Catholic parents and HIV/AIDS in schools: the ongoing struggle.

What does it take to get people into action? On the evening of December 13, 2001, indignant Catholic parents turned out at a meeting of the Toronto Catholic Board to protest the proposed closing of nine primary schools and one high school. This interest in their children's education is most commendable. Equally laudable would have been protests had an abusive teacher been found in their children's school. This begs the question; why are Catholic parents not jamming the lines and faxes to protest the moral and mental abuse being perpetrated by a course of lessons which allies itself with the rest of our sad culture to rob children of their innocence and indeed of their very childhood?

Parental indifference to curriculum content seems to be an ongoing problem in Ontario generally and, perhaps, throughout Canada (C.I. welcomes submissions from readers in other provinces on this topic). The problem is rooted in the conditions of modern life. Anti-family income tax policies lead to both parents working; regular school hours assure security in the knowledge their children are in "a safe place" from Monday to Friday (hence, the public antipathy to teacher strikes); sports and hobbies consume evenings and weekends. With all this, as well as their job worries, most parents are too harassed and tired to give much thought to what their kids are being taught in school. Others, interested in education, tend to concentrate on academic subjects and are over-trusting regarding the religious and moral side of the curriculum. After all, it's all just like the old "separate school" system we went through, right? The answer, unfortunately, is NOT SO.

AIDS education

"A Catholic Approach to HIV/AIDS Education (second edition) was introduced this year into the Catholic schools of Toronto without any fanfare. The first edition of the program, criticized by parents when piloted in the Dufferin-Peel region in 1997, was based on a model developed by the American National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA). The NCEA, once very mainline and respectable, was infiltrated by feminists and New Age gurus in the post-Vatican-II era. The Toronto Institute of Catholic Education (ICE) adapted the NCEA program in accordance with Ontario Ministry of Education guidelines. The preface was changed somewhat and signed by Bishop James Doyle of Peterborough, then chairman of the Ontario Bishops' Education Committee. He states that "the bishops have taken responsibility for (the program's) theological soundness and support the need for its introduction in our schools."

Following the protests about the original draft, the second version eliminated some of the more egregious aspects of the first, such as the suggestion to invite PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Gays and Lesbians) members into grade eight classes. However, most of the changes are merely cosmetic. Among all the feel-good talk about "Jesus' unconditional love," the tenor of the program remains anti-family and thus anti-child. (See Education Special Report, C.I. MAY 1998, pp.3, 23; Jeanne Ferrari, M.D., "AIDS program still deceiving," March 2000, p.10).

Without indulging in too much repetition, the chief concerns about the program are that it undermines Church teaching on sexuality education; it disregards the latency period guidelines found in "Truth and meaning of Human sexuality" (Pontifical Council for the Family, 1995); Do grade 6s and 7s really require to know anything about homosexuality? These are 11 and 12 year-olds! (Teacher's manual, pages 83-84 and 89). It also distorts, by selective quotation, the Catechism on the topic of homosexuality. Further, the accuracy of certain moral and medical aspects has been sacrificed to political correctness, particularly with respect to homosexuals. Misinformation benefits no one, not even its propagators.

Origins

Where did the idea of AIDS education in Ontario originate? The seeds lie in the late 1980s under the Liberal government of David Peterson. In 1987, the Ministry of Education mandated school boards to develop an HIV/AIDS curriculum "at the intermediate level" (Grades 7-10), but the Department of Education had its own agenda and set the pace. Agitation for school programs to combat the so-called "profound social, moral and medical crisis in virtually every facet of society" (Teacher's manual) continued through the Bob Rae period (1991-1995). This phenomenon ran in tandem with Rae's infamous Common Curriculum.

With the coming of the Harris Tories in 1995, with their emphasis on accountability in education and improved academic curricula, one would have thought such nonsense would have gone to the back-burner. But no. Either the mini-mandarins continued on their way regardless, or Mr. Harris, beset by other opponents, hesitated to take on the "gay" lobby also. In fact today, the program in its latest incarnation is extended in both directions from kindergarten to grade 12.

Methodology

The actions (and reactions) of Catholic boards have paralleled those at the introduction of the controversial Fully Alive sex-education program, also in the 1980s. At the time there were also protests about this curriculum. These were promptly denied and ignored. Today it is a fixture.

Before putting "Fully Alive" in all their schools, school board directors and religious affairs committees initiated pilot programs and so-called "extensive parental consultation." But parents who took the trouble to investigate the contents thoroughly found themselves marginalized and tarred as dinosaurs. There was meant to be a Family edition for the use of parents; it would be interesting to have opinions from parents who remember receiving this. As with the HIV/AIDS program, the more pertinent information was likely to be found in the Teacher's Manual. There are certain things that it is better for parents not to know, for their own good, of course. These might include the potential mention of anal and oral genital sexual activity in classes for their 15 year-old grade 10 children, usually in mixed-sex classes (HIV/AIDS Teacher's Manual, page 139).

