Ontario's new sex ed curriculum - This parent's rant

The big news story of the week is the re-vamped sex education curriculum that's been unveiled by the Ontario Liberal government. I've pasted a summary of the new curriculum below.

Grade 1

Students in Grade 1 will be taught the proper names for body parts – something child-abuse investigators have long urged.

They will also learn how to recognize non-verbal signals, such as facial expressions and tone of voice, to better communicate with others.

Grade 2

In Grade 2, students will learn about bodily changes and development, verbal and physical violence, and the concept that “no means no.”

Grades 3-4

Grade 3 students will learn about same-sex relationships, while the physical, emotional and social impacts of puberty will move from Grade 5 to Grade 4.

Grades 5-6

In Grade 5, students will continue learning about puberty, including menstruation and spermatogenesis, and how these processes relate to reproduction.

Students in Grade 6 will learn about masturbation and “gender expression.” They will also be educated on how to build healthy relationships and consent.

Grades 7-8

In Grades 7-8, students will learn about the dangers of “sexting.”

They will also discuss contraception, anal and oral sex, and ways to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

Grades 9-10

Teaching materials on mental health, previously relegated to older grades, will be introduced in Grade 9. Grade 9 students will also explore gender identity, sexual orientation and the resources available for support.

In Grade 10, students will continue to learn what factors influence sexual decision-making, including personal values, peer and family expectations, and media messages.

Under the current sex education program, Grades 9 and 10 students focus on promoting healthy sexuality, preventing sexually transmitted infections, and identifying the stages of sexuality.

Grades 11-12

Similarly to the existing program, students in Grades 11 and 12 will focus on how to use decision-making skills to create healthy relationships.

They will also learn about reducing the stigma around mental illness, and taking proactive health measures

Some parents are protesting on religious grounds. Some parents are protesting that it goes too far.
I am protesting too. But for a combination of reasons, none of which have to do with religion.
The ministry of education has screwed up its priorities with respect to our children's education.
The school's current educational regime has done away with rote memorization for multiplication tables. Rather, they are utilizing some creative form of math using T-charts to teach basic math skills. Let me tell you, it's NOT working. I spend ridiculous amounts of time trying to re-teach my kid basic math skills. And don't get me started on math journals. I'm not an idiot in math. I've even got a second year university calculus under my belt. My spouse is in finance, for pete's sake, And we can't figure out our kid's absurd math homework. It's not the math we don't understand (we get that mathematics operation is multiplication) - it's the new fangled teaching concept of "patterning" that leaves us banging our heads against the wall.
I can't believe the government, that is the ministry of education, believes it can teach our children about the complicated issue of consent in grades 5-6. When the judiciary and the courts still have difficulty in interpreting consent, how can a 12 year old begin to understand the intricacies of the dynamics that play into the issue of consent.
If the schools can't even be trusted to teach basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and long division, how can I trust that they'll get the complicated concept of consent right?
Then there's the topic relating to sexting. I'd be happy if they could teach children how to spell properly, and not how it sounds. Proper punctuation and correct grammar might save us from the ridiculous 40 character twitter universe. And yes, I'm that parent that once sent back the school letter to parents with my red pen marking up the spelling errors and grammatical mistakes.
Perhaps what is more infuriating is the belief that my children need to learn about anal sex. To me, that's extraneous information at this age. Not required. However, cursive writing is considered to be unnecessary in the current educational guidelines. Really? Last time I checked, our identification documents, like the passport, required a signature. Mortgage documents, bank loans, agreements of sale and purchase - all of these require a signature in ink. Not an electronic signature. Not a thumbprint. Not a retinal scan. But your name, signed in cursive. Yet they don't teach that in schools. Don't even get me started on the fact they don't teach how to read cursive writing.
And here's the thing about anal sex - it's still listed in the Criminal Code as an offence. It may have been declared unconstitutional, but it's still there. So, now the schools will be teaching the kids about technically illegal activities.
I'm not a prude, but I really don't think education about anal and oral intercourse is necessary in grade school. Rather, the energies of the teachers should be spent on fostering positive self-images, being comfortable in one's skin, celebrating the diversities in our world and teaching mutual respect for others. Oh wait, that's what the anti-bullying campaigns were about. And they still haven't licked that problem.
I love that kids in grade one will be learning about facial expressions and tones of voice. Really? Like they haven't figured out that while they were still in diapers?
Frankly speaking, I think children will be traumatized learning about the bodily changes in grade 2. Seven year olds are still trying to figure out how to tie their shoe laces. Now we're going to teach them about getting body hair and boobs?
Whatever happened to trying to preserve the innocence of our babes?
But if we must prepare them for the real world...then how about teaching children about violence in the homes, and how to recognize violence in intimate relationships? It's unbelievable the numbers of young, teen girls who find themselves in abusive relationships but chalk it up to a sign of "love". I'm all for educating children about the dangers of "sexting" and sending explicit photos of oneself to others. But I think gender identity should probably be covered before anal intercourse, given that same sex relationships will be covered in grade 3.
I understand it's important to educate our children about sex and all that it entails. I just can't believe the brain power that's gone into this, when the three r's are suffering abysmally. I get it that even Rhodes scholars and American presidents struggle with the concept of what "sex" is, or isn't. But at least he could write an essay on the topic.
Listening to me rant, my spouse suggested that perhaps I should start attending the school board meetings and protest these changes. After all, we as parents, have to make our voices heard, considering our tax dollars, blah blah blah.
A worthwhile thought.
But I'm too busy trying to teach my kids how to read, write in cursive and do math. You know, all the subjects I send my kids to school to learn.