A Teacher Blogs

Four weeks into the Ford government in Ontario, it's been hard to read precise meaning into official pronouncements on the Education file. Perhaps because very little thought has been put into them. At first, Education Minister Lisa Thompson appeared to walk back a repeal of the Human Development and Sexual Health curriculum, saying that consent and "gender appreciation" will be taught; although  the latter is not in the curriculum. She also reassured reporters that the Ministry will be looking carefully at a section on "developing sexual relations," which also doesn't exist. Thompson's parliamentary colleague Lisa McLeod fielded questions in the House, prompting more confusion while the Education Minister was out of town. Deciding to do her own stunts, Minister Thompson faced the media for the first time in days with the assurance that students would be taught according to a 2014 curriculum -- which also does not exist. Deputy Premier and...

About ten years ago, I was working in the library of a middle school when I was pulled into a conversation with a fellow teacher and an administrator. The former had told the latter that my library was in possession of a title that might not be appropriate for adolescent readers. I presume the purpose of the meeting was to summon me to my senses. Here's how it went: "Mom and Mum are Getting Married!" The offending title was a benign little picture book called Mom and Mum are Getting Married , one I've had in every school library I've run -- that's five and counting over eighteen years I've been an elementary teacher. Published in 2004 -- shortly after the State of Massachusetts equalized marriage rights, with Canada following suit -- it is the story of a little girl who's excited about her parents' wedding. I pointed out that the book was a needed recognition of diverse families in our schools, just like others I had about single-parent fami...