Teaching Sexuality + religious culture = desirable!
There is some doubt about the merits of integrating sexuality education into ethics and religious culture, an idea recently raised by the Minister of Education. We can have ... until we list all the other options.
Explain the risks of sexually transmitted infections during French classes? It is meritorious to know if
the word gonorrhea takes one or two r, but the stowage would be flawed.
Talk about consent in math or contraception classes in history classes? It can also be done, of course. On the other hand, transplantation seems more natural when it comes to integrating these notions into the ethics and religious culture program.
As the Minister Jean-François Roberge pointed out in an interview at Le Devoir , in the RCT courses, we already treat
"attitudes, values, self-respect, acceptance of 'other'.
Not to mention that this program, he added with reason, is ripe for a revision. Both because it is now more than 10 years old
and because it still arouses intense controversy.
The moment is therefore opportune to make him take such a turn. It should be noted, incidentally, that some RCT teachers have in the past offered personal and social training courses, where there was a section on sexuality. Proof that apples are not compared with oranges.
As for the status quo, it is not desirable, since it causes tension. Adding education to sexuality without providing for specific planning within the subject-table was basically a perfectible idea; many teachers already feel that they lack the time to address all the concepts they must inculcate in their students.
That said, there was a real consensus on the need to quickly put sexuality education back on the agenda. Under the circumstances, you will allow us to be lenient with the Department of Education (at that time skilfully managed by Sébastien Proulx).
There was urgency;we reacted a quarter turn, so much the better.
But now is the time to make the necessary adjustments.
We can only deplore, as did the president of the Quebec Association of Ethics and Religious Culture in this section a few days ago,
that the main stakeholders were not consulted by Minister Roberge.
It is not too late, however, to do well. These teachers should be contacted as soon as possible.
It will certainly be necessary to discuss with them the training that should be offered to them, if necessary. And ask them about the best way to dust off the RCT program, including what would be done to add 5 to 15 hours of sexuality education every year, or even to add time, that they claim.
Finally, it would be important to reassure them by proving that resources (sexologists, nurses, etc.) will be available everywhere in Quebec when teachers are not comfortable with certain content (talking about sexual assault is often an example city).
This is not yet the case, even if it is what has been promised by Quebec several times.
It must be admitted, moreover, that the debate on the RCT course is broader than the simple question of sex education. The very foundations of this course have been questioned since ... its implementation. It will be imperative, among other things,
to address the issue of lack of critical perspective on religions.
But before doing so, a correct diagnosis is required as to what is being taught. Only a serious examination of what is happening in Quebec schools will allow for an informed debate and agreement on the extent of future changes.
Explain the risks of sexually transmitted infections during French classes? It is meritorious to know if
the word gonorrhea takes one or two r, but the stowage would be flawed.
Talk about consent in math or contraception classes in history classes? It can also be done, of course. On the other hand, transplantation seems more natural when it comes to integrating these notions into the ethics and religious culture program.
As the Minister Jean-François Roberge pointed out in an interview at Le Devoir , in the RCT courses, we already treat
"attitudes, values, self-respect, acceptance of 'other'.
Not to mention that this program, he added with reason, is ripe for a revision. Both because it is now more than 10 years old
and because it still arouses intense controversy.
The moment is therefore opportune to make him take such a turn. It should be noted, incidentally, that some RCT teachers have in the past offered personal and social training courses, where there was a section on sexuality. Proof that apples are not compared with oranges.
As for the status quo, it is not desirable, since it causes tension. Adding education to sexuality without providing for specific planning within the subject-table was basically a perfectible idea; many teachers already feel that they lack the time to address all the concepts they must inculcate in their students.
That said, there was a real consensus on the need to quickly put sexuality education back on the agenda. Under the circumstances, you will allow us to be lenient with the Department of Education (at that time skilfully managed by Sébastien Proulx).
There was urgency;we reacted a quarter turn, so much the better.
But now is the time to make the necessary adjustments.
We can only deplore, as did the president of the Quebec Association of Ethics and Religious Culture in this section a few days ago,
that the main stakeholders were not consulted by Minister Roberge.
It is not too late, however, to do well. These teachers should be contacted as soon as possible.
It will certainly be necessary to discuss with them the training that should be offered to them, if necessary. And ask them about the best way to dust off the RCT program, including what would be done to add 5 to 15 hours of sexuality education every year, or even to add time, that they claim.
Finally, it would be important to reassure them by proving that resources (sexologists, nurses, etc.) will be available everywhere in Quebec when teachers are not comfortable with certain content (talking about sexual assault is often an example city).
This is not yet the case, even if it is what has been promised by Quebec several times.
It must be admitted, moreover, that the debate on the RCT course is broader than the simple question of sex education. The very foundations of this course have been questioned since ... its implementation. It will be imperative, among other things,
to address the issue of lack of critical perspective on religions.
But before doing so, a correct diagnosis is required as to what is being taught. Only a serious examination of what is happening in Quebec schools will allow for an informed debate and agreement on the extent of future changes.
