The new Ontario sexual education curriculum, being introduced in the classroom this 2015/2016 school year, has raised numerous concerns and applauds from individuals all over the province. Many parents from the Halton Catholic board are having serious issues with this new curriculum, with parents from opposing sides of the argument threatening to physically harm other parents for their disagreements regarding the issues (Fatima, 2015).
The government did not update the Health and Physical Education curriculum without first consulting parents. Freeman (2015), reports that a parent from each publically funded school in Ontario were sent a survey last year asking about what their educational priorities were. However, Freeman (2015) mentions that the surveys themselves did not ask the parents what they felt should be included in the sexual education curriculum, which could be cause for the uproar of opposition from many. With this being said, the government ensures that the updated curriculum was developed with the help of experts in the area. But with this being said, many people have concerns regarding who this expert is. The Campaign Life Coalition, released an article stating that the Deputy Education Minister at the time of this revamp in curriculum was a confessed child sex predator, being charged with seven child pornography related charges.
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| Excerpt taken from the Health and Physical Education, 2015 - revised, discussing the Human Development and Sexual Health for Grade 1 students.https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/index.php?p=Sex_Ed_curriculum |
I will not go into the ins and outs of this new curriculum, as it can be accessed and looked over by any member of the public via this link “Health and Physical Education 2015”. Regardless of the arguments that this new sexual education curriculum has caused, Freeman (2015) mentions that parents are able to withdraw their child from these new Health and Physical Education lessons if they are uncomfortable with their child learning this new curriculum. However, it must be done through the process that each school has in place.
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| http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2015/05/02/ontarians-divided-over-new-sex-education-curriculum-poll-suggests.html |
With this being said, as a future educator, it is concerning to learn about all the controversy surrounding a piece of legislation I will be required to incorporate in my classroom. In their book Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment, Drake, Reid, and Kolohan (2014) mention how important it is that we understand and embrace the “emerging new story” of education. Within this new story, we must understand three things, a) that technology is transforming the education we grew up and are familiar with into something entirely new that we need to learn and embrace, b) that the new pedagogy of education surrounds the idea of constructivism and allowing students to be at the center of their learning and c) that we as educators are change agents meaning that we have to be the mediators of all of this new information in the curriculum. Furthermore, we must understand and know our students (Drake, Reid, & Kolohan, 2014). It is not enough to simply reiterate and regurgitate the same curriculum year in and year out, as educators of this new story of education, we must be able to adapt and change the curriculum to incorporate the uniqueness of each and every one of our new students.
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| Excerpt taken from the Health and Physical Education, 2015 - revised, discussing the Human Development and Sexual Health for Grade 6 students.https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/index.php?p=Sex_Ed_curriculum |
Understanding the new story of education as well as understanding that we must know our students and embrace their uniqueness; teaching this new Health and Physical Education curriculum might be somewhat challenging, especially going into the education field with nothing but 11 weeks of teaching practicums under our belts. The new wave of teachers entering the workforce may be more equipped in dealing with and implementing this new story of education, but personally, I feel far less ready to take on a new curriculum that I am completely foreign to as it is something that I was never taught (especially so explicitly) in my elementary years. I believe that this curriculum is something that I will need to take step by step, ensuring that I not only know each and every one of my students, but also that I know their families so that I am careful not to “step on anyones toes”, so to speak. The new sexual education curriculum may seem intimidating at this point in my educational career, but it is a challenge I am willing and ready to take on.
References
Benzie, R. (May 2, 2015). Ontarians divided over new sex education curriculum, poll suggests. The Star. Retrieved from: http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2015/05/02/ontarians-divided-over-new-sex-education-curriculum-poll-suggests.html
Campaign Life Coalition. (2015). Ontario’s radical sex ed curriculum. Retrieved September 22, 2015, from https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/index.php?p=Sex_Ed_curriculum
Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Fatima, S. (June 11, 2015). Ontario sex-education debate turns heated in Halton. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/polarized-debates-over-ontario-sex-education-curriculum-continue/article24915342/
Freeman, J. (May 11, 2015). What you need to know about Ontario’s new sexual education curriculum. CP24. Retrieved from: http://www.cp24.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-ontario-s-new-sexual-education-curriculum-1.2369847
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2015). The Ontario curriculum grades 1-8: Health and physical education. Retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/health1to8.pdf
Hi Miss Helmers!
