To Lisa Thompson, Ontario Minister of Education,
This June, I graduated from Ontario’s public education system.
Lisa Thompson, Ontario’s Minister of Education. (Photo by John-Stanley Gracin Black)
Every employee in the education field carries immense power; the potential to shape tomorrow by imparting knowledge to my generation. My years spent in the classroom fostered curiosity and compassion and told me that my future was in good hands. Serving on the Minister’s Student Advisory Council taught me the value of student voices in our governing structure.
However, the recent changes to Ontario’s sex-education curriculum, which will revert in September to the 1998 curriculum until a new one is drafted, have me doubting these beliefs.
Allow me to remind you that 1998 was before any of the students who will be taught this curriculum were even born. It is the responsibility of our Ministry of Education to equip future generations with the resources necessary to lead fulfilling lives as members of our society.
This responsibility includes ensuring the information provided to them is accurate and up to date – issues which the 2015 changes to the health curriculum addressed.
Suicide is the leading health-related cause of death in youth between the ages of 17 and 25. By removing mental health from our curriculum, we are creating more barriers to prevent these individuals from accessing the resources they need and ending the stigma surrounding mental illness.
This has become a matter of life and death.
What’s more, there are pressing issues concerning sexuality in our province. The oppression faced by the LGBTQ+ community has resulted in a higher likelihood of experiencing mental illness, sexual harassment and social isolation. The 2015 health curriculum has the potential to increase awareness of LGBTQ+ issues and come one step closer to addressing them.
Speaking of sexual harassment, educating youth on the importance of consent and the resources available to them, should they experience unwanted sexual encounters, ultimately creates a safer province. No one is too young to experience sexual violence, so no one should be considered too young to learn about it.
You carry in your hands immense influence over these issues. I know I am one voice amongst many, but I encourage you to consider the power of one. One in three women will experience sexual harassment. One in five people will experience mental illness. It is for these people that I advocate for a reconsideration of the provincial health curriculum.
I know you may feel I am too young or inexperienced to make a difference. But your government claims to be “for the people” – I ask you, who is the education system for if not our students?
Who do you serve if not youth?
Sincerely,
Sneha Wadhwani
Please note that opinions expressed are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page.
