School systems have long been described, often critically, as guardians of society’s status quo. But rarely have they been asked to prepare students for a bygone era, experts argue.On Wednesday, Education Minister Lisa Thompson announced that schools in September would go back to teaching the 1998 curriculum, fulfilling a pledge made by Doug Ford during his election campaign. Thompson said her ministry would launch consultations for a new curriculum that might be introduced in 2019-20 school year.The announcement appeased part of Ford’s electoral base, including social conservatives who considered the 2015 curriculum as inappropriate for children.But educators are concerned that the old curriculum is out of touch with today’s reality.The 1998 health and physical education curriculum describes a society that few elementary school students would recognize. It does not mention the words cyber-bullying, social media, race, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. It only once mentions the word Internet, and only to say that kids can use computers to surf the “World Wide Web” for information.Read more: Opponents of sex ed curriculum applaud repealOpinion: Judith Timson | Rolling back sex education is not good for kidsFord uses throne speech to signal dramatic changes that loom for OntarioIt was, decidedly, a very different time, one that was silent about issues that children deal with daily, says Chris Markham, executive director of Ophea, a non-profit group that develops lesson plans and teaching materials for schools. The 2015 curriculum instead deals with sensitive topics head-on.“Issues around consent, issues around the importance of appreciating visible and invisible differences between people, the different family structures that kids may reside in these days, self-esteem, body confidence, the fact that it’s supportive of basic human rights and challenges stereotypes – there’s a whole host of reasons why the 2 ...
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