Ontario Sex Ed Curriculum Uproar
September 9, 2015 at 8:43 pm
(This post was last modified: September 9, 2015 at 8:43 pm by MTL.)
There has been a great deal of controversy for some time, now, in Ontario,
surrounding the new sex ed curriculum for public schools.
The curriculum was proposed by the previous Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty (Liberal)
but was shelved due to loud objection, mostly from Toronto,
mostly from Conservatives, from ethnic minorities, and from religiously devout demographics.
Interestingly, the Liberal provincial government still won the next election in a landslide,
but now with a new leader...Kathleen Wynne...the first openly gay Provincial Premier in Canada.
(That's right...our Provincial Leader in Ontario is gay. You read that correctly.)
Kathleen Wynne immediately promised to advance the new public school sex ed curriculum, again,
and succeeded in getting it passed...amidst outrage from her opponents,
which has been positively rabid.
The opponents to the new curriculum are mostly Conservatives,
many if not most of whom are also vocally opposed to LGBT rights.
They SAY they are upset because they opine that sex ed should be done at home,
by parents, and that the new curriculum:
A. Teaches far too much, too graphically, at too early an age
B. Teaches that "everyone is unique" and teaches tolerance of LGBT, including Gender Identity and Orientation
C. Educates on issues such as sexting, social media
But the main source of outrage is obviously that this curriculum has been advanced
by an openly-gay Liberal Premier
with issues addressed such as homophobia.
Basically, they don't want their kids being taught that it's okay to be gay or transgender.
The new curriculum took effect this week, after a very long wait.
One school in Toronto saw HALF its students kept home by parents
and the schools have also seen vandalism in protest of the curriculum.
Note:
they still don't educate children on Puberty until Grade 4,
.....which is the same time I had that education, back in the 1980s.
What is new, is this sort of stuff:
- more thoroughly acknowledging the emotional side of sexual development
- that "no means no", and how to discern healthy relationships from unhealthy ones,
- how to guard against online and real life predators,
- respecting differences in people
- responsible use of electronic devices and social media
- education, all the way into Grade 12, about mental health issues and stigmas
This new curriculum even specifically addresses
"delaying sexual activity until older" content in Grade 7,
BEFORE the Grade 8 content, "making safe decisions about sexual activity"
Here is the new curriculum, on the Ontario Government website:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/sex-education-ontario
surrounding the new sex ed curriculum for public schools.
The curriculum was proposed by the previous Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty (Liberal)
but was shelved due to loud objection, mostly from Toronto,
mostly from Conservatives, from ethnic minorities, and from religiously devout demographics.
Interestingly, the Liberal provincial government still won the next election in a landslide,
but now with a new leader...Kathleen Wynne...the first openly gay Provincial Premier in Canada.
(That's right...our Provincial Leader in Ontario is gay. You read that correctly.)
Kathleen Wynne immediately promised to advance the new public school sex ed curriculum, again,
and succeeded in getting it passed...amidst outrage from her opponents,
which has been positively rabid.
The opponents to the new curriculum are mostly Conservatives,
many if not most of whom are also vocally opposed to LGBT rights.
They SAY they are upset because they opine that sex ed should be done at home,
by parents, and that the new curriculum:
A. Teaches far too much, too graphically, at too early an age
B. Teaches that "everyone is unique" and teaches tolerance of LGBT, including Gender Identity and Orientation
C. Educates on issues such as sexting, social media
But the main source of outrage is obviously that this curriculum has been advanced
by an openly-gay Liberal Premier
with issues addressed such as homophobia.
Basically, they don't want their kids being taught that it's okay to be gay or transgender.
The new curriculum took effect this week, after a very long wait.
One school in Toronto saw HALF its students kept home by parents
and the schools have also seen vandalism in protest of the curriculum.
Note:
they still don't educate children on Puberty until Grade 4,
.....which is the same time I had that education, back in the 1980s.
What is new, is this sort of stuff:
- more thoroughly acknowledging the emotional side of sexual development
- that "no means no", and how to discern healthy relationships from unhealthy ones,
- how to guard against online and real life predators,
- respecting differences in people
- responsible use of electronic devices and social media
- education, all the way into Grade 12, about mental health issues and stigmas
This new curriculum even specifically addresses
"delaying sexual activity until older" content in Grade 7,
BEFORE the Grade 8 content, "making safe decisions about sexual activity"
Here is the new curriculum, on the Ontario Government website:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/sex-education-ontario
