New Sex-ed curriculum and ‘opt out’ doesn’t protect children.

A preliminary analysis indicates that  we now have a ‘new’ sex-ed curriculum that appears  ‘toned down’ from Wynne’s hyper-sexualized curriculum of 2015 but great damage has already been done to our public school system.  The school environment has been saturated with Gender Ideology advanced by union activists and interest groups to the point that clean up won’t be as easy as putting in place a toned down curriculum with a fake opt out option.

In the new curriculum gender ideology isn’t specifically  brought up  until grade 8 (pg 279 – of Health and Physical Education 2019, Grades 1-8 )

D 1.5  demonstrate an understanding of gender identity (e.g., male, female, Two-Spirit, transgender), gender expression, and sexual orientation (e.g., heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual), and identify factors that can help individuals of all identities and orientations develop a positive self-concept [A1.2 Coping, 1.5 Self]*

p. 282

That being said, Gender Ideology has become embedded across the curriculum, and across all grade levels of the school.  The teachers are dedicated to advancing gender ideology and the school boards are dedicated to further the cause of this ideological brand of inclusiveness.

The Ministry of  Education has developed an ‘Opt Out‘ for parents but it only cover the Physical and Health Education objectives and does not deal with the embedded Gender Ideology that  is now part of the fabric of school life and manifested across the curriculum.

Policy and Procedure Memorandum 162 states:

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform school boards that they must develop and implement a policy or procedure that allows for students to be exempted, at the request of their parents, from instruction related to the Human Development and Sexual Health expectations found in strand D of The Ontario Curriculum: Health and Physical Education, Grades 1–8, 2019. . . .

Students will not be exempted from instruction related to any other expectations in this curriculum or related to expectations in other curriculum subjects.

You can opt out of the Gender Ideology in ‘sex ed’ class but you can’t opt out of the sexualized gender ideology promoted in the school’s library and ‘other curriculum subjects.’  You can’t opt out of having your children taught by unionized teachers dedicated to resisting ‘transgender erasure.’ You can’t opt out of the school board’s commitment to and investment in gender ideology.

By filling out the paper work to opt out you are boxed in.  If you opt out, your child could be  centered out as being parented by people who are homophobic or trans-phobic.  If you don’t opt out you remove any basis for objecting to any excess zeal a ‘super rad gender warrior classroom teacher‘ may inflict on your child.

If you opt out, your child will certainly be centered out among his or her peers because they will either have to leave the class when the material is taught or be given ‘other work.’  Every kid in the class will know they have ‘opted out’ which could expose them to the risk of being bullied on the playground.   Some teachers will not be all that happy about the extra work preparing alternative material for those ‘opting out.’  It will certainly go against their gender warrior classroom teacher ideals.  And your children  will still be exposed to Gender Ideology across the curriculum, in the library and in the overall school environment.  Today, like before (in 2015), ‘opting out’ really isn’t an option and it could make it worse for your child.

If you don’t opt out because your have thought about the  possible consequences and then if you do have a concern or complaint about what is taught in the classroom or the ‘sex-ed’ classes you may be confronted with the statement  – You had the opportunity to opt out but you didn’t!  Why are you complaining now?  You’re boxed in – negative consequences for opting out and negative consequences for not opting out!

Your child is still at risk and perhaps even more so because there is an impression of being able to opt out.  You can’t opt out of something that is embedded and part of the school environment.  You can’t clean up a poisoned environment by yourself so the only options  are to stay and hope that your child won’t be permanently harmed or get your child to safety.

In my opinion this is where the new 2019 Health and Physical Education curriculum has left parents – their children are still at risk.

 

 

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What can you do about the threat of Gender Ideology in schools?

Anything that affects the welfare and future of children is everyone’s concern. We live in community and the children are our collective future.  The first thing a person can do about the threat of Gender Ideology in schools is to realize that it’s everyone’s concern not just the parents.

Jenn Smith in her article “The Teen-Transgender Peer Pressure Time-Bomb: Lessons From the Life and Experiences of a Transgender Elder” concludes

. . .  many of the kids we see transitioning today are kids with wounded egos, very similar to myself when I was young; it is, I would argue, gross negligence as a doctor or as a parent, to take a wounded or confused child and accept their rejection of themselves and their biology, and then medicalize them onto a path from which there may be no return and could lead them to serious health problems or even early death. Just say “no” to promoting gender change in our children. By placing young people in a gender role their bodies are not designed to fulfill and putting them in a situation where they will be subjected to enormous peer pressure to look the part, you may actually be planting a time-bomb in their lives and end up destroying more children than you help.

