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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSex education reversal does not show respect for parents OPINION - Toronto Star - 07/15/2018 - Toronto Star - 07/15/20187/16/2018 Sex education reversal does not show respect for parents I The Star This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentati on- ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: wwwTorontoStarRe-pi�=ir--L Sex education reversal does not show respect for parents By CASSANDRA DRUDI Opinion Sun., July 15, 2018 In 1998, cellphones were not ubiquitous. There was no Facebook or Instagram, and sexting was an activity that would have been impossible to understand. I was 14 and starting high school. I remember learning rudimentary things about sexual health at school, many of which were less useful than the lesson my mother had delivered to me years earlier with a wooden spoon and a Ziploc bag when I asked a precocious question about AIDS and condoms. https://www.thestar. co rn/op in io n/contri butors/201 8/07/1 5/sex-ed u catio n-reve rsal-does-n ot-s how- respect-fo r- parents. htm 1 1/4 7/16/2018 Sex education reversal does not show respect for parents I The Star "in the last 20 years, so much has changed about how we understand the world around us. Our previous provincial government, regardless of what you may think of it or how you may have voted at the polls, acknowleclg%� this fact and pushed through a comprehensive and thorough sexual - education curriculum for students that reflected the current world," writes r r r Iff f: Ontario's previous s exual- education developed in8andit acknowledge relationships,someof my classmates feel isolated and even more confused. We are in the year 2018: 1998 is 20 years ago. In the last 20 years, so much has changed about e understand e world around us. Our previous provincial government, regardless f what you may think of it or how you may have voted at the polls, acknowledged this fact and pushedr comprehensive a thorough sexual -education curriculum r students that reflected e current world. But eca s a vocal minority thatens to vote Conservative was outraged y this curriculum — whis evel e y educators i consultation i ares our new governmentcampaigned cheap ical promise to do away with i. https://www.thestar. corn/opinion/contributors/2018/07/15/sex-education-reversal-does-not-show- respect -for- parents. htm1 2/4 7/16/2018 Sex education reversal does not show respect for parents I The Star On Wednesday, Ontario's Education Minister Lisa Thompson announced that the revised curriculum is gone and will be replaced with the 1998 version. This government is keen to demonstrate its so-called respect for parents. But as a parent, I am feeling the opposite of respected right now. This is political opportunism disguised in "respect for parents." The revised sex -ed curriculum put students first, ahead of their parents' partisan, cultural or religious views, and taught them how to keep themselves safe and avoid developing bigotry against those who are different from them. How are such lessons objectionable? I was delighted when my eldest son came home from kindergarten last fall and shared something he had learned about personal space. "Mama, you have to as before you go in my bubble," he said. It was annoying when I was prevented from cuddling him, but it wasn't annoying when I realized it mirrored the lessons of consent my husband and I strive to impart to him and his brother. The age-appropriate lessons from the revised sex -ed curriculum will still be taug in my house. I will teach my sons the proper names for genitalia, the risks of sexting, the concept of consent, and how to avoid sexually transmitted infections.1 I worry about the children who would only have been exposed to these ideas in everyone, no matter what their parents believe is appropriate. In bowing to the squeaky -wheel minority, our new provincial government has disrespected parents in the silent majority and, much worse, done a great disservice to the students of this province. is 2018, not 1998. Why would we revert to a sex -ed curriculum that thinks otherwise? Cassandra Drudi is a Toronto writer. ((1,m1; CJLJ ENEEM1111011111101 https://www.thestar. co rn/op i n io n/contri butors/201 8/07/1 5/sex-ed u catio n-reve rsal-does-n ot-s how- respect-fo r- pa re nts. htm 1 3/4 7/16/2018 Sex education reversal does not show respect for parents I The Star blureaucracy Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com https://www.thestar. co rn/op in io n/contri butors/201 8/07/1 5/sex-ed u catio n-reve rsal-does-n ot-s how- respect-fo r- parents. htm 1 4/4