SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Talk of sexual education in schools down south has brought out passionate opinions both for and against proposed curricula.

Here in town, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 and the French school board Commission scolaire francophone follow a curriculum directed by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE), while the Yellowknife Catholic School Board has a version taken from Alberta that is adapted to reflect Catholic beliefs.

In Ontario, an out-dated curriculum was replaced with guidelines for sexual education from grades 1 to 12. As it will now be the most current sex-ed curriculum in the country, Ontario students will learn about pornography, sexual orientation and gender identity. The curriculum goes so far as to discuss sharing explicit photos and content online, and the problems associated with that.

The curriculum followed in Yellowknife's public schools is also aging - having come into effect in 1998 - said career development and wellness co-ordinator Elaine Stewart, and will see some revisions as part of the Education Renewal and Innovation project.

The program, taught from kindergarten to Grade 9, encompasses all aspects of health from oral hygiene and nutrition to sexual health and drug and alcohol abuse. While sexual health was touched on within several sections of the program, a component titled Skills for Healthy Relations (SHR) was added on in the mid-1990s which delves deeper into certain aspects of sexual health.

The program includes sections on AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, as well as abstinence and safer sex. A supplement to the program is "Challenging Homophobia," which gives students the perspective of gay, lesbian or bisexual students, making the program more inclusive.

Stewart said the curriculum is taken on by the school boards and taught in whichever way they see fit - rather than designating specific sections for each grade level. The SHR program can be taught as early as Grade 7, but must be completed by the end of Grade 9.

In March, ECE hosted a think tank with a selection of people, both from within and outside the healthcare sector, including elders. While this curriculum is still in the early stages of development, Stewart said it will modernize both the content and teaching method for health.

"The shift in education is for things to be less prescriptive, less content-oriented, with more of an approach that allows students to bring their questions, and frame up the learning along with the guiding teacher," said Stewart. "We expect there will be less emphasis on this great number of learning outcomes and leave more space and air in the arrangement."

For Yellowknife Catholic Schools, sexual health education is clearly laid out from grades four to nine - taken from the Alberta Catholic school system and reflective of the religious teachings.

"Research has been done in regards to what is appropriate to be discussed according to the ages of the children," said superintendent Claudia Parker. "You want to make sure you are not going into topics, heavier topics, before they're prepared for that."

The curriculum starts off with discussing puberty and changes, both physical and mental, that students will experience.

Beginning in Grade 5, there is a heavy focus on the development of life from the moment of conception.

"It talks about respect for human life, so basically that gets into talking about, as soon as a baby is conceived it's a life," said Parker. "It gets into the topic of abortion and the Catholic teachings around that, and then at Grade 9 it gets into a discussion in regard to pregnancy and parenting, and the responsibility that you need to face if your decisions take you into that direction."

Through the curriculum, Parker said the perspective of the Catholic church is shared. Before the sexual health unit begins, she said a letter goes home to parents, letting them know what will be taught at each grade level. In the past, she said there have been a few cases of parents withdrawing their children from the classes, but that has been rare.

"It is important for us to educate our students so that they will have an understanding and make positive choices as they go through puberty and teenage life," said Parker.

Representatives from Yk1 and the Commission scolaire francophone could not be reached for comment by press time.

Sex-Ed at Yellowknife Catholic Schools

• Grade 4: emotional and physical changes associated with puberty.
• Grade 5: the creation and "gift of life" - life beginning from the moment of conception, further education on puberty.
• Grade 6: the stages of human development from conception to birth, healthy lifestyle choices, blood-borne diseases and how they are transmitted.
• Grade 7: the reproductive process, sexual development and maturing at different rates, how social influences affect roles and gender equity, influences on making responsible decisions, appropriate ways of expressing sexual feelings and attraction, discussions of chastity and abstinence.
• Grade 8: respect for the development of oneself and others, pornography and its negative effects on individuals, sexual abuse, the consequences of sexual relationships - sexually transmitted infections, the pros and cons of different forms of contraception and why abstinence is the best option.
• Grade 9: "the myth of safe sex practices" and why abstinence is best, good decision making and its impacts, respect of human life and Catholic teachings around abortion, the responsibilities that come along with pregnancy and parenting.

Source: Yellowknife Catholic Schools

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.