Debate rages over sex ed
Re The naked truth about the sex ed curriculum, July 13
Your front page article states that “we go back to the 1998 sex ed curriculum.” Be reminded that this was also still the acceptable curriculum until 2015, at which time it was changed, and that with a lot of controversy. The 2014 consultation process leading up to this consisted of taking feedback from only one singular parent from each of the province’s elementary schools.
While I personally had no strong objections to the changes, it did seem that parents as a whole were not given much say in the matter. They certainly made that loud and clear by exercising their democratic right to vote for a repeal, and that process should be respected regardless of one’s position on the matter. Hans Zander, Etobicoke Re Ontario students will be taught the 1998 sex ed curriculum, education minister says, July 11 The return to the sex ed curriculum of 1998 is lauded by those who seem to think that the newest curriculum taught children about things they were uncomfortable with, were “age inappropriate” and that sex ed is the responsibility of parents in the home.
Why stop there? My kids were uncomfortable with math and the “age inappropriate” expectations thrust upon them by well-intentioned but misguided educators. Surely the decision as to when they should have learned about fractions and decimals should have been left to me as a responsible but woefully inadequate (with regards to math) parent?
I fear for the future of my seven grandchildren who will have to face bullying, sexual discrimination and sexual harassment without being armed with the essential tools to combat them. Gregory Glenn, Stouffville In Ford’s cancellation of the revised sex education curriculum, he is implying that there was no consultation with any of the key players prior to its implementation. This is definitely not the case. The consultation was in progress for years and included 4,000 parents (one from each of the 4,000 elementary schools in Ontario), 2,400 educators, 700 students (from grades 7 to 12), and 170 key organizations, for a total of 7,270 people.
It was, obviously, a much discussed and well-thought-out program with the goal to protect Ontario’s children, using education as the tool to accomplish this. It is a tragedy to see all the energy and effort invested in this project to be so flippantly cast aside. Nancy Veals, Bowmanville, Ont. Dumbed-down sex ed and a buck a beer. What could possibly go wrong? Ellen Bates, Toronto I am astounded that Premier Ford is cancelling the new sex ed curriculum, leaving Ontario in 1998. There have been so many changes in this area that the old curriculum is beyond outdated. Ontario was in the forefront here, and is now back in the Stone Age.
In my opinion, this is pandering to a small but vocal group of parents, who are misinformed about the contents of the curriculum. I am a former school board trustee in York Region and in my experience the new curriculum was working well. Society has changed and the curriculum should reflect this.
With the return to the old curriculum and Premier Ford’s proposal for $1 beer, there should be more Ontarians in nine months or so. Joel L. Hertz, Toronto Ford’s decision to rescind the updated sex ed is nothing short of discrimination. The fact of the matter is that the curriculum is being rescinded because it teaches about homosexuality and gender identity. These are important issues to educate our students about and there is no justifiable reason to stop teaching them until an alleged alternative modern curriculum is developed. Robert Kleinman, Toronto I asked my niece, who teaches in Peel, what happens when a parent doesn’t want their child to be taught sex ed. She said they are excused from the class. I talked to many of my friends and none of them knew that the option was there. Maybe the public should know this. Oh, and perhaps Doug Ford. Barb Gabovic, Peterborough, Ont. Re Rolling back sex ed not good for kids, July 15 You can’t put knowledge back in the closet. The kids are way ahead of you, Mr. Premier. Virginia Thomson, Toronto Judith Timson cannot understand how parents want to revert to the old sex ed curriculum. Why are parents not the best teachers to teach sex ed issues?
To say that it would make the issue shameful is ludicrous. Parents are also the best teachers for manners, etiquette and values — are all these shameful?
Parents are the first teachers of a child and are in the best position to discuss matters of grave, personal importance with them. Tahera Kassamali, Richmond Hill If the PCs really want to address how sex ed is taught in schools, they must continue to use the 2015 sex ed curriculum until they can actually deliver something better, instead of flinging Ontario’s schoolchildren back to an era before any of them were even born.
It’s fiscally irresponsible to waste taxpayer money and government resources already invested in the decade of research and consultation that produced the 2015 curriculum. Mary Taslimi, Waterdown, Ont. I grew up in a religious household and struggled for over 20 years coming to terms that I was gay.
If I were taught at school that there were people out there like me, maybe I wouldn’t have struggled so much.
If I were taught that having two dads was OK, maybe I wouldn’t have been petrified of growing up with no family.
If I were taught facts about sex, perhaps I wouldn’t have demonized my natural urges and put myself in dangerous situations.
Education is the only thing that can solve this. The world is ever-changing and more complex than it was 20 years ago.
For the sake of our children and our future, we need to reinstate the updated personal development and sexual health curriculum. Jeff Isbister, Toronto