We are very proud today to announce our speakers list for our upcoming educational forum! Joining us on the evening of April 13 will be the following individuals!
- Rosario Marchese, MPP, Education Critic, Ontario NDP
- Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Canadian Civil Liberties Association
- Jaxson Khan and André Rebeiz, Ontario Student Trustees’ Association
- El-Farouk Khaki, Salaam
- Lyba Spring, Toronto Public Health
- j wallace, LGBTQ Parenting Network
- Pam Dogra, Elementary Teachers of Toronto LGBTQI Committee
- With Special Guests: St. Joes Gay-Straight Alliance
- And more!
So come on out to Jarvis Collegiate (495 Jarvis St.) on Wednesday, April 13 from 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM for what is sure to be an exciting and informative forum!
Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=212041642139884
On April 13, 2011, to commemorate the International Day of Pink, Queer Ontario is hosting an educational public forum to discuss how we can ‘make it better’ for students in schools across Ontario. At this forum speakers will be discussing how an updated Sex Ed Curriculum as well as support organizations like Gay Straight Alliances are necessary for the betterment of the lives of LGBTQ students as well as the student body on the …whole.
Speakers List TBA soon!
On the International Day of Pink, you are encouraged to wear pink to show that you are against bullying, discrimination and homophobia in our schools and communities. Come on out and join us at Jarvis Collegiate Institute (located at 495 Jarvis Street) from 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM for what is sure to be an exciting and interesting dialogue. Post-speakers, there will be an open Q & A/discussion period.
See you there!
Facebook Event Page: Sex Ed, GSAs and Religion in Publicly Funded Schools – an Educational Forum
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Community Media Sponsor: Xtra Canada
Sponsors: Canadian Auto Workers’ (CAW/TCA),Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation (OSSTF), Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Toronto District School Board – Gender Based Violence Prevention (GBVP), Supporting Our Youth (SOY)
Supporters: LGBTQ Parenting Network, People For Education, York University Sexuality Studies Department, Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies
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Toronto: Queer Ontario feels the Elementary Health and Physical Education Curriculum proposed by the McGuinty government back in January of 2010 was a step in the right direction that would have provided Ontario children and youth with up-to-date scientific information on human development, physical health, sex, sexuality, sexual behaviour, and gender identity. So it came as a tremendous disappointment to hear that McGuinty succumbed to the pressures that were created by sex-negative religious fundamentalists, moral conservatives, and misinformed parents, ultimately rescinding the curriculum just 54 hours after he had come out in strong support of it.
Given that the first round of consultations had already taken into consideration the concerns of parent groups and religious organizations like the Institute for Catholic Education – alongside public health organizations, sex educators, school boards, academics, and LGBTQ groups including Queer Ontario’s predecessor, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario (CLGRO), – the new curriculum was in no way under consulted and actually served to bring Ontario’s Health and Physical Education Curriculum in line with those of other, more progressive provinces like British Columbia. The new proposed curriculum is long overdue, especially in its recognition of ‘invisible differences’ like sexual orientation, gender identity, and cultural values and beliefs: a much-needed concept that would begin to acknowledge the full diversity of Ontario’s population within Ontario’s elementary school systems.
Read more…