The first thing a member of the community and parent can do is educate yourself about Gender Ideology by looking at people who have lived out this ideology to their regret –

 

When school boards promote Gender Ideology and glamorize changing genders, children are put at risk. This is not the time for silence. This is not the time for indifference or  apathy (it’s not my problem)  This is not the time for ‘fear of man’ or ‘what the world will think of me’ to hold you back.  This is not the time to be silent because silence allows problems to grow.

This is the time to; ‘Just say “no” to promoting gender change in our children!’  Just say ‘no’ to  the Gender Ideology that the Gender Warriors in the classroom and the school boards are pushing on to your children.  Gender Warriors can be bullies so expect push-back and being called names.  This is not the time to be afraid for ourselves.  It is the time to stand up for the children in our community!

If you have the courage to stand up for the children in our schools here are two resources to help you or your group  get started.   The Gender Ideology Pamphlet  will help you understand the situation and gives practical pointers on what you can do.

If you or your group is interested in a detailed presentation on Gender Ideology in schools and the experiences that my friend and I have had in dealing with our local school board please review this link to the outline and feel free to contact me as per the information in the outline.

Remember Edmund Burke’s piercing statement;

The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

The cost of Gender Ideology – the children pay!

Anyone speaking  out by cautioning others about the Gender Ideology  that has become embedded into our pubic schools  risk having  to endure name calling accusations of homophobia and being haters.  This is a knee-jerk reaction of ‘activists’ and their ‘allies.’  Sadly, quite often it works but not with me.

Activists can be just as bigoted and ignorant as anyone else and like any bigot and ignorant person they can’t see it.  Most people who resort to insults to silence those with contrary opinions rarely look into what is being discussed. They are and remain ignorant but name calling  makes them feel superior so they engage in it.

In order to go beyond the blind ‘group think’ of the Gender Ideology activists and their allies let’s take a look at the cost of LGBTQ Gender Ideology from the point of view of one of its victims.  Let’s consider Millie Fontana’s story, she is the daughter of lesbians . . .

The President of the American College of Pediatricians comes right out and calls the this Gender Ideology ‘child abuse!’

Jenn Smith a trans-identified male, in opposition to Gender Ideology states openly that Gender Ideology Activists and their allies can act  like cult members;

Certainly those that constitute the more radical activists in the transgender movement behave just like cult members and are just as willing to ignore reality as any member of even the most bizarre religious cult.

Here is how the LGBTQ activists and their allies treat Jenn Smith, a transgender person just because she has the courage to speak out against their Gender Ideology  . . .

So I guess I can take a few insults from ignorant and bigoted people too because the cost to children of giving Gender Ideology in our schools a ‘free pass’ is too high.

What do you think?  Please feel free to comment or share this post with others.

Edmund Burke once said; “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for  good men to do nothing.”

It’s time to do something – speak out!

 

How did Gender Ideology become embedded in our public schools?

Do you know what your child is being taught in school?  Do you think the teachers you trust your children with are ideologically neutral?  Are you sure these teachers will respect your child’s right to deeply held religious convictions or even their own view of themselves?  If you’re comfortable and complacent – it may be in your child’s best interest to become more aware of what’s happening in your local school.

How does a public institution become overwhelmed by any ideology?  First the ideology must be ‘inserted.’  The only place ideologies can be inserted are in the members of groups involved with the public institution.  There is a dynamic linkage between those engaged in the public institution and the character of the public institution. Homer-Dixon et al point out; “Networks of social communication are required to implant the cognitive construct in the minds of member individuals; yet those networks are themselves shaped by the presence and content of the cognitive construct.”  In other word, when you change the minds of the people involved in the public institution you change the public institution itself.

No public institution is ideologically neutral.  It takes on the characteritis of the mindset of  those who are engaged within it.  Homer-Dixon et all  continue:

Political actors deploy discourse strategically in political contests, creatively shaping existing political language to suit their needs, such as the legitimation of political projects in front of external audiences (Edelman, 1977; Skinner, 1974; Tully, 1983), the mobilization of supporters (Tarrow, 2013), the comprehension of new political events and challenges (Freeden, 1996), or the stabilization of entire social structures (Howarth et al., 2000). Such novel deployments of political language either constitute or provoke ideological changes (depending on whether ideology is conceived of as a discursive or purely mental phenomenon), and theorists from a range of approaches have proposed methods for analyzing the syntactic, mythical, and rhetorical processes involved (e.g., Finlayson, 2012; Howarth et al., 2000; Wodak & Meyer, 2009). These approaches unsurprisingly emphasize the close relationship between ideology and the exertion of, or resistance to, power. Both within and between groups, ideologies are deployed as a means of contesting and legitimating power. They influence the broader exercise of power and are underpinned, in their dissemination, by forms of non-ideological power, such as material control over communications technologies or institutional control over political parties, news networks, or educational establishments (Fairclough, 2001; Simonds, 1989).

