by Elise Ellsworth
Kids in Ontario have been learning things a little differently this year. There has not been as much time for the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic as the schools have a new challenge: sexual re-education from kindergarten on up. The area’s new sexual education program, Fully Alive, is one of the most liberal anywhere. It began, despite protest, this school year. Some basics of the program:
The “Fully Alive” curriculum requires that children be taught detailed information on homosexual practices, the importance of “carrying a condom” and other sexual information that children do not need or want to know. This curriciulum was prepared under the direction of a confessed child sexual predator, Benjamin Levine whose links to child pornography are well-established. It includes statements such as: “exploring one’s body by touching is something that many people do and find pleasurable. It is not harmful …” and other even more detailed statements on the nature of homosexuality, the importance of “getting information from a credible source” (health professional, not parent), the normal nature of two mom and two dad households, and gender identity as something that “may be different from one’s birth-assigned sex.”
The teaching of these radical concepts begins as early as grades 1 (basics of sexuality) and 3 (gender as a matter of personal choice and homosexuality). Nowhere in the curriculum are the words “love” or “marriage” mentioned.
Religious schools are required to teach the curriculum and parents are being denied the right to opt out – Catholic and other religious schools in Ontario are also required to teach the program and are struggling to make accommodations. Children in Catholic schools that receive state funding now must learn about condoms, gender identity and abortion along with everyone else.
In at least one county, parents have also been denied the right to opt their children out of the parts of the program discussing homosexuality and gender identity stating that “where the work is about inclusion … we will not provide religious or any other accommodation.” Effectively, however, the “inclusive” program excludes individuals of many religions.
The program has the effect of denying religious individuals access to public education – Faced with the indoctrination of their children, religious individuals are left with only one option, pull their children out of public schools altogether. And this is what a growing number of parents are doing. In the Muslim community, where there are few private options, parents find their hands tied. Muslim homeschooling groups are seeing large increases. But it’s a tough call. As one Muslim parent put it: “We don’t want to be outside the mainstream. Our call is not anti-public school system, but we feel there should be a system that should accommodate all people.”
Many parents are too busy today to pay attention to what their children are being taught in public schools – but other countries and states across the United States have slowly been moving toward mandatory public sexual indoctrination of children. And this effective denial of religious and parental rights poses a risk for the health of children and for society as a whole.