Standardized snowsuits for all students?  Regulated lunches in schools?  You bet.  There are many educrats who would love this!  And, as some here have commented on this blog, it is preferable for some in the teaching community, to have children in their care as young as 2 years old, so they can teach them all about social justice, white privilege, and many other valuable lessons which have absolutely NOTHING to do with reading, writing, arithmetic.  This post reminded me of the Nanny State they implemented in Scotland a year and a half ago:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/10214975/Lawyers-warn-against-Big-Brother-plans-to-give-every-Scottish-child-a-state-guardian.html  This is music to the ears of government.  What are parents thinking?!?

Your last statement:  ‘Unfortunately however, as a general rule the government can’t do as good a job as the actual parents.’  Better stated, they won’t do a better job.  If they were truly interested in our children they’d aggressively try to put a stop to bullying rather than sweep it under the carpet so-to-speak while children suffer;  they’d demand better teaching practices and curricula for our students; they’d cut the bureaucrats at the school boards who are soaking up tax dollars; and they’d hold teachers accountable for how their charges are performing.  There’s much more that boards could be doing, but the list is too long. 

What it boils down to is that when a school day is cancelled due to cold weather, because the above is not addressed, then frankly I tend to view their ‘caring’ actions with a jaundiced eye.

Bullying is all about power and control.  It is an attempt to gain power with little or no effort to resolve a problem.  It is repeated behaviour, and it is intentional. 

On February 24, 2015, the following exchange took place in the Ontario Legislature:

Mr. Monte McNaughton: Well, Premier, it doesn’t end there: Ornge, gas plants, deleted hard drives, the Sudbury by-election, and a prominent member of your own 2013 transition team—your former Deputy Minister of Education—has now admitted to three criminal charges.
Premier, in light of the criminal conduct of your own hand-picked advisers, how would you rate the ethical deficiencies of your government compared, say, to the scandals that drove your predecessor out of office: a higher standard of ethics than we got under Dalton McGuinty or, perhaps, just as bad?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: You know, that was a pretty broad-ranging question. Let me just quote back to the member something that he said yesterday. He said that it’s not the Premier of Ontario’s job, “especially Kathleen Wynne,” to tell parents what is age-appropriate for their children. Mr. Speaker, let me just ask the member opposite: What is it that especially disqualifies me for the job that I’m doing? Is it that I’m a woman? Is it that I’m a mother? Is it that I have a master’s of education? Is it that I was a school council chair? Is it that I was the Minister of Education? What is it exactly that the member opposite thinks disqualifies me from doing the job that I’m doing? What is that?

My response to the Premier – just because one has an impressive resume does not qualify them to move full steam ahead with any kind of initiative without proper consultation.  I would expect this of any government.  After all, we supposedly live in a democracy – “a government by the people”….”the people” being the operative word.  We have a majority government that “the people” voted in.  But not all “the people”.  Those people have a democratic right as well.  And - those democratic rights are being eroded through the constant and standard, non-collaborate process of our school boards. 

Since the release of the sex ed curriculum, I have seen more name calling and insults thrown at each other on social media by adults simply because they disagree with each other.  I have witnessed bullying at it’s worst.

Additionally, I am tired of being held hostage by school boards (and our current government) that simply plows through with their every intention, feigning parental collaboration because they have a majority government, and, well…..because they can.  The only message they are sending is that THEY have the POWER and the CONTROL…..which is what the experts say is the number one trait of a “bully”.

There is more than one reason why enrollment numbers are down.

Well written, Karen.  I agree, and I also didn’t like the fact   that this government wants to take ownership in raising our children, as they blatantly said when rolling out this new sex curricula.  How did they react to the protesters who are against this same curricula?  They called us homophobics, which I think in most cases is untrue.  They are bullies, and I’ll add to this that from their actions they seem to lack ethics and morals—never mind compassion.

Rather than embracing sex ed, I wish they’d concentrate on good curricula in the basics (math, spelling, reading using phonics, writing skills) instead of putting all of their energy into this explicit sex curricula.  But of course this government would say that our kids are learning very well because of excellent curricula and teachers, which is untrue. 

You had also mentioned, Karen that the Ontario Liberals aren’t collaborating with the 60 + per cent who didn’t vote for them.  Good point, and again, this is a type of bullying on their part.

Thanks Bev.  While I agree that a change in the curriculum was required, the degree to which collaboration took place was non-existent.  A mother knows her children best.  While my first born would have been ready to emotionally accept what is scheduled to be taught in the grade six sex education curriculum, I also know for a fact that my second born child would not have been emotionally ready.  Our children learn at different times and in different ways.  I learned that the only part of the sex ed curriculum where a parent cannot withdraw their child is when it deals with human rights issues.  So while our educational system is forcing our students to learn about human rights, I am assisting parents on how to navigate the euducational system on a students basic human right to learn in a safe environment.  Ironic.  We need choice on where we spend our hard earned tax dollars to educate our children.