Gender Ideology which has become deeply embedded in the Upper Canada District School Board and in the school boards across the province, is about power and the contesting of power.  Teachers Unions have incorporated social justice issues into their agenda of ‘working conditions’ so they can legitimize and leverage their collective bargaining in a time when their benefits and pay are very very good.  The unions like to look like they’re fighting for the public good even though they serve their own good first and foremost.  Its a great public relations gambit.

In Ontario, public schools are closed union shops.  In elementary school the Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is the predominant group from which the teachers of your children can be hired and from which administrators of elementary schools are  recruited.   Teachers and administrators carry ideology into their roles in the schools and when recruited – into the school board office.  There is a trickle up effect over time that changes the character of the school board as union ideologues are inducted into administrative positions.

What is the ideology of EFTO?  ETFO is a ‘social justice union.’  In the union’s  own words:

ETFO: A Social Justice Union

Part of ETFO’s mission is the education, stimulation, and transformation of provincial and local organizations to be responsive to the diverse needs of the membership, and to be a positive influence for change at a societal level.  ETFO strives to reflect diversity in all aspects of its operations. The equity work of the organization flows from one of the priorities of the Federation and the definition of equity adopted by the Executive

In the past, unions were for worker’s rights and working conditions.  Today teachers’ unions play a major role in social engineering.  Why this fundamental change in approach?  It’s about power and keeping it.   Prominent research out of Queen’s University has revealed that social engineering through activism is a strategy adopted by unions to bolster their power;

. . . despite enormous pressures, the Canadian labour movement has shown remarkable resilience and adaptiveness. Based on a broader approach embodied in its active social unionism strategy, it is felt that unions in Canada are destined to remain dynamic and will therefore continue to diverge from the fate that has befallen American unions.

Ontario teachers unions are working with unions in other provinces to alter the direction of educational policy and law to suit their own ideas. This position is stated clearly in the THE EVERY TEACHER PROJECT – ON LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN CANADA’S K-12 SCHOOLS , a link to it can be found on ETFO’s website;

However, education policy and law cannot be effective unless the people doing the educating—teachers, school officials and counselors—are on board.

What are the social justice aims of ETFO  with respect to Gender Ideology?  Take a look at their website”s resources for teachers – in particular How to Become a Super Rad Gender Warrior Classroom Teacher!

Gender is not in fact a binary, but a spectrum with masculine at one end, feminine at the other and androgynous or genderqueer somewhere in the middle. Given that there are different points on the spectrum, it’s no surprise that gender identity (one’s internal experience of their own gender) and gender presentation (one’s external presentation of their gender) can be fluid and not fixed. .  .  .

As educators, we play a critical role in beginning honest and open discussions with the goal of breaking down inherent stereotypes that have been systematically enforced for a very long time. It’s not always easy to confront internal biases or to bust apart systems we have always been told are factual. But it is necessary. And it is time. Education and empathy are critical to any social change.

The teachers you send your children to are committed to an ideology that is not scientific and they are encouraged to ‘confront and bust apart’ any systems that are contrary to the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario’s view of Social Justice.  What does a medical doctor say about  this kind of Gender Ideology?   Clearly, ETFO’s Gender Ideology is not rooted in reality or science.

 

 

Science doesn’t matter to the teachers you have entrusted you children to.  What matters is that the union’s social engineering agenda is pushed through by ‘Super Rad Gender Warrior Classroom Teachers‘ imposing their union’s views on your children with ‘cult like‘ dedication.

 

What does this mean for parents and their children.  It means that your child will be exposed to Gender Ideology by the school board and  your child may be encouraged to attend Pride events whether you like it or not.

It means that your children and teens will be provided access by the school board to a  website that features ‘soft porn‘ and that website’s assurance that no one will be the wiser; “All our services are confidential and anonymous – we only know what you share with us. Our number will not show up on your phone bill. To learn more about our procedures and how to prevent our site from showing up in your computer’s history, click here.”

