'Porn should not be more accessible than sexual health education': Educators raise concerns over Alberta's proposed policies
Former and current educators say Alberta’s already flawed education – around human sexuality, sexual orientation and gender – will only get worse under Danielle Smith’s proposed parental rights policies.
Last month, Smith said parents would soon need to opt-in to any formal instruction on these topics.
She also said all third-party material would need to be pre-approved by the Ministry of Education to ensure they’re “age appropriate.”
“I worry about, if third parties aren't allowed in, if it's restricted on what you can talk about, where do those youth get the support or the resources they need if, for example, they're part of a sexual or gender minority?” said Pam Krause, president and CEO of the Centre for Sexuality.
The centre was created in 1973 and reaches more than 5,000 students a year in Alberta schools.
Its aim is to provide accurate information in a safe space.
“They’re longing for this information about everything. This is part of, when someone reaches puberty, they’re starting to learn things about their body. They’re eager to learn about how to have a healthy relationship,” said Krause.
The Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (SACE) is another organization that provides instruction in schools.
One of the programs – for grades 7 to 12 students – focuses on photo sharing.
“This has become a huge issue in our world, all over the place, you know, bribing and threatening and coercing people to take inappropriate pictures of themselves and then threatening to share them on the web,” said SACE CEO Mary Jane James.
James says she hasn’t been told directly SACE’s programs will be impacted but she is concerned.
The president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association says – in addition to fears students will miss out on this information – teachers are also worried about the regulatory burden.
“For instance, where I taught down south, the portions of human sexuality in our high school was taught by Alberta Health Services. A health nurse came in to deliver that portion of the curriculum working with the teacher. So how long will that take to get approval to have these individuals come into our schools? Will their materials have to be scrutinized? Who's going to do that scrutiny?” said Jason Schilling.
The Ministry of Education declined an interview request.
A statement from Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides states, “Policy implementation will require consultation and feedback from various stakeholders.
"Over the next few months, I will be engaging on how to implement these policies to best support students.”
Moving from opt-out to opt-in 'a logistical nightmare'
Requiring parents opt-in to classes discussing human sexuality, sexual orientation and gender is of particular concern to Carla Peck.
Peck spent five years teaching in New Brunswick before becoming a social studies education professor at the University of Alberta.
“I'm trying to imagine the logistics of tracking. So you've got a class of 30 students, and 16 of them bring back the slip saying 'yes.' OK. It's OK to move forward with this topic. And the other students don't? And is it buried in the bottom of their backpack?”
Peck says the UCP government is “trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist” since legislation already requires parents be notified ahead of any instruction that deals primarily and explicitly with human sexuality.
Parents can also opt-out of instruction without academic penalty.
“I think it deprofessionalizes the teaching profession. Teachers are professionals, they are well educated, they have sound judgment in terms of making decisions,” said Peck.
“And it's not that they are trying to do something under the cover of night without making sure parents are informed, the Education Act already ensures that parents and guardians are informed when it comes to particular topics.”
Calls for comprehensive curriculum on sexual health and SOGI education
Unlike other subjects – such as math and english – Alberta does not have a comprehensive curriculum on these topics.
Discussions around gender and sexual orientation can happen in social studies.
"In the early elementary grades, we learn about families and different kind of families," said Peck.
"In upper elementary and into junior high and high school, they're learning about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. So that's another sort of obvious connection to this topic."
In Grade 4, children start learning about sexual health as part of Physical Education and Wellness with a focus on puberty.
Sexual intercourse is discussed in Grade 6 as well as pregnancy and STIs.
The higher grades still use the older curriculum.
From grades 7 to 9, topics include abstinence, contraception, sexual assault and ways to reduce sexual risk.
In high school, there are two objectives in the CALM (Career and Life Management) course: examine the relationship between commitment and intimacy in all its levels and examine aspects of healthy sexuality and responsible sexual behaviour.
“They're so broad and vague that teachers can choose to do very little in the classroom,” said André Grace, professor emeritus, Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta.
Grace spent years researching this topic as the Canada Research Chair in Sexual and Gender Minority studies.
Instead of placing more limits on education, he says the province should create a comprehensive curriculum on sexual health and SOGI education and provide more support to teachers and parents.
“We have a crisis in sexually transmitted infections across our country, notably, things like HIV and infectious syphilis are on the rise. We have children getting too involved in online pornography and the fallout of things like sextortion,” said Grace.
“Porn should not be more accessible than sexual health education in our schools. Bottomline. We need to educate parents about this.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
Israel says it reopened a key Gaza crossing after a rocket attack but the UN says no aid has entered
The Israeli military said Wednesday that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, a key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid that was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.