Looking at gun violence as a Public Health issue

City urged to consider new approach to address gun violence https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/board-report-says-gun-violence-needs-public-health-approach-1.4748026 Shared via the CBC News Android App

CBC's Mic Drop: A podcast "...into the secret world of the Canadian teenager"

http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/mic-drop






On the way to my Dad's house on Saturday afternoon, my Partner cued up the first episode of the first episode of this new CBC podcast geared to giving Canada's teens a voice to express how they are feeling.  As you may have guessed, the podcast is called Mic Drop.

 The first episode, Who am I, was geared to the fundamental question that all humans should grapple with.  I think the earlier and younger this is explored, the better.  The Adolescent mind is primed for this sort of exploration and this is who this podcast is geared towards.  I also think there is a lot of value in adults listening to it.

So far, there seem to be 7 episodes.  I am not sure if any more are planned but it might serve as some interesting listening during the last month and a half of the school break.  Enjoy.

Confronting Math Anxiety

https://hechingerreport.org/how-to-help-children-overcome-math-anxiety/

Making something invisible doesn't make it go away, Mr. Ford: Rehtaeh Parsons' legacy and the repeal of the 2015 Human Sexuality section

Father of bullying victim Rehtaeh Parsons calls Ford's sex-ed repeal 'infuriating' https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ontario-sex-ed-rehtaeh-parsons-1.4745887
Shared via the CBC News Android App

The new provincial government, "Sex Ed" and The Truth and Reconciliation Commission curriculum writing cancellation

I have found it very annoying that the discourse around the Health and Physical Education curriculum has been reduced to the simplistic misnomer of the Sex Ed Curriculum.   If you look at the most recent curriculum, created in 2015, you will not find that in the table of contents or in the Healthy Living section of the document.  Here are two examples of how it is framed from Grade 1 and Grade 8:

 The section is called Human Development and Sexual Health.  I think the PC government fanned the flames of bigotry by suggesting that this was Kathleen Wynn's document.  Most people are aware of the fact that she is a Lesbian and for many social conservatives, she is somehow immoral and, by association, the curriculum is immoral and needs to be eradicated.  It felt that the attacks on the document were also homophobic and misogynistic attacks on the former Premier. 

 I am biased.  I have worked with this curriculum and think it is brilliant and developmentally appropriate.  Many critics of the document have never read it and I think you should check it out before it is gone:  http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/health1to8.pdf

There is so much more to this document than "sex." One of the reasons I think it is a brilliant document is that it  begins conversations about how we should relate to one another and how we understand the idea of difference.  In my recent Grade 7 and 8 class, we had a lot of great discussions around Gender and how we defined it and are sometimes trapped by our narrow definitions. In my Grade 6 class, two years ago, we looked at how Stereotyping and the danger of "the single story" can create a lot of misunderstanding among groups of people.   

Unfortunately, it seems the Progressive Conservative (PC) party would rather sensationalize a few items discussed in the document and ignore the other elements which all students, in this pluralistic society, should be aware of.  The PC's approach to the Human Development and Sexual Health topic feels regressive and ignorant.  It reminds me of Dicken's warning about the dangers of ignorance and it seems to me that this government's view of education is quite narrow.

http://welchwrite.com/blog/2014/12/10/my-favorite-quotes-from-a-christmas-carol-33-the-boy-is-ignorance-the-girl-is-want/

If the definition of doom is something seen as being adverse or unfavourable, then I believe this move is.  It feels like a backward move to a time period where we pretended like issues did not exist; I suppose that is one way of understanding ignorance.

On the Global News website, there are two interviews that should be viewed.  One is from Andrea Horwath and the new Education Minister, Lisa Thompson:
https://globalnews.ca/video/4330070/sex-ed-curriculum-repeal-will-drag-ontario-back-into-another-century

In June, Toronto educator, Nadine Thornhill created a YouTube video, based on her fears of the change that she anticipated was coming to the curriculum:

Links to these stories are here:
Andrea Horwath's response:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/519-sex-ed-opposition-campaign-1.4745403
Nadine Thornhill:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-educator-to-create-online-video-lessons-teaching-scrapped-sex-ed-curriculum-1.4745141

curriculum writing erased

The cancellation of this project is unfavourable, especially when we are speaking about the matters of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.  From a teaching perspective, this feels very similar to the reversion to the 1998 Health curriculum; it is a dialing back of valuable knowledge which is meant to be shared.  In 1998, there was no mention of Residential Schools or talk of a student questioning his or her identity in schools.

Both issues feel regressive and conservative in a time when we know so much more and have a responsibility to introduce ideas, as challenging and difficult as they may be, to our students, who are the future citizens of this nation.  Some of you may not be familiar with this story and will provide a link from CBC's The Current which will offer up a more nuanced look at this issue relating to Truth and Reconciliation:  https://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/the-current/episode/15556383

As I try to pull this entry to a close, I am feeling a little stuck.  Based on the construction of this blog, it seems easy to suggest that "the people" Doug Ford champions are likely not those who have personal connections to the content or experiences found in the 2015 Health curriculum or with the teachers who are looking to be more inclusive and complete in their teaching of Canadian history.  But this sounds naive and powerless.  

Everyone.  EVERYONE has some connection to the lived realities and experiences explored in the topics deemed controversial in the "Sex-Ed" curriculum.  Also, for all non-Indigenous Canadians, we are on Colonized land and need to be aware of this and how our stories have been contingent on the history of Indigenous people and the evolution of Canada.

In other words, we "the people" are truly connected.  A leader who smiles while playing the fear and doom card is not a part of any progressive party.  I know that progressive voices, like those linked in the stories posted on this entry, will continue to offer up ideas, resistance, and teachings to counter the ignorance trickling into the rhetoric and policies at Queen's Park.

annual end of year photo(s)

For the past number of years, I always end off with a photo of the chairs or desks being stacked up.  This year, I did not close up the room.  Mr. Stokic finished off the balance of the year but I did manage to snap a couple.

Be safe, read, rest, think, relax, and smile.