Any school principal or board official that may have some concerns about the Gender Ideology and the LGBTQ agenda will be going against a very powerful union as well as the official policy of the school board!  They risk being called homophobic or trans-phobic by a super rad gender warrior classroom teacher and the resulting investigation negatively impacting their career path.  Any concerned member of the community risks being stonewalled.

This is how Gender Ideology becomes embedded in our local school board and why few people will speak out openly about their concerns.

Gender Ideology – the Superintendent’s views – April 4, 2019

On April 4, 2019 my friend and I met with Superintendent David Coombs and the trustee for our area – Larry Berry.  It was a cordial meeting.

However, our questions on how the kind of material from the LGBT Youthline supported student well-being and success went unanswered.  In Superintendent Coombs’ response letter of April 16, 2019, he states;

The site does provide electronic links to sexual education resources that are at times explicit in its content, especially to those unfamiliar with the range of materials available to everybody through a simple “Google” search of the world-wide web. While the appropriateness of such materials may be debatable to you, I feel it important to point out that research shows, clearly, that access to sex education does not foster promiscuous behavior. Indeed, sexual health education has been shown to reduce such behaviour. Students who have access to more information wait longer to participate in sexual activity, and are more likely to use proper protection when they do so.

Is the Superintendent making the determination that the soft porn materials we presented  are in fact ‘sexual education resources?’  One of these so called  ‘sexual education resources‘ encourages ‘fisting.’   Public Health Ontario’s, Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases, 2014 categorizes ‘Higher Risk Sexual Behaviour’ as ‘Sexual practices that may cause bleeding or abrasions, resulting in blood-to-blood contact between participants. Examples may include unprotected anal intercourse, fisting, the use of sex toys, rough sex, . . .’”  In my professional judgement. soft porn material made available on LGBT Youthline is NOT of any educational value for young children or pre-teens.  Would a mother or father like their pre-teens taught to ‘fist?’  How does that promote a student’s well-being and success?!!

His conclusion that these ‘materials’ are beneficial to students by classifying them as valid educational resources is very weak and very disturbing.  Moreover,  it sidesteps any accountability on the part of the Upper Canada District School Board  with regards to the possible risk LGBT Youthline materials and their peer support ‘advice’ may expose vulnerable young people and children to.  Could  the Superintendent be sidestepping because he doesn’t want to give a direct and honest answer to the questions in the previous paragraph and expose the school board to being held accountable?

As to our concern about the vetting of such links on the School Board Website, the Superintendent writes;

The Youthline.ca site is a well-known resource to our staff-directed Equity Team, as well as our Board psychologists; its inclusion on the school board website would have been supported by their recommendation.

Sadly, this too is a weak argument – an appeal to authority – which is a logical fallacy.  There are many experts who have a much different  and counter view of the Gender Ideology as typified by the LGBT Youthline website and UCDSB.  Consider what the President of the American College of Pediatricians has to say:

And Jordan Peterson, a Canadian clinical psychologist:

If we had the time and the resources, it is possible to juxtapose one study for Gender Ideology with another study against it.  Laypeople like my friend and I are left using our common sense and asking ‘honest questions’.  However, the UCDSB Equity Team and the Board psychologists are heavily invested in legitimizing this site as it supports the group-think of Gender Ideology.

In our response to the Superintendent we pointed out: “We understand that Youthline is recognized by the Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services and ‘well established’ with the school board’s psychologists and staff members in positions of authority. No doubt, this contributes to a certain organizational inertia towards defending the ‘educational value’ of this site. As we know from the last provincial election, political mandates and ideologies do change but our responsibilities as adults to care for the safety of children and young people in our community remains.”  There is a fundamental duty of care that supersedes politics and ideology  – children should not be put at risk.

Our response letter concluded;

. . . we find that our concerns are not resolved. Student safety has not been addressed. Also, the right of parents to be made aware of the decision making with regards to any advice and materials that their children may be exposed to through the classroom and school services has not been addressed.

We respectfully request that this matter be reviewed by the Director of Education in accordance with the Public Concerns Resolution Policy 340 and Procedure 341.1 sec. 1.3.

We further request of the Director that the link to the Youthline site be removed from the school board’s website until the school board can demonstrate that 1) access to it is safe for children and young people and 2) can be made available in an age-appropriate way, 3) the parents of Upper Canada District School Board have been made aware of the nature of the material promoted by the Youthline website and its confidential (unaccountable) mode of operation and 4) a clear procedure for religious accommodation is made for parents who do not wish this website or any material promoted on it to be part of their child’s daily classroom experience or work.

