Tweet
Just a fantastic piece of journalism from the National Post. 
The program was one of the only reasonable things the Ontario government has done in years. Figures they backed down on it.
They're already whipping out the "we introduced gay marriage, now society is crumbling" card. Pretty ****ing absurd.
'Militant' gay agenda seen in new sex course
Plans On Hold; Conservative Christians call for student boycott
The social conservative leaders who led the charge against Ontario's now-postponed overhaul of the province's sex-education curriculum were among many who had complaints about the explicit nature of some of the subject matter, and the young age of some of the children who would be taught it.
But the leaders went a lot further with their concerns, charging the reforms were part of a larger political agenda to make homosexuality more acceptable to society and to influence young children to "practise" homosexuality.
Charles McVety and Brian Rushfeldt, both representing conservative Christian groups, raised warnings this week about Ontario's new Health and Physical Education Curriculum for Grades 1-8, saying it would corrupt children and society. They were calling for a one-day boycott of students and a massive demonstration at Queen's Park.
But yesterday, Dalton Mc-Gunity, the Ontario Premier, said he was putting the plan on hold for further study.
The new plan, which would have come into effect in September, would have introduced discussions about gender identity and same-sex relationships in Grade 3, masturbation in Grade 6 and the dangers of oral, vaginal and anal sex in Grade 7, as well as descriptions of safe-sex practices.
Mr. McVety, president of Canada Christian College in Toronto, said the curriculum must be seen in the larger context of liberal social engineering. "It's not about this curriculum, it's about changing the culture in our schools, Mr. McVety said. "We warned the country about this when same-sex marriage came in. We changed the laws in this country, redefined marriage, the end result now this is coming into our classrooms.
"This is part of a militant homosexual agenda to normalize homosexuality in everyone's mind and thereby promote homosexuality. If we teach our children these things ... guess what? That's what they'll practice."
A number of religious groups -- from Catholics to evangelical Christians -- have also raised concerns about the new curriculum, though few have been as vocal as Mr. Mc-Vety and Mr. Rushfeldt in suggesting it would bring social corruption.
"This was an attempt to shape society and young minds," said Mr. Rushfeldt, of the Calgary-based Canada Family Action Coalition. "And to shift society away from the concept of male-female and husband-wife. They want to make society believe that two men and two women having sex is normal."
Mr. Rushfeldt and others also pointed out that introducing "gender identity" -- the idea that someone look like one sex on the outside but feel like the opposite sex -- would create confusion and anxiety in young children. But Mr. Rushfeldt believed there was an additional agenda of indoctrination.
"They're trying to ingrain in children a concept that society has never accepted before and that's why they're looking to children. Clearly they are trying to teach children so they can shape them at a young age."
However, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education said this week that the subject of gender identity was simply a way to help students understand the world around them.
"This is not a how-to," Michelle Despault said. "This is not teaching kids a way of being. This is teaching kids information they need to know for their health and well-being. So the expectation is to understand differences and what makes different people unique.
"Some of those differences in our society are around sexual orientation."
Questions about the teaching of homosexuality in classroomsareparticularly sensitive in Catholic schools, and there was controversy this week over whether they would have had to follow the new plan.
Mr. McGuinty said that Catholic schools in Ontario would have had to follow the new curriculum as written. However, the Ontario Association of Catholic Bishops stated that Catholic schools have the constitutional right to rewrite any policy that goes against Catholic teaching. That idea was also confirmed by a spokesman for the Ministry of Education earlier in the week.
Sister Joan Cronin, of the Institute for Catholic Education, which helps shape Catholic teaching across the province, said Catholic schools already have a teaching on homosexuality, which is taught in Grade 8.
The Catholic Catechism does teach that homosexual behaviour is "objectively disordered" but she said that concept is too complex to be introduced to students.
"What we say is that every person, gay or straight, is created in the image of God and deserves respect. But while the Church supports gay people it does not support homosexual acts or lifestyles."
She did not believe that the province had an agenda or ulterior motives for presenting the new curriculum.
