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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 19 ,2 01 8 | 8 Waterloo Chronicle 630 Riverbend Dr. Kitchener, ON N2B 2G1 Phone: 519-886-2830 Fax: 519-579-2029 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000 CONTACT US VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira nparreira@metroland.com Regional Advertising Director Bill Ford bford@metroland.com Sales Lead Michelle Stevens ext. 795062 Advertising Representatives Cassandra Dellow ext. 795066 Zach Peters ext. 795068 Jan Bodanka ext. 795072 Editor Bob Vrbanac Reporters Adam Jackson Bill Jackson Namish Modi WHO WE ARE The Waterloo Chronicle, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 100 community publications across Ontario. The Waterloo Chronicle is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editorial@waterloochronicle.ca waterloochronicle @wlchronicle ABOUT US ® Chronicle.WATERLOO $1.00 CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITY WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA OPINION • EDITORIAL • The last provincial election was touted as a time for a change as Premier Doug Ford ended 15 years of Liberal rule and won a Tory majority. He said he would turn back the clock on some of the Liberals' most unpopular policies, and he wasn't kidding as he pulled out a time machine this week and set the province's sexual education curriculum back to 1998. That was before Facebook and Snapchat and oth- er social media channels allowed people to reveal a little too much of their private lives for all to see, and have those faux pas live forever on the internet. It was before sexting was a thing, and sending pictures of underagers to other underagers could get them arrested for producing child pornography. How would you like to go through life as a sex of- fender? Some kids are finding themselves in that exact situation. We understand that the new premier made prom- ises to social conservatives and others to roll back what schools are teaching on the sex file, but the only reason a lot of the curriculum was updated was to reflect new realities like the better understand- ing of the LGBTQ+ community and how to have difficult conversations with kids that their parents were not. Yes, sex education should be taught in the home, but a lot of people are ill prepared or uncomfortable in addressing the new realities and what to return to a simpler, safer time. Well, the genie is out of the bottle and is probably gender fluid or at least ques- tioning who they are, and to repress those questions only leads to misunderstandings, stigmatization or worse, abuse, self-harm or even suicide. Teachers only wanted the tools to not "promote a lifestyle," but give kids real answers and resources about what they are going through and where they can get help if they need it. Don't mistake control over what your children knows as protection from the wider world. And the world is a lot bigger than it was 20 years ago. You'll find cold comfort in nostalgia for what has been and falling behind the pace of change and find- ing that the world has moved on. Plus, it doesn't prepare the next generation to go off into that world with answers that are two decades old. Parents want to be involved, and they should be. But too many are not and some want to turn a wilful blind eye to where society is now and where it is going. If they want an honest discussion, they should start with themselves, and not hope some govern- ment provides them a magical time machine to re- turn to a place that no longer exists. Returning to a reality that no longer exists I know what some of your are thinking - aren't you gone yet? This must be the longest goodbye in local journalism. But I promise that this is my very last column for this publication, and I thought I'd leave you with one more glimpse into Bob- by's world as I ride off into the sunset. I can hear the groans already. My wife Tara's gift to me for wrapping up a long ca- reer in journalism was to put together a new trampo- line she found on one of those online communities where people turn their trash into cash, and my honey do list gets longer. Yammer, just give me the hammer. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not the handiest guy around, mostly be- cause my frustration level goes through the roof when I have to put together some- thing that doesn't come with proper instructions. Over the years that has in- cluded a baby crib with in- structions all in Chinese and, of course, other pro- jects that required an engi- neering degree just to get them out of the box. This time we had all the pieces, I just had to down- load the assembly instruc- tions off the internet. Yeah, like that's something sim- ple to do. Of course, you can always watch the instruc- tional video, but they al- ways do it so fast and easy that it looks like a snap. When I try to do it all I want to do is snap. Where are the videos with clods like me realisti- cally showing all of the false starts, tear downs and rebuilds until you finally get something that looks like it might work. They should also show you how to hold your breath as you use one of your kids as a guinea pig to test it. Luckily, my wife and I have a deal when it comes to driving one of our three sons to the hospital for their latest set of stitches or X-rays. We play rock, pap- er, scissors, with the loser having to drive the injured party to the emergency room. I happy to say I've on- ly lost once. That's why I can't wait until my oldest son gets his licence next year. One of the conditions of being al- lowed to drive the car will be he has to take his broth- ers to the hospital. The least he can do is drive him- self. See you in the funny papers. - Managing editor Bob Vrbanac is an award- winning columnist. He promises this is his last column. That's all folks, I promise One more visit to Bobby's world, insists departing editor BOB VRBANAC Column