We met with the Director of Education at the end of May (Friday May 31) and discussed all these issues again.  We have yet to receive his response.

Gender Ideology – Setting up a meeting with the Superintendent of Education – March 2019

In the fall of 2018 shortly before the trustee elections my friend and I communicated with incumbent trustee in our area.  As stated in the previous post the outcome of our discussions with the incumbent trustee at the time was nil.  He lost his re-election bid and a new candidate was elected.

He was more responsive to our concerns and to my knowledge is still working to address them as a trustee.  However by the new year little progress had been made in spite of the trustee’s efforts.  As a new trustee he experienced the steep learning curve public office places on people.   With a little research on UCDSB’s policies and procedures we came up with a plan to present our concerns to the upper management of the school board.  The trustee was invited to be a part of the process.  On March 15, 2019 we requested a meeting with the Superintendent by email;

Dear Superintendent Coombs

[We] . . . respectfully request a  meeting with yourself and Trustee Larry Berry regarding a matter of serious concern about the welfare and success of our students in Upper Canada District School Board.   This request is made under the Public Concerns Resolution Policy 341 and Public Concerns Resolution Procedure 341.1 of the Upper Canada District School Board.

Our concern relates to the access that the School Board is providing to the children in our community through its website to material of questionable educational value that provides nothing towards student success and may well harm a child needing help.  Access is provided through multiple pathways throughout the UCSDB website –  http://www.ucdsb.on.ca/cms/One.aspx?portalId=148427&pageId=654002  – for example.  The website link in question is provided here for your convenience;  http://www.youthline.ca/ – A sample of the material made available from this site  has been attached for your review.

Given the nature of this material and other equally questionable material found on this site, we are very concerned that  the ‘peer counselling’ service the Upper Canada School Board  is providing access to is not balanced in an emotionally healthy way or medically prudent.   We would like to inquire as to the degree of scrutiny this site has had by the school board regarding the services, counselling and materials provided on it.

Please advise as to dates, times and a venue that would be convenient for you to meet with us.

Superintendent Coombs agreed to meet with us on April 4, 2019;

Dear Superintendent Coombs

In anticipation of our meeting . . .  and with a sincere desire for open positive communication I have attached a document which consists of questions outlining our concerns.   I  hope you and Trustee Berry will find them helpful in preparing for our meeting.

[We] . . .  will be guided by, but not limited to, the scope of these concerns as other questions may arise from our discussions.

We are looking forward to meeting with you and Trustee Berry.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

The documents that I attached to the email were:

1. Questions and concerns regarding the UCDSB providing access to the LGBT Youthline website through the school board
2. Puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones_ C…th “gender dysphoria” _ Ottawa Citizen
3. sexapalooza-handout-branded
4. PPT-SNAP-Activity-Book-FINAL-Web

My friend and I are not homophobic or trans-phobic.  Our concern was and still is for the welfare of any child or young person what-ever they may perceive or think about their gender.  We care about all kids! The school board should not facilitate any kind of counselling that could expose children or young people to   poor or unsafe advice.   This was underscored in the first document attached to the Superintendent’s email;

Given the nature of this material and other equally questionable material found on this site, we are very concerned that  the ‘peer counselling’ service the Upper Canada School Board  is providing access to is not balanced in an emotionally healthy way or medically prudent [ attachments 3 and 4 are examples].  We would like to inquire,  among other things, as to the degree of scrutiny this site has had by the school board regarding the services, counselling and materials provided on it.

The second attachment, an article from the Ottawa Citizen about puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, stated that a balanced approach that allowed for parental input was a wise approach:

My friend and I felt the approach the school board was taking through making LGBT Youthline available on its website ‘short circuited’ parental input prompting this question to the Superintendent:

Given that the link to the LGBT Youthline can be accessed without the school’s,  teacher’s or parent’s  knowledge [i]  has the board made the community aware of this, considering that there are parents,  who because of their faith wish to be a part of any discussions regarding their child’s gender?

[i] “All of our services are confidential and anonymous. Our number will not show up on your phone bill. To learn how to prevent our site from showing up in your computer’s history, click here.”  (https://www.youthline.ca/get-support/ways-we-support/)

By this time my friend and I had researched a considerable amount of material that suggested that puberty blockers and cross sex hormones were very serious and dangerous. Dr. Marian Rutigliano  explains the lack of research studies on puberty blockers and gender surgery and the long term effects they may have on children.

