Tuesday 17 March 2015

Health and Physical Education

Ontario released its updated Health and Physical Education curriculum a few weeks ago now. Last time they tried to update the curriculum they had to put it off because people were outraged by the idea that kids would be taught about things like masturbation and homosexuality. I'm not going to tell you that the document isn't hilarious, because it is:
Teacher prompt: "Sexting – or the practice of sending explicit sexual messages or photos electronically, predominantly by cell phone – is a practice that has significant risks. What are some of those risks? What can you do to minimize those risks and treat others with respect?"

Students: "Photos and messages can become public even if shared for only a second. They can be manipulated or misinterpreted. If they become public, they can have an impact on the well-being of the persons involved, their future relationships, and even their jobs. There are also legal penalties for anyone sharing images without consent." "You shouldn’t pressure people to send photos of themselves. If someone does send you a photo, you should not send it to anyone else or share it online, because respecting privacy and treating others with respect are just as important with online technology as with face-to-face interactions."
Ontario Health and Physical Education curriculum, page 196
That's how Grade 7 students talk according to the Ministry of Education. The examples of Grade 1 students include at least one 44 word grammatically correct sentence with no contractions. These are bizarre reversals of Plato's vision of Socrates talking to moronic straight men in the forum where we have the student being some kind of perfect robot for reciting the truth.

But stupidity of the text aside, let's take a moment to consider the sexual radicalization that will soon be foisted on our youth.

This, of course, is the physical education curriculum as well as the health curriculum, so a lot of the document is focused on developing motor skills and getting exercise. What we really need to pay attention to is the Healthy Living section of each grade, specifically the statements in the learning summary under the heading "Human Development and Sexual Health."

Let's see, in Grade One our children are expected to be able to name their body parts. In Grade Two they are expected to be able to outline the stages of human development. In Grade Three they are expected to be able to describe the characteristics of a healthy relationship, like listening, showing respect and being honest.

So by Grade Three our children are hopeless corrupted already. And the juicy stuff is yet to come.

In Grade Four they are expected to be able to describe the changes that happen during puberty. In Grade Five they are supposed to be able to identify the parts of the reproductive system and describe their function. In Grade Six they are supposed to consider their self-concept and how they will make decisions in relationships.

If that seems pretty obscene, then you might want to cover your eyes as I get to the final two years of elementary school.

In Grade Seven they are going to talk about reasons why people may choose to have sex or not have sex, how people choose what is appropriate for themselves in physical relationships, and identify common sexually transmitted infections. But the real kicker is in Grade Eight when the things they have talked about in previous years are continued and built upon, furthering their thoughts self-concept, decision making in relationships, and supports available to them if they need help.

It seems like the furor over the curriculum has died down pretty quickly. Not before a federal MP told the federal leader to intervene in provincial politics to stop it, and not before people tried to imply that it was created to groom children for sexual predators, but it is mostly out of the new now. I can only imagine the anger and intrigue that will be generated when they reveal the next math curriculum.

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