Racists are right-wingers, Canadian high school 'political spectrum' worksheet says

Matt DeFouw was livid when his son brought home the worksheet.

"I cannot let this slide," he wrote on Facebook. "It must be exposed, discussed, and then expediently rectified."

DeFouw provided a photo of the one-page "political spectrum" worksheet given to 10th graders at Valleyview Jr. Secondary School in Kamloops, British Columbia — which, among other things, declared that racists are right-wingers.

For question No. 3, the correct response to "A person who is a racist" turns out to be someone on the "right" side of the political aisle:

DeFouw said his son whited out his answers and wrote down the teacher-provided answers in pink.

"My son has told me that the teacher directed 'class discussion' on these matters is even worse than this worksheet," he added to his post on Oct. 1.

What else is considered right wing?

The other statements considered right wing, according to the worksheet:

• Convicted murderers should be hanged.
• Police should be able to wiretap telephones.
• Canada should restrict immigration.
• The military should get better weapons.
• Women should be stay-at-home mothers.

"This is 1984-esque propaganda at its very worst," DeFouw added. "It is essentially molding the next generation of voters to believe that Conservatives or people 'on the right' are misogynist racists who hate immigrants and want to enact a brutal police state."

Image source: Global News video screenshot

He also noted that "on this single page, there is more bigotry, divisive evil, lies, and malice than I could even imagine as a conspiracy theory or piece of political satire if I didn't see it with my own eyes."

"This is what is being taught to our children," DeFouw said.

And what are left-wing views?

Among the statements considered left-wing, according to the worksheet:

• Higher minimum wage.
• Send aid to "Third World Countries."
• The state should own all major industries.

How did education officials respond?

School District No. 73 told USA Today in an emailed statement that the social studies teacher "realizes that Monday's lesson was not balanced and was an oversimplification of a very complex topic and will revisit the lesson with the students to explore the topic more thoroughly."

British Columbia's education minister Rob Fleming called the worksheet "offensive," Global News reported.

“This is a not a prescribed worksheet from the ministry, and I found it to be offensive,” he told the outlet, adding that the teacher "made a mistake" and "used a resource that didn’t do a good job and didn’t teach the curriculum well.”

Assistant Superintendent Bill Hamblett, calling out the worksheet's charge that racism is right wing, told Global News that "racism knows no political stripe."

Image source: Global News video screenshot

What now?

The school district said DeFouw was satisfied with its response to the situation, USA Today said.

Officials also launched investigations into the lesson's context, CTV News said, adding that School District 73 no longer will use the worksheet.



(H/T: The College Fix)