“I believe Wear It Purple Day is not a harmless dress-up day, it requires teachers to explain what these lifestyles are about to children and I don’t feel it’s the place of schools to be talking about sexualised issues with infants and primary students”
“At age four through to twelve, these are still issues for parents and for families. How it’s dealt with, and at what age … that’s not for the school or teachers … that’s for home. This is not a religious thing or about my thoughts for or against … it about the right time and place, and at that age – that’s not at school.”
Wear It Purple Day was marked in schools across the country over the last week, with organisers saying the LGBTQIA+ awareness initiative aims to create “supportive, safe, empowering and inclusive environments”.
The NSW Teachers Federation actively promotes the event to schools across NSW, telling members: “Wellbeing profoundly affects student outcomes, that’s why Federation and members in schools mark Wear It Purple Day each year.”
But Ms Rowe insists her stand was about child protection and age-appropriate education and had “nothing to do with her own beliefs on the subject”.
“It’s about what’s age-appropriate material in primary schools. My primary concern was about child protection and our duty of care as educators, and the will of the parents … schools don’t have a right to decide when’s the right time for these things to be talked about, especially when the children are so young.”
After being hauled into head office over her resistance to the event, Ms Rowe claims she was suddenly confronted with vague workplace allegations.
“I’d had a great and successful career for years, good relations with staff and parents, but suddenly I was no good in the eyes of the system.”
According to the Human Rights Law Alliance, which represented Ms Rowe pro-bono, she was confronted with concerns about her professionalism, placed under supervision and directed to celebrate the Wear it Purple Day event. Education bureaucrats also insisted that she had to speak in favour of the event and even dress up.
“Everything changed for me once I took a stand,” Ms Rowe said.
Her lawyer John Steenhof obtained internal documents under Freedom of Information laws which he says undermined the workplace allegations.
“Internal government employment documents, showed Mrs Rowe had been described as ‘outstanding’, ‘highly capable’, and ‘the best leader I have ever worked in my 40-year career. I would argue it was never about underperformance.”
Ms Rowe eventually resigned rather than fight.
After three decades of being well-regarded in her field, she’s now “looking for work”.
“I wanted to be able to speak freely and help parents understand what is really going on in schools and that we have to protect children from these agendas,” she said.
The ACT Education Directorate declined to address questions about Ms Rowe’s case or its commitment to Wear it Purple, saying: “Due to privacy considerations, the Education Directorate does not provide public commentary on current or former employees.”
...