WINNIPEG – Manitoba teachers want the provincial government to reflect sexual orientation issues in all education curricula in the province.
“The reality is not mom and dad at home, mini-van, white picket fence and a dog. The reality is very diverse and that’s something kids should see and have validated,” said Paul Olson, President of the Manitoba Teachers Society.
Olson said the addition could be as simple as including single parents and same-sex couples into mathematics problems.
“They need to hear it from their teachers, their classrooms and their schools that they’re in a perfectly legitimate family and their reality is an acceptable one. That it’s not something they should be ashamed of,” said Olson.
But some parents have said sexual orientation should not be a part of their child’s daily learning environment because it violates religious freedoms.
“It’s against the bible and I try to live for the bible as much as I can. Personally, that’s not a family to me; it takes a husband and a wife to make a child,” said one woman in Steinbach.
Just like the province’s controversial anti-bullying legislation, many in the city of Steinbach are divided on the issue.
One man told Global News, “Kids are growing up different, different times, and different people.”
While another said he believed parents should be teaching children about family values, not the school.
Changing school curriculum would happen slowly and over the course of many years, as subjects are reviewed.
Education Minister Nancy Allan said she is open to having the discussion with MTS because she believes it is an important one to have.
“It’s all about young people in our public and private education system. We want them to feel safe at school and we want them to reach their potential,” said Allan.
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