Becky Swan (seated) confronted by retiring public school teacher at District 87 meeting
UPDATE: See Tweet below of what happened at Thursday night's (June 17th) meeting at the same School Board.
BLOOMINGTON – When Bloomington District 87 Board issued a statement this past Monday reprimanding "a large group of citizens" that spoke out against mask mandates, sex education and critical race theory curriculum at the Board's June 9th meeting, they made it clear they intended to ignore those taxpayers, parents and concerned individuals.
After applauding those that spoke up in support of their Board's positions, they dug deeper: "This tense board meeting will not distract us from carrying out our mission to promote mutual respect and an appreciation for student and staff diversity in order to provide a supportive learning environment in which all students can succeed." (Bold letters were included in Board's message)
The public scolding was provoked by questions raised by an area mother, business owner and taxpayer Becky Swan, who was given five minutes during the Board's public comment period wherein she referred to the district's new sex education curriculum and a call for action distributed by a new action-oriented group called Breakthrough Ideas.
A video of Swan's public comments challenging District 87 Board members has gone viral this week, and she's had media references in conservative news outlets – from the local conservative radio shows at CitySide 92.9, BLN News – The Blaze, the Dan Bongino show and Gateway Pundit – but nothing from legacy media outlets.
"There's a hate group for me, and it's interesting. They don't like me, and that's fine," Swan told Illinois Review. "But I ask, 'Do you like what was coming out of my mouth?' It's shocking to me that they can't see it – or they just don't care."
What was coming out of Swan's mouth during her comments were references to the new sex education curriculum, wherein among other sexual topics, five year olds are taught how to define gender, gender identity and define gender role stereotypes; grades 3-5 students learn how hormones play a part in sexual development, and how they play a part in romantic and sexual feelings, masturbation, mood swings, and the role hormone blockers play in those who identify as transgender; and more.
It was clear in the video that the audience was stunned by what Swan shared. BLN News' Diane Benjamin posted the following:
The information Swan used in her comments was taken from an action item researched and distributed by Breakthrough Ideas, which took the information from the National Sex Education Standards. (Found here)
Breakthrough Ideas' co-founder, former state Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) wrote and circulated what she found in the NSES information.
Ives told Illinois Review she was pleased to have provided Swan with assistance that would equip her to inform the public.
"We started Breakthrough Ideas to being relevant information to voters because we firmly believe that if common sense Illinoisans knew what policies were being pushed in the legislature, the majority of them would speak up and stop it," Ives said.
She said she was thrilled that with the information she's offering, citizens are empowered with real information to hold government accountable at all levels and vote in new leadership where necessary.
Swan confirmed that she intends to keep working to stop the negative information flow to students in her area. Her own children have complete their public education. She's frustrated that the Illinois legislature passed a bill to the governor's desk that would require all Illinois school districts to pick up the sex education curriculum.
What would she like to see happen now?
"I'd like to see Governor Pritzker veto SB 818, but let's be honest, I don't think he will. The next step is that the superintendents and the school boards in every district must pass a resolution to denounce this bill and say they will not teach this…
"If they don't do that, we need to have our teachers wear body cams. We want our police officers to be accountable – so should the teachers if they insist on moving forward."
More to come …
Here's what happened Thursday night at the District 87 Board Meeting:
https://dailycaller.com/2021/06/17/father-blasts-critical-race-theory-medical-degrees/?fbclid=IwAR2F9ITlojtQ7KqqJVURVkhixPk1_TdmXTZcA-3EvmeNJtaA1mlfgVeFEQ8
https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1405624322643873798?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1405624322643873798%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailycaller.com%2F2021%2F06%2F17%2Ffather-blasts-critical-race-theory-medical-degrees%2F
