An Edmonton girl who cut herself and suffered gender confusion was transformed at a Christian camp, her mother testified to the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI).
Sherri Widynowski opened testimony at NCI hearings in Edmonton this week. She testified she had an education degree and a Master's Degree in Counselling Psychology. She taught in the school system for 22 years and is now a family counsellor.
Widynowski said her daughter Aliya was a happy child, "sweet" and "friendly" until Grade 7 when she began attending a public school in St. Albert, mostly for the cheerleading program. After classes began, the mother had concerns.
"The teacher who was supposed to be teaching curriculum and core was talking a lot about gender ideology, also such things as climate change and oil and gas, and anyone who works in that sector is evil."
Widynowski said the teacher told her "quiet, introverted child" that she could "find herself" at a SOGI club after school on Fridays.
"She would come home and say, 'This teacher says that his child presents as lesbian or then non-binary.'" The mother wondered why this was in the classroom.
"I'm saying, 'Sweetheart, you're 12. You're 12 years old. I don't even know why we're talking about how you would present, or anything to do with sexuality. So, it became really big in our household, and there was quite a bit of of backlash."
Widynowski said as teachers, "We are supposed to include and love everyone. But my challenge has been, I feel it's more of an indoctrination, and I don't know why we're putting this type of content on children."
The teacher came to have more influence on Aliya than her mother, despite being a teacher herself.
"She's like, 'No, you should know better. You're a teacher. What are you talking about, mom? This is not right.' And obviously it caused a lot of strife and tension in our household."
On Valentine's Day, the girl told her mom she was a lesbian, but a few months later, she said "Maybe I'm bisexual. "The student became "very withdrawn" and had thoughts of suicide in Grade 8.
Through the end of Grade 9, she would wear black, baggy clothes, wear her hood in class and was often sullen. She also began cutting her legs and arms. Her mom took her to a therapist, but "it didn't turn it around."
"I could just see all her pain and internal strife," the mom said.
Widnyowski began attending a church and brought her daughter there. "My daughter was very much, 'Mom, I don't believe in the stuff you believe in. I don't believe in God. There is no God.'"
However, the girl made a new friend at church who invited her to a summer camp and she wanted to go. Widnyowski said when the week was done, her daughter was "very tight lipped" about her experience, but immediately knew she had changed.
"When I picked her up, I could see her sparkly eyes again," Widnyowski recalled. "She looked like my child again."
The cutting, suicidal ideation, and sexual confusion was gone. Today, Aliya is grown and coaches gymnastics, often working with children with severe needs.
Widnyowski, a former vice-principal with Edmonton Christian Schools, said she fell out of favour for not instructing other teachers to refer to students as "they/them" in report cards instead. She was subsequently removed as team lead for junior high teachers.
The educator said those who don't agree with the inclusive agenda find themselves excluded by its proponents. She said her students were more literate when she began teaching and gender confusion was never an issue. She believes rejecting biological sex in favour of gender ideology makes adolescence even more difficult.
"Injecting more confusion at that time, to me is--it's just awful in in my opinion," she said. "I had worked with a lot of children in junior high school who were struggling with their gender identity, and they were not flourishing. They were not thriving. Some of them were barely surviving."
Widnyowski said many parents don't know what's going on at school and regrets that some are shut out by teachers in the name of protecting children.
"Divide and conquer, if we can destroy the family and separate kids from their parents, they're [teachers are] much more influential. We know this. You don't have to be a behaviorist to realize children are impressionable."