Good Move, McGuinty!
Don't we all want the very best educational environment in the world for all of our children? And it's true, Canadian children, and children living in Ontario in particular, do get a very fine education. They're being exposed to a level of educational opportunities far surpassing what their parents and their grandparents had, and they're quicker and smarter and more attuned to everything that goes on around them in the world they inhabit.
They're computer- and gadget-literate in a way that their elders never were, but then that's fairly explicable, given that all these electronic enticements weren't around a mere several decades earlier, to begin with. Young kids learn things with alacrity that their elders find difficult to cope with. Their minds are more elastic, they're more adaptable to change, they profit hugely from opportunities given them to expand their knowledge base.
They're exposed to Canadian history and world history, to geography on a scale that should prepare them to become more knowledgeable as adults. The level of science and math that really young kids are exposed to, and given basic training in, is mind-boggling, so much so that many parents find themselves incapable of struggling alongside their kids, to help them with their homework; it's beyond parents' capabilities, but not their kids'.
But why in the world would the quick minds at the Ontario legislature at Queens Park and the province's Education Minister and those in the field of education curricula whom they consult feel that kids in grade three would benefit from instruction in homosexuality? They'll learn, all in good time; three is a tad young. And Grade 7 kids learning about anal intercourse, and all these little scholars being sexually sensitized and prepared for the adult world of gender politics?
Give me a break. Give them a break. Grandmothers can ask their grandchildren - as I did not have to do mine, because she expressed her unease, disappointment and unpreparedness to contemplate these topics in their abbreviated, far less specific details presented to her in grade 6, when she told me, fuming at the stupidity of herself having to forge through all of that in class, that she thought it would be far more timely for presentation in grade 8.
This is a kid who is curious about just everything, has a good and enquiring mind, and does not sit in judgement of anyone. On the other hand, our bright minds at Queens Park sit in judgement of the province's children, judging them, in their infancy and adolescence, to be prepared to become educated about the minutiae of sex. That there was blow-back on this item, far more than Premier McGuinty might have anticipated is just fine.
That there was so much controversy and unease expressed from various sources, above all from the Catholic School Board, in this very particulate instance, worked well to the advantage of all Ontario youngsters, when Premier McGuinty decided to "give this a serious rethink".
They're computer- and gadget-literate in a way that their elders never were, but then that's fairly explicable, given that all these electronic enticements weren't around a mere several decades earlier, to begin with. Young kids learn things with alacrity that their elders find difficult to cope with. Their minds are more elastic, they're more adaptable to change, they profit hugely from opportunities given them to expand their knowledge base.
They're exposed to Canadian history and world history, to geography on a scale that should prepare them to become more knowledgeable as adults. The level of science and math that really young kids are exposed to, and given basic training in, is mind-boggling, so much so that many parents find themselves incapable of struggling alongside their kids, to help them with their homework; it's beyond parents' capabilities, but not their kids'.
But why in the world would the quick minds at the Ontario legislature at Queens Park and the province's Education Minister and those in the field of education curricula whom they consult feel that kids in grade three would benefit from instruction in homosexuality? They'll learn, all in good time; three is a tad young. And Grade 7 kids learning about anal intercourse, and all these little scholars being sexually sensitized and prepared for the adult world of gender politics?
Give me a break. Give them a break. Grandmothers can ask their grandchildren - as I did not have to do mine, because she expressed her unease, disappointment and unpreparedness to contemplate these topics in their abbreviated, far less specific details presented to her in grade 6, when she told me, fuming at the stupidity of herself having to forge through all of that in class, that she thought it would be far more timely for presentation in grade 8.
This is a kid who is curious about just everything, has a good and enquiring mind, and does not sit in judgement of anyone. On the other hand, our bright minds at Queens Park sit in judgement of the province's children, judging them, in their infancy and adolescence, to be prepared to become educated about the minutiae of sex. That there was blow-back on this item, far more than Premier McGuinty might have anticipated is just fine.
That there was so much controversy and unease expressed from various sources, above all from the Catholic School Board, in this very particulate instance, worked well to the advantage of all Ontario youngsters, when Premier McGuinty decided to "give this a serious rethink".
Labels: Crisis Politics, Ontario, Society
posted by Pieface | 6:46 PM
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