The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

B® OPINION VOICE OF STUDENTS MISSING IN SEX-ED DEBATE There is a crucial voice miss- ing in the debate regarding the provincial government's deci- sion to repeal the 2015 sex-educa- tion curriculum - the young peo- ple for whom it was developed. As an educator in Halton for 35 years, I taught health and physical education, including the sex-education component of the curriculum in its various forms. % For a good portion of my ca- reer I was a guidance counsellor and head of the student services department. In that role, I dealt with numerous cases involving young people and sexual issues, focusing on three aspects of the curriculum that have now re- pealed. , The first is consent. Much of the discussion to date has fo- cused on the potential victims of unwanted sexual activity, which, of course is priority. But, there is also those who are the perpetra- tors. I think of a group of young men in Grade 12 who, although they did not perpetrate the acts, witnessed the purposeful sexual exploitation of girls who were unwittingly administered the date rape drug at parties. In their minds, the boys were doing noth- ing wrong, completely unaware of the criminal act of beng a by- stander. They were shocked 0 discov- er this. I think of the Grade 1Q boy who surreptitiously took cell- phone pictures of his female classmates in certain poses and posted them online. He thought it was just "fun" only to discover it was potentially illegal. Then there is cyber bullying. I think ofthe Grade 10 girl who refused to come to school be- cause a group of girls spread a rumour (untrue) on social media that she had engaged in a sexual act with several boys. The group of girls had no idea the devastat- ing impact this was having on her. The third aspect is sexual ori- entation, which reminds me of the young woman who, in her graduating year, was consider- ing taking her own life since she didn't know how to tell her par- ents she was homosexual. All of these situations are real and occurred prior to 2015, when the 1998 curriculum was being taught. With the new curridu- Jum, updated in 2015, the circum- stances listed above may have never happened since students would have been informed. Although I realize well-mean- ing parents and politicians be- lieve repealing the 2015 curricu- lum is best for students, it is with confidence that I state it is not. Your experience and reality upon which you make your deci- sion is not the experience and re- ality of young people today. Listen to what young people have to say. The 2015 curriculum is a response to their voice. Mavis O'Neil Be y PTT REGIONAL SAL 2018 EDGE i: (1 SNAPSHOT <a Keith Hincks photo Keith Hincks snapped this photo of a frog hanging out on a lily pad in his Milton pond. Do you have a cute, fun, unique or interesting photo taken in Milton? Send your Snapshot submission for consideration to cohara@metroland.com. Please include a short description and the name of the photographer for publication. Gallinge MILTON esl. 1967 a nice place to do business a MAIN STREET E., MILTON EMPLOYEE PRICING iS HERE -- Bas =X hE: TENDS AGUS TIET RoE IN TOTAL PRICE Ed 05 ASS i 44 £ {FORD "all offers e aI hy 3st, P{OE:] See dealer for details. z 1snBny 'Aeps 8102 wo ugyeyapisul