A Teacher Blogs

It was September 11, 2012, when most Ontarians first heard about Dr Steve Tourloukis and the Family Religious Values Letters . The Hamilton dentist was quoted in a Toronto Star newspaper article published that day: “I’m not an extremist, but I must ensure that my children abstain from certain activities that may include lessons which promote views contrary to our faith,” said Tourloukis, who is supported by a group called the Parental Rights in Education Defense Fund. “We know other denominations like Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims are excused for certain activities. Does our being Christian disqualify us from equitable treatment?” More specifically, Dr Tourloukis submitted a list of topics he deemed contrary to his faith, with the expectation that the school would provide him with advance notice of instruction in these topics, as well as an opportunity to view teaching materials.Based upon this, he would make the determination as to whether he would keep his children ho...

1950s Sex Education LP Recording I was reading up on some of the groups that participated in the April 14th My Child My Choice protest against the Ontario's 2015 Health and Physical Education Curriculum. A group calling themselves The Well Informed Parent caught my eye. From their website:  "We are parents representing parents. We have drawn on the considerable skill sets of many parents - such as educators, lawyers, concerned parents and medical professionals. That way we can be well equipped to make informed decisions in regards to our children's education and well-being." To this end, The Well Informed Parent has come up with alternatives to contested components of Human Development and Sexual Health   and other sections of the curriculum at various grades. To summarize, here are the most hotly contest contested components, as reported back in 2010 by Kathryn Blaze Carlson for the National Post : Grade 1: Identify body parts, including genitalia (pe...

Over the last few years, I've been tracking some of the commentary of Phil Lees , a retired educator, former leader of the moribund The Family Coalition Party of Ontario , and self-described parent rights activist. Mr Lees has spoken extensively about Bill 13 -- The Accepting Schools Act of Ontario (2012) , the 2010/2015 Ontario Ministry of Education Health and Physical Education Curriculum , and the impact of same-sex marriage in Canada, as he sees it. He is particularly fond of telling an anecdote about mock same-sex wedding ceremonies performed in grade three classrooms, and that will be the subject of this open letter to Mr Lees. April 5, 2015 Mr Phil Lees Director Public Education Advocates for Christian Equity 2621 Hwy 56 P.O. Box 306 Binbrook, ON L0R 1C0 Dear Mr Lees, I am writing to you to enquire about comments you've made several times regarding the conducting of mock same-sex wedding ceremonies in Ontario grade three classrooms. You've alluded to this in se...