Before I begin my interviews and before I can even begin generating a source list, I need my fix.
But I tend to get carried away.
Reading articles, studies, court-documents, text-books, websites and government documents gives depth to a story. But I want to read everything. Everything.
And the sex-ed story was no exception.
I had many questions to answer: why did the Ontario government withdrawl the proposed changes to the sex-ed portion of the health and physical education curriculum? What was so controversial? What were the timelines? What did the curriculum look like prior? What did the proposed chages really say?
Most of these questions were easy to answer. But I try as I might, I couldn't seem to find an official copy of the proposed changes.
I could find what the media said. The media were whipped into a frenzy. But trying to decipher the specifics of lesson-planning was nearly impossible.
In the National Post they were blunt and to the point:
Mastubation and anal sex? Should we teach our children about anal sex? Should we teach our children how to masturbate?
Perhaps The Ottawa Citizen can clear this up?
"In an interview, Pendergast said he didn't believe in the need for a revised, 21st century curriculum that begins with lessons on body parts in Grade 1 and explicitly mentions "vaginal and anal intercourse" in Grade 7."
Ah, anal intercourse, not anal sex.
Read on to The Star and discover that sexual-education will begin with 9 year olds.
"But what sparked the ire of social conservatives was that Grade 3 students would have learned about homosexuality.
Sixth-graders would be taught about masturbation.
In Grade 7, concepts of anal and oral sex would have been introduced."
Are you scared yet?
The official curriculum tells a different story.
Yes, Grade 3 students would learn about homosexuality. But why don't you read it for yourself, straight from the proposed curriculum:
This wouldn't be a how-to manual. Is it so terrible to teach Grade 3's that diversity is OK, including diversity in sexual-orientation and family status. The goal here is to teach respect for visible and invisible differences.
We're not trying to make 9-year-olds question their sexual-identities.
And they're certainly not learning the sexual-mechanics of a queer relationship.
So what about masturbation and wet-dreams? Is that too shocking for 11-year-olds?
Changes adolescence see during puberty are normal, and can include wet dreams and vaginal lubrication. It's probably a good idea to explain to the kids what the heck is going on with their bodies (although, would be better to forewarn them about puberty before it strikes).
It does seem a tad pro-masturbation. But let's face it, it's not going to be your sweaty, pot-bellied gym teacher that's going to inspire you to masturbate (if anyone, it will be your sexy English teacher).
But we can't teach the children anal-sex! As soon as they find out about it, they might be so curious that they want to try it! why, look at the curriculum:
Like it or not, kids in Grade 7 are having sex. Certainly not all of them, but there are some virtual children having sex. And sex includes anal and oral intercourse.
We can't stop kids from having sex. But we can teach them to wait until they're ready to engage in any sexual act, but if they do have sex, to know the risk and take precautions.
Perhaps if parents read the curriculum, there wouldn't have been such an uproar.
The fact of the matter is the sex-ed curriculum hasn't been updated in 12 years.
Think back 12 years ago, to 1998.
These were the days before widespread texting. The amalgamated city was in its infancy. We had Windows 98 and dial-up Internet. Elton John topped the charts with his tribute to Princess Diana.
Perhaps times were simpler.
But access to pornography was definitely harder.
Kids know a lot more than you or I could ever imagine. And I'd much rather kids learn from an educated and informed teacher who will arm them with decision making skills. Because it's either that, or on the playground. Or on the computer.
-Veronica-
Read the articles:
Ontario premier defends sex-ed curriculum
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