The same principle is at work with the latter program. In Toronto, teachers concerned were required to attend an inservice course prior to the program's introduction in the fall of 2001. They were issued tightly scripted blurbs on how to present the program to the parents on curriculum night. They were also to tell parents that letters indicating lesson content would go home in advance, with the reassurance that the program had the support of the bishops. Support of the bishops here means that Bishop Doyle simply accepted the approval of the American bishop, just as he had taken over that bishop's preface. That in turn sufficed for the other bishops, none of whom would have had the time to read through it and none of whom would have been familiar with the criticisms.

Today, the HIV/AIDS program is, with its cohort Fully Alive, in place in the Toronto District Catholic School Board. But programs can go as they come, that is if elected officials see an interest in dropping them (there is not too much talk about the Common Curriculum nowadays, though vestiges of it still lie around).

What to do?

The burdens weighing down today's parents have been indicated earlier. However the modern grandparent is usually younger and healthier than previous generations, and flush with freedom 55. Perhaps it is now time for them to show an interest and support young parents in the endeavour to root out these anti-family programs from the schools. Where to start?

First call should be at the school to indicate one's concern to the footsoldiers, the principal and teacher, many of them not too happy about the program either; beyond them, one can approach the District Superintendent. Ask for copies of all the Manual pages at your child's grade level. Next, approach the school trustees, usually also overburdened and concerned chiefly with fiscal matters. With them, it is not inconceivable that a government-mandated, episcopally-approved program would just get the "Ayes have it! Next!" treatment. Concerns must therefore be brought to the Director of Education, the head of the Department of Religious Education, the local parish priest and bishop. (The latter two may not be aware of the devil in the program's details). Finally, education being a provincial jurisdiction, complaints should be lodged with the local MPP.

Lack of past effective parental action (i.e., in the case of Fully Alive) has led to the imposition of explicit, age-inappropriate programs on our school-age children by liberal-minded educational elites. The HIV/AIDS curriculum carries this abuse one step further. So, you say, that's it, the kids will get used to it, it will all go over their heads-- and what more can "they" do? A quick study of the public school situation in Toronto gives us an idea, however, of what is ahead if "we" don't do something.

The Toronto Public School Board was in the van with Sex-ed, AIDS-ed courses, condom machines (in high schools), with PFLAG in schools preaching acceptance of "gays," the works. Now the bar has been lowered. John Maxwell, director of community development at the AIDS Committee of Toronto said recently that people need to talk about sexual health at a younger age, so they can make informed choices! (Toronto Sun, Dec. 2/01). Someone at the Board was obviously listening. The January 10/02 edition of the "gay" tabloid Xtra featured an article lauding Steve Solomon, a Toronto Board social worker who conducts "anti-homophobia" classes with grade ones and twos! It's coming our way.

For Toronto readers, the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) mailing address is 80 Sheppard Ave E., Toronto, ON, tel. [phone]. The director of education is Johanne Stewart and the director of religious education courses is Ralph Peter (ext. 2169). Trustees who can also be contacted at this number are: Ward 1) Mark Stefanini, 2) Rose Andrachuk, 3) Joseph Carnevale (chair) 4) Stefania Giannetta, 5) Joshua Colle, 6) Christine Nunziata, 7) Michael del Grande, 8) Mary Ann Robillard, 9) Elizabeth Boyd, 10) Barbara Poplawski, 11) Angela Kennedy, 12) Paul John Crawford (vice-chair).

There may shortly be a by-election in ward 9, as Mrs. Boyd has indicated she intends to resign.

The TCDSB can also be accessed at the website <www.tcdsb.org>.

The Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops (OCCB) can be contacted at 10 St. Mary St., Suite 800, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1P9, telephone [phone], and at the Archdiocesan office of Toronto at 1155 Yonge St., Toronto, ON, M4T 1S2, telephone [phone].

Editor's note:

As Catholic Insight has pointed out in the previous articles, HIV/AIDS does not deserve the special treatment it gets; on the scale of diseases it ranks well down the ladder. Other sexually-transmitted diseases are afar greater threat than HIV which remains pretty well restricted to the homosexual community. Catholic schools should be buying (especially for their grades 11-12 students) Dr. John Shea's The Safer Sex Illusion (see ad on page 41), which gives hard-nosed medical facts about the explosion of STDs, an explosion recently confirmed in newspaper reports.

Kate Daffern is a former teacher and is presently a volunteer with Catholic Insight.