ReplyDeleteAwesome write- up on this current controversial issue! You report information through an objective lens that provides in depth information that some may not be aware of. As a future educator I too am a little unsure of taking on brand new curriculum but I am definitely willing and open to take it step by step, as you also mentioned.
I also found that Drake, Reid, and Kolohan's (2014) notion of education's "emerging new story" to be incredibly vital to teacher's professional development. As teachers we must understand what is in our student's "back packs" and I believe that since our society is quickly changing we must constantly be re-evaluting how the media and technology influences our student's and their back packs. With this current controversial issue I believe that the media has played a major role in how parents and different religious organizations view the new curriculum. These views I believe are lacking crucial information. It is more often then not that we listen to the media before critically analyzing the content for ourselves which negatively influences others around us and potentially what students are taught.
I do question how we can remedy this situation; perhaps holding information sessions for parents and caregivers or even giving out informational packages and allowing for open communication between the teacher and parents would help allow parents to truly understand how the content will be taught?
Once again, excellent job at providing an objective response to this issue. I look forward to reading your future posts!
- Miss Emma
Hi Miss Helmers!
ReplyDeleteAwesome write- up on this current controversial issue! You report information through an objective lens that provides in depth information that some may not be aware of. As a future educator I too am a little unsure of taking on brand new curriculum but I am definitely willing and open to take it step by step, as you also mentioned.
I also found that Drake, Reid, and Kolohan's (2014) notion of education's "emerging new story" to be incredibly vital to teacher's professional development. As teachers we must understand what is in our student's "back packs" and I believe that since our society is quickly changing we must constantly be re-evaluting how the media and technology influences our student's and their back packs. With this current controversial issue I believe that the media has played a major role in how parents and different religious organizations view the new curriculum. These views I believe are lacking crucial information. It is more often then not that we listen to the media before critically analyzing the content for ourselves which negatively influences others around us and potentially what students are taught.
I do question how we can remedy this situation; perhaps holding information sessions for parents and caregivers or even giving out informational packages and allowing for open communication between the teacher and parents would help allow parents to truly understand how the content will be taught?
Once again, excellent job at providing an objective response to this issue. I look forward to reading your future posts!
- Miss Emma
Carly, I believe you did a great job writing about this controversial topic from an objective point of view just as Emma mentioned. As you mentioned Drake, Reid, and Kolohan (2014) discuss the importance of the “emerging new story” and the first point we must understand is that technology is changing education and that we need to embrace the changes. I believe this relates a lot to the discussion about the new curriculum because one thing that has been added is teaching students about the benefits and risks of using technology especially in regard to sexual health. It takes into consideration that many of the things being taught are going to be learnt by the students anyways, probably from the internet. So do you not agree that a better way to teach these things is in a more controlled and safe manner, where there is less of a chance that student’s will be misinformed? I wholeheartedly understand your fear of teaching a curriculum that you yourself have never been taught and that has such controversy around it. I believe that your method of understanding your students and “unpacking their backpacks” so to say is a great way to try and minimize controversy. As Emma also mentioned, another great way to so this is to old information sessions for apprehensive parents and reassure them that you have their child’s best interest at heart. Awesome blog on an awesome topic, looking forward to reading more from you.
ReplyDeleteCarly, great job unpacking the details of a very controversial topic, the new sex education curriculum. The main question that I was left with was the appropriateness of a sex education curriculum across an entire province? Is the new sex education curriculum appropriate for all communities? Is it better suited to some communities? In my own life, I grew up in a very small rural area. An area that has strong Christian values and that does not promote sex outside of marriage. Would the sex education curriculum be well suited for my subculture back home? Probably, not as well as other areas. However that being said, students are having sex; people in our culture are exploring sexuality in new culturally approved way; and students in subcultures need to be ready to face the real world. As educators, we also have a duty to ensure that all students are safe. As Alison alludes too, if safe places to have conversations about sex are never made available to students, misinformation and poor uneducated choices (or choices based off of inaccurate internet research) may occur. I know I would have a hard time delivering the sex education curriculum (especially to a subculture that has a very different way of being) but we also need to ensure that we educate students so that they can make informed decisions. Students need to know both the benefits and the risks. Students are already making these decisions that can have life long impacts on their sexual health and well being. Great blog Carly!
ReplyDelete