Sex Education in Ontario - Upgrade

Premier updating Ontario’s Sex Education and she does’t care who complains - Really? I am rather tired of politics. It has been a long and cold winter and I sometimes wish my parents immigrated to the South where it is nice and warm. At other times I wish Canada had a nice Island in the Caribbean where I could still be in Canada. Maybe we can buy Hawaii. Right! That is going to happen. At other times I dream of just packing up, pets and all and going South (as if my pets are going to let that happen). I don’t even know how that works but I understand perhaps incorrectly that you do not have to pay taxes in Florida (You do have to pay Federal tax). I do have a problem believing that but that is what I was informed of by someone who returned from holidays. However, I would rather pay taxes and have adequate health care. Ouch! Ok, that is my dream period for todays jolt of wanting to be in a warm tropical climate. Maybe Disney World wants me. Is it hot enough? No, I understand. But hey there is Disney land. Yup, as if that is going to happen. But enough! Today I am going to talk about Sex Education. I think that age appropriate sex education is required in school. I remember when I was in grade 11, I had to watch silly movies of going out on a date. I raised my hand and told the teacher (I could never keep my mouth shut) that I was sure everyone knew about dating and the entire girl class (because I think we were separated from the boys for sex ed) gasped at what I was suggesting in their minds. I spoke to the teacher after class and I told her that I would investigate and let her know how I made out. I was determined to prove my hypothesis that this sex education we were learning was outdated. I did talk to each girl in my class and learned that not only had everyone dated but …………. … I brought this to the teacher and that was that. Of course the information did not make any changes. Everyone pretended to be shocked at everything and anything and when one girl got pregnant everyone of her friends shunned her. I couldn’t figure it out. In my grade 11 brain, I asked myself, if the entire class (almost) is having ……….., than was it not possible that pregnancy was a possibility? I never felt I learned much until I went to university. There an entire world opened up to me. However, what I did learn a lot about in grade school and high school was human nature. I learned how people interacted with each other, how mean gossip was, how power was abused etc….. I also learned how good some people were; how kind. That is the world. As a therapist I have to report child abuse. Being a bad parent is not necessarily being an abusive parent. There is no education courses for being parents in grade school or high school. There is no requirement for attending courses prior to being parents. Too bad! Can parents really deal with educating their own children about sex? At one book sale a young international student approached me where I was selling my book,”Hey Guy Buy Me.” She was asking me a lot of questions about men. I asked her what her mom had taught her and what she learned was very bias. Men are not all alike. There are very many great men out there. What is that expression? You have to kiss a lot of toads before finding your prince? Well you don’t have to kiss the toads and no person is perfect but you should be able to go fishing and find someone who compliments your own thinking and worthiness and sex is a very important part of that relationship. When I was a child I was at a family friend’s house and the host told my mother about a child who had called her randomly in a panic because she was menstruating and she did not know what was happening. She was terrified. There on the phone she was getting a lesson which if it had been taught in class, she would have been prepared. I have received in the mail reports of what is going to be taught which I have not heard of in the news. Therefore, I can relax and infer that it was exaggeration. I will not talk about what I read because I would find that disturbing enough for people to protest. The Premier has said that there was some type of survey out to I believe 4000 parents who found her program worthwhile and therefore her curriculum is going forth regardless of complaints. Again, I would like to know how these 4000 parents were selected. How was this conducted? I really wish people would reveal how they conduct their studies? Also, it would be nice for politicians to realize that they are elected and in a democratic society there are choices. So, people realize that voting is important. Appropriate age sex education is important. What may be appropriate for one parent is not for another and therefore, to just interview parents is that sufficient? How about looking at research, calling in experts etc…… I believe that as a society we need to grow towards being better, kinder and protective. We do need to protect our children. There are too many pedophiles out there; there are so many problems that come out sexually which has nothing to do with sexual pleasure. Sex should never be confused with having power over someone. There is sexual addiction, sexual assault, sexual promiscuity in an attempt to find love, excessive and uncontrollable masturbation. Leaning about sex is very important. It is important for couples. I think that values and religion should also be considered in the curriculum. And what is very important is to teach the teacher how to deal and report when a child confides that indeed she has been inappropriately touched. There is more than just teaching sex education which goes beyond just asking if it is accepted or not. What was asked? How is this going to work moving forward? Is sex education important? You bet it is, but it has to be done for the benefit of the child when she or he is emotionally mature to understand what is being taught. What do you think?