One of the more hot-button topics around the province over the last few weeks has been surrounding the announcement that was made by the provincial government's Ministry of Education on August 22.
It was on that day that then-Education Minister Dustin Duncan announced new parental inclusion and consent policies for Saskatchewan schools, centered around sexual education and gender identity.
As of August 22 in the hallways and classrooms of schools all around the province of Saskatchewan, the following measures have been put into play:
a) Schools must seek parent/guardian permission when changing the preferred name and pronouns used by students under the age of 16 in the school;
b) Parents/guardians must be informed about the sexual health education curriculum and have the option to decline their children's participation; and,
c) Boards of education must immediately pause involvement with any third-party organization, such as ARC Foundation and the SOGI 1 2 3 Program, connected to sexual health education as the ministry undertakes review of educational resources to ensure alignment with curriculum outcomes. Only teachers, not outside third-parties, will be able to present sexual education materials in the classroom. This directive does not include professionals employed by government ministries or the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
As well, parent/guardian consent for students under 16 will now be required to change a student's name or pronouns in the school. For students who are 16 and over, parent/guardian consent will not be required.
Duncan, who since the announcement has been moved over as the new Minister of the Crown Investments Corporation, said in a media release that while all Saskatchewan schools had policies dealing with such matters, those policies varied in size and scope, so the government decided that it was important to standardize the policies and ensure consistency of parental inclusion. In the Ministry of Education's eyes, schools will continue to "ensure safe learning environments where all students feel included, protected and respected."
Since the government made the announcement, reaction has been swift and very divisive. One side of the proverbial fence appears to be glad that parental inclusion has been granted a bigger focus in such matters, while the other side of the fence believes that 'outing' kids who are perhaps going through an identity crisis may cause unknown harm down the road.
Though the new policy has proven to be divisive, sparking harsh public scrutiny and protests, recent Angus Reid polling suggests that most Saskatchewan residents want parents to be notified, and that half want parents to have to be informed and give permission.
You know what my reaction to all of this is? Two words, my friends: blind faith.
When I get behind the wheel of my SUV and head out on the highway, I'm putting blind faith into the skills of my fellow motorists in the hopes that no one will cause a collision. I've been driving for over 25 years, and no one has rear-ended me or wiped me out on the road yet.
When I walk into a convenience store to grab a Coke or a bag of chips, I'm putting blind faith into my fellow citizens that (hopefully) none of them will get the urge to pull out a handgun and stick up the place for some quick cash and potentially cause a tragedy to occur. I've been popping into the D&E for years and no one's tried it yet, so fingers crossed that the streak remains intact!
When I go out to a restaurant with a friend or family member and we sit down to our meal, I'm putting blind faith in the skills of the cooks that my meal will be enjoyable and won't get me sick. I've been in and out of many, many restaurants over the years, and I can honestly say that I've only gotten sick once! FYI - it was at the now-closed Bonanza restaurant in Saskatoon a few years ago.
Blind faith, folks. We exercise it every day without even realizing it.
Will these measures designed to include parents a lot more in the decisions of their kids be a good or bad thing? It's far too early to tell right now as these changes were put into effect only weeks ago, but all the media attention that it's been getting is doing a fine job of highlighting the perceived negatives and all the 'sky is falling' rhetoric that my fellow reporters and media personnel are so fond of highlighting on social media. Gotta get those clicks and that web traffic some way, and people loooooove to argue and stay under that dark cloud!
From my point of view, and keep in mind that I'm very much NOT a parent, but I just happen to believe that too many people - the more louder types that we routinely see in the headlines and on Facebook and Twitter - are looking far too often at those perceived negatives. It basically reads to me that almost NO ONE has ANY faith at all in Saskatchewan parents to be understanding, empathetic and compassionate when dealing with such powder kegs of issues pertaining to sexual education and gender identities.
I may not be a parent, but I'm surrounded by them in my daily job. I see parents at the schools with their kids, I see them in the aisles of the grocery store, and I see them at all manner of public events in the many communities that I cover for the newspaper. These are great parents who are capable of tackling any issues that their kids come to them with, in the hopes that both Mom and Dad share some understanding of their situations with them.
At the end of the day, parents need to be included in such deep and complex matters as identity and sexuality go, and educators need to know their place because let's face it - they're being paid to educate your kids on everything from math to science, not helping them with their identities. On the flip side of the coin, educators need to be allowed to act as understanding authority figures for kids who may not feel like they can talk to their parents just yet about issues that may be troubling them.
It's a balancing act, people. Stop sitting on one side of the damn fence, take a step back and come to the realization that there's a bigger picture at play here. Look at both sides of the fence and understand where everyone stands.
Teachers and educators are capable of being incredible role models who many kids will look to for guidance and help on touchy matters such as these. But parents are the end-all, be-all for most of those kids, who will look to them for that same guidance and help, as well as understanding and love.
If you have a strong opinion on either side of the fence on this issue, it's like I said, people - blind faith. Have faith that parents will understand and make their kids lives as accepted as possible, and have faith that in some cases, teachers will also understand and step in to give support when kids need it most.
Or just keep screaming at each other and throwing out hollow opinions of the parenting and teaching skills of perfect strangers. Your call, it's your life.
For this week, that's been the Ruttle Report.
