There is no need for one or the other on sex-ed debate. Find a compromise

Re: Revised sex-ed needlessly ties the hands of teachers — July 23

I have been following with interest the ongoing discussion in the media about the Ontario sex education program.

As in many less than intelligent debates, there seems to be an “either or” attitude, either keep the 2015 program or go back to the 1998 document.

Proponents of the 2015 document say that it is important to teach the names of body parts in Grade 1, to include such topics as giving consent, multiple genders, and the dangers of sexting in subsequent elementary grades.

Those who support keeping the 1998 point out that many of those topics are not appropriate for the grades in which they are taught, and that values such as love and marriage should be included, and that words such as ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ should be used as well as the word ‘partner.’

Neither side points out the current issues such as the dangers of excessive use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, and of internet porn.

Given the current state of affairs, letter writer Devon Girt rightly asks: “Who will be held accountable for the sexual confusion, shame and violence that our students needlessly experience?”

As in many conflict resolution situations perhaps we could do some of the following: take a deep breath, count to 10, listen to the other side, and practise some of the so-called Canadian values such as acceptance, respect, and nonviolence.

Peter Durksen Breslau