Canada: Thousands of Students Are Ditching Class to Protest Ontario's New Sex Ed Curriculum

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"I'm not saying sex ed should never be taught, but we feel there are topics that are being taught too early, and that's against our religion."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Vice News
By Rachel Browne | May 4, 2015

[Excerpts]

Thousands of school children barely old enough to pronounce — let alone understand — words [of adult sexual terminology,] ditched classes and took to the streets on Monday in Ontario to protest new changes to the provincial sex ed curriculum, which they say goes against their beliefs.

It was a successful first day for the "one week no school" strike organized by a group on Facebook that's calling on parents across Canada's most populous province to pull their children and teens out of class everyday this week.

One Toronto school reported that 90 percent of its 1,350 students didn't show up for school on Monday. And a representative for the city's public school board told VICE News in an email that the absence rate for its entire elementary student population increased by 144 percent compared to last Monday; 14,191 students were marked absent on April 27th at the Toronto District School Board, compared to 34,762 on May 4th. Meanwhile, one Muslim community estimated that close to 10,000 members won't go to their regular schools at all this week.
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Leaders of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Ontario, meanwhile, are urging parents to opt out of the new curriculum if it doesn't change, come the fall. This week, they will show their displeasure with certain parts of the curriculum, including topics on gender identity and learning about intercourse, by sending youngsters to mosques and community centers for schooling.

"We feel that the government has not been very inclusive when it comes to talking to us," Imam Farhan Iqbil told VICE News in front of a group of students during class at the Baitul Islam Mosque in Maple, Ont. "I'm not saying sex ed should never be taught, but we feel there are topics that are being taught too early, and that's against our religion."

The office of Kathleen Wynne, Ontario's premier, did not respond to VICE News' request for comment. Wynne told reporters last week that despite the opposition to the curriculum, her government will not withdraw it. "I think in some case we are going to have to agree to disagree," she said.

Follow Rachel Browne on Twitter: @rp_browne


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