Karen, the school can insist all they want that children must attend parts of this sex curricula, but ultimately it’s up to the parents what classes or parts or parts of classes they want their child to attend.  If the parent doesn’t want them to attend at all they can pull them out completely.

As far as human rights:  teachers, administrators and trustees would teach children human rights far better by demonstrating human rights.  In other words, if they properly supervised children, and forbade bullying, our children would catch on pretty fast as to what is acceptable and unacceptable as far as how to treat one another.

Lecturing in front of the classroom about human rights; yet allowing such terrible bullying behaviour by children toward one another only negates all the lecturing about respecting other human beings for who they are.  As they say, actions speak louder than words…
 
btw, we used to take our children out of school every Wed. a.m.—without getting permission—for their piano lessons, and apparently years ago many more parents did the same.  (In my opinion, it’s unfortunate that nowadays not as many children take piano lessons.)

Karen touched a very important subject erosion of our rights as parents. I already am denied access to school (pretext -safety), I am being “educated” (most teachers sense the power behind them and use it to intimidate parents - behavior aka bullying)  by a 23 year old girl with a B.E. and no children of her own; I am being denied every kind of information about what teachers do in the classroom (‘I can call’ doesn’t work… I will not call everyday), I am being denied to properly prepare my child for the career of his choice/potential for it seems that the state has already chosen one for him considering the miserable standards (as a menial worker and a follower). Little by little our rights to our own children are being taken away. It is systematic, progresses very fast and nobody seems to really notice for it is always a new, hot issue on a plate while the whole picture skillfully covered.  BTW my child takes piano once a week already. He also have frequent tonsillitis and I don’t know how long we will be able to take dance classes around this system. I am sure that even the extra curricular activities will be taken of the list ...soon.

I gave a coat of my back - literally - to a student who was ill equipped for that particular winter day.

I am an immigrant to this country.  We came from a country with winter, mountains, and people perishing when they made poor choices.  The people perishing was part of our vernacular and informed our choices.

We have many immigrants who come to Canada who see see snow for the first time in their lives in their first few months after landing .  They do not understand (first hand experience as a teacher in an inner city school with many immigrant families)  the differential between minus 2 degrees and minus 20 degrees with wind chill.

These lovely folks and their children also lack the appropriate snow gear.  People working with these communities know that.  The decision the Waterloo School Board made was sound and responsible.  It was a decision to protect the vulnerable.  It should be applauded.

My family in its early immigrant years lived in Waterloo for 5 years.  Waterloo is in what is known in Ontario as the ‘snow belt’ combine that with minus 30 degree temperatures and children whose families are just beginning to understand what that means and how they need to re-distribute their limited resources….......... 

The Waterloo school board was responsible and should be applauded and not scolded.

I
To Karen, Bev and other parents -
am glad to see parents in Ontario rising up to protect their children - it’s high time that government officials who think they can take over the parenting of children are told once and for all that they are hired to teach, not co-parent.

All across Canada parents’ rights are being eroded.  B.C. is going through the same crisis.

B,C, parents need to speak up.
Check out bcptl.org

I can tell you are a compassionate person Mirka.  I am temporarily living in a part of the country where cold weather alerts start in early November.  In fact, we have a total of approximately 6-8 weeks worth of temperatures of -30 and colder.  It was a huge shock for me.  Immigrant families who are starting to learn what these kind of temperatures mean can always make the decision to keep their children home instead of sending them out into the elements.  Classes do not need to be shut down on behalf of the few.  Now - had we been living in Nova Scotia this past winter…well that’s another story.  Those kind of snow amounts are dangerous.

Of course Premier Wynn wanted to keep the sex ed program under wraps, without parental input or knowledge,  because none other than Ben Levin (her Deputy Ed. Minister) was the author of it.
Guess everyone knows where Ben Levin is right now!

In B.C. as well, parents have been shocked to find out what their children are being taught under he guise of “bullying” and “tolerance”.

http://www.bcptl.org
Lawsuit Against Vancouver School Board re Gender Policy [press release]

http://www.bcptl.org/?p=4919#comment-29899

http://www.bcptl.org/?m=201409

All the bigotry in America was unable to destroy the black family.  However a generation of welfare did destroy it.

So far 150 years of compulsory education has been unable to eradicate the family in the west.  I guess they are trying harder?

I think you make some good points.

The cat is out of the bag and hopefully Ben Levin will be out of circulation for a long long time.

In the meantime, Kathleen Wynne just proved a point - a person can have all the qualifications in the world, but if they lack a moral compass, it is all for naught - Ontario facing massive corruption and deficits, parental rights being trampled on, and children’s health and safety being compromised. 

I sincerely hope that Kathleen Wynne, Liz Sandals and their group will be held accountable.  Ontario parents are fully justified in demanding justice.

See what one psychotherapist and medical doctor said about this issue:

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/psychiatrists-wynnes-early-sex-ed-program-is-sexual-abuse

In the meantime, let all concerned Canadians support these parents by signing the petition at

http://www.p-first.com/