"I have great regard for the educators at the Ministry of Education. I would say from their point of view they would have widely researched the topics and received vast research before they would design that program. The would have done it with the best research available."
Plans On Hold; Conservative Christians call for student boycott
The social conservative leaders who led the charge against Ontario's now-postponed overhaul of the province's sex-education curriculum were among many who had complaints about the explicit nature of some of the subject matter, and the young age of some of the children who would be taught it.
But the leaders went a lot further with their concerns, charging the reforms were part of a larger political agenda to make homosexuality more acceptable to society and to influence young children to "practise" homosexuality.
Charles McVety and Brian Rushfeldt, both representing conservative Christian groups, raised warnings this week about Ontario's new Health and Physical Education Curriculum for Grades 1-8, saying it would corrupt children and society. They were calling for a one-day boycott of students and a massive demonstration at Queen's Park.
But yesterday, Dalton Mc-Gunity, the Ontario Premier, said he was putting the plan on hold for further study.
The new plan, which would have come into effect in September, would have introduced discussions about gender identity and same-sex relationships in Grade 3, masturbation in Grade 6 and the dangers of oral, vaginal and anal sex in Grade 7, as well as descriptions of safe-sex practices.
Mr. McVety, president of Canada Christian College in Toronto, said the curriculum must be seen in the larger context of liberal social engineering. "It's not about this curriculum, it's about changing the culture in our schools, Mr. McVety said. "We warned the country about this when same-sex marriage came in. We changed the laws in this country, redefined marriage, the end result now this is coming into our classrooms.
"This is part of a militant homosexual agenda to normalize homosexuality in everyone's mind and thereby promote homosexuality. If we teach our children these things ... guess what? That's what they'll practice."
A number of religious groups -- from Catholics to evangelical Christians -- have also raised concerns about the new curriculum, though few have been as vocal as Mr. Mc-Vety and Mr. Rushfeldt in suggesting it would bring social corruption.
"This was an attempt to shape society and young minds," said Mr. Rushfeldt, of the Calgary-based Canada Family Action Coalition. "And to shift society away from the concept of male-female and husband-wife. They want to make society believe that two men and two women having sex is normal."
Mr. Rushfeldt and others also pointed out that introducing "gender identity" -- the idea that someone look like one sex on the outside but feel like the opposite sex -- would create confusion and anxiety in young children. But Mr. Rushfeldt believed there was an additional agenda of indoctrination.
"They're trying to ingrain in children a concept that society has never accepted before and that's why they're looking to children. Clearly they are trying to teach children so they can shape them at a young age."
However, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education said this week that the subject of gender identity was simply a way to help students understand the world around them.
"This is not a how-to," Michelle Despault said. "This is not teaching kids a way of being. This is teaching kids information they need to know for their health and well-being. So the expectation is to understand differences and what makes different people unique.
"Some of those differences in our society are around sexual orientation."
Questions about the teaching of homosexuality in classroomsareparticularly sensitive in Catholic schools, and there was controversy this week over whether they would have had to follow the new plan.
Mr. McGuinty said that Catholic schools in Ontario would have had to follow the new curriculum as written. However, the Ontario Association of Catholic Bishops stated that Catholic schools have the constitutional right to rewrite any policy that goes against Catholic teaching. That idea was also confirmed by a spokesman for the Ministry of Education earlier in the week.
Sister Joan Cronin, of the Institute for Catholic Education, which helps shape Catholic teaching across the province, said Catholic schools already have a teaching on homosexuality, which is taught in Grade 8.
The Catholic Catechism does teach that homosexual behaviour is "objectively disordered" but she said that concept is too complex to be introduced to students.
"What we say is that every person, gay or straight, is created in the image of God and deserves respect. But while the Church supports gay people it does not support homosexual acts or lifestyles."
She did not believe that the province had an agenda or ulterior motives for presenting the new curriculum.
"I have great regard for the educators at the Ministry of Education. I would say from their point of view they would have widely researched the topics and received vast research before they would design that program. The would have done it with the best research available."
They're already whipping out the "we introduced gay marriage, now society is crumbling" card. Pretty ****ing absurd.
Comment