We were to find out how deeply entrenched Gender Ideology was in the senior levels of management of the Upper Canada District School Board.  The next post will deal with the outcome of our meeting with the Superintendent of Education.

Re-post – How is the ‘hanky code’ beneficial to student well-being? – August and September 2018

Last August I published this post raising a concern about the material the Upper Canada District School Board was providing its students  with access to through the UCDSB website.  I found the material so  sexually graphic in nature that I brought it to the attention of a friend in order to check my own thoughts – perhaps I was being overly sensitive about the whole thing.  My friend was as shocked as I was – about the material and the fact that the school board was providing access to it.  As members of the community and tax-payers we found this unacceptable.

We decided to talk to our school board trustee.  We had a meeting early in September 2018.    In preparation for the meeting I did some more homework and created a  power-point to guide our discussions and summarize our concerns.  In checking the LGBT Youthline site further this even more disturbing document came to light – PPT-SNAP-Activity-Book-FINAL-Web.  It was disturbing because of the ‘classroom ready’ nature of the material and the young age group it was targeting.  This particular document doesn’t seem to be available through the LGBT Youthline site today (thank goodness).

We concluded our presentation with the following questions and requests;

We have the following questions –

• How does this sort of material ‘prepare our students for successful life?
• How does providing access to this sort of material provide ‘clarity and direction for teachers and classroom instruction?
• How does providing access to this sort of material relate to “student well being” and healthy life styles?
• How does this sort of material or providing access to it through the school board website help teachers carry out their duties in accordance with the education act section 264 – 1c which stresses sobriety, purity and temperance?

We respectfully request

• Removal of this particular link to the resources discussed
• A review of the Board’s website to identify and remove all other links to materials that do not support student success, and healthy life styles.
• A policy be developed that clearly guides content of the Board’s website to curtail access to material that doesn’t support student success and healthy life styles.

The trustee said he would look into the matter and get back to us. By October 2018 we had heard nothing substantive from the trustee and received no answers to the questions we asked. Later that month he lost his re-election bid as trustee and a new trustee was elected.

This was the beginning of a long and  frustrating attempt to communicate with a bureaucracy so deeply entrenched in Gender Ideology that it has a great deal of difficulty dealing with any views  contrary to its accepted doctrine.

How ever the next trustee was to be more willing to talk and work with our concerns.

More to come in the next posting.

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Original post

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School boards have been voicing concerns about the repeal of the 2015 sexualized Health and Physical Education curriculum.  The Toronto Star earlier this summer reported;

The public school board in the Parry Sound and North Bay area became the 22nd in the province to raise concerns about the Progressive Conservative government’s plan to have teachers use the two-decade old curriculum this fall as it holds consultations across the province before making reforms.

“The ease with which our children can access information online makes it enormously challenging for parents and educators and it is critical that we provide guidance to our children so that they remain safe and informed,” board chair David Thompson said in a statement.

The statement added that the board “remains committed to teaching that promotes inclusion and diversity.”

22 school boards have now raised concerns about Ontario’s sex-ed changes

By KRISTIN RUSHOWY Queen’s Park Bureau Tues., July 31, 2018

School boards should be concerned about the ease with which children can access information.  It is critical that school boards  provide guidance to our children so that they remain safe and informed.  No one would disagree.  So I checked what one large local school board in my area provides pubic access to and I was shocked!

After a few simple clicks on the school board’s public website I found this resource:

If you don’t believe that a school board would be the first step in a few simple keystrokes and clicks to this material – see for your self.

•  Access the school board
•  select   “Programs and Initiatives” from the main menu
  • pick Student Well-Being on the drop down menu
  • select LGBTQ+ from the menu that opens up
  • click on Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans Youth Line
  • select “Get Support” from the main menu
    • • select “Links and Resources” from the drop down menu
      • scroll  down to “Sexual Health and More”
        • choose the link: You Need Help: Here Is A Worksheet To Help You Talk To Partners About Sex  https://www.autostraddle.com/you-need-help-here-is-a-worksheet-to-help-you-talk-to-partners-about-sex-237385/

    And then you have your resource that the school board provided access to . . .

    

    If I can access this material from a school board site any kid can.  It’s all about sex in any and every way!  And as the resource tells young people it is a ‘jumping off point!’  A sober and shocked parent can only wonder what situations these resources are encouraging students to jump into.

    I would ask this  school board or any other school board providing access to this kind of material – How is the ‘hanky code‘  and worksheets based on it beneficial to student well-being?!!!

    I hope to get some answers by way of comments.