B.C. to add gay issues to school curriculum

The Globe and Mail

June 2, 2006

Same-sex couple withdraw complaint after province agrees to offer course

EVA SALINAS
VANCOUVER — The B.C. government is breaking new ground in education by adding gay and lesbian issues to the provincial curriculum, educators and equality advocates say.

“It’s really a tremendous leap forward for the education system,” said Peter Corren, who recommended curriculum changes to the government.

Mr. Corren, 59, and his partner Murray Corren, 60, launched a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal in 1999, objecting to the limited diversity taught in schools. Last month, they agreed to a settlement from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Attorney-General, and they withdrew their complaint yesterday.

The settlement includes the introduction of a high-school course, to be drafted for September, 2007. “I think it shows how we’re leading in a lot of areas,” Attorney-General Wally Oppal said of the plan. “The idea is to teach the students more about diversity. By that I mean ethnicity, racism, gender issues, issues relating to sexual orientation.”
Peter Corren said educators from around the province will design the course from scratch, as there has been nothing comparable elsewhere in Canada. The closest example, he said, is legislation that was recently passed in California requiring gay and lesbian history to be taught in schools, although Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to veto the decision.

Peter Corren and his partner, who teaches in Coquitlam, charged in their complaint that the government has systemically discriminated by omitting mention of gay, lesbian and transgendered relationships in school curriculums.

In its settlement, the government promised not only to add an elective Grade 12 social-justice class, but also to conduct a general curriculum review, to see if similar content could be added in other areas. It also committed to amend an existing policy that allows students to opt out of compulsory subjects, such as sex education.

Peter Corren called current curriculum “heterosexist,” and said that updates are also needed in other provinces. “It needs to reflect the values enshrined in the Charter and certainly by many new laws — including the marriage one,” he said.

The Correns, who were married two years ago, have led successful fights for equality in B.C. several times, including a campaign for the right to marry and campaigns against discriminatory adoption laws and a case of book-banning by the Surrey School Board.

“I would expect that a lot of provinces would probably be having a look at what we’re doing today,” Education Minister Shirley Bond said, applauding the couple’s latest victory. The ministry emphasized the broad scope of the new course and the fact that it will be optional. Ms. Bond said it is still up to individual school districts to offer the course, and then it’s up to the students to take it.

Jinny Sims, president of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, is delighted with the option. A social-justice course will encompass race, gender and poverty issues that students deal with, she said, and she called that “the right thing to do.”

Charley Beresford, a trustee with the Victoria District School Board, echoed her sentiments. Under her lead, the school board was the first in B.C. to adopt an anti-homophobia policy a few years ago, she said. The policy was motivated by the death of a gay Vancouver man, Aaron Webster, who was beaten to death with a club in 2001.

“We should be taking every step we can to make everyone feel safe,” Ms. Beresford said, mentioning a study released earlier this week by a B.C. adolescent health organization that found lesbian teens are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, and homosexual boys are more than twice as likely.

In 2004, the Vancouver School Board implemented a similar anti-homophobia policy and in May of this year, Ms. Beresford’s school district launched an awareness campaign of the phrase “that’s so gay,” commonly used by schoolchildren.

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Friday » June 2 » 2006

Schools to get sex-orientation courses
Attorney-general says it’s ‘no big deal’ to teach kids about homosexuals

Janet Steffenhagen
Vancouver Sun

Friday, June 02, 2006

CREDIT: Ward Perrin, Vancouver Sun
Peter Corren (back) and Murray Corren launched a human-rights case that has resulted in the B.C. government promising changes to the B.C. curriculm.
B.C. is about to become the first province in Canada to include teachings about sexual orientation in its K-12 curriculum, but Attorney-General Wally Oppal said it’s not a big deal.

“This really is a classic case of much ado about little or nothing,” he said Thursday after announcing a plan to end a long-standing discrimination complaint against the Education Ministry. “I mean, we’re 2006 now and we’re still concerned about whether or not we should be acknowledging the contributions made by homosexuals? Why should that be controversial?

“We live in a diverse society and the diversity ought to be recognized.”

Oppal said the changes outlined in a five-page agreement with Murray and Peter Corren of Vancouver will not have a huge impact on students. The highlights include a new course on social justice to be offered to interested students at the Grade 12 level and a review of all provincial curriculum to ensure it is inclusive.

The new course — to be developed by ministry staff in consultation with teachers, principals, trustees and parents — will explore a range of issues, including sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender and family structure. It is expected to be piloted in several school districts beginning in September 2007 and available provincewide in the next school year.

Curriculum revisions will be made over many months as part of the ministry’s regular review of all subjects.

By signing the deal, the government avoided a long, costly battle before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, which had already agreed to hear the Correns’ argument that schools were guilty of systemic discrimination for failing to teach about sexual orientation as part of the curriculum.

Peter Corren said the new deal will make B.C. a North American leader in teaching about diversity but it doesn’t go as far as he and his partner would have liked.

Nevertheless, he said it’s a milestone because the province has for the first time shown a willingness to teach about sexual orientation in all grades and all subjects.

“It’s probably not as much in-your-face as we would have liked but I think we’ve achieved more by the negotiated settlement than could ever have been forced on to the government by the tribunal,” he said.

“The collaborative atmosphere that we have now has got to be far more constructive and of far more value in achieving our goals. We now genuinely feel that we’re working with the ministry and the ministry staff — the educational staff — are quite excited about it.

“They see this as a very positive development and not a threat whereas if we’d got orders, you’d get people’s backs up.”

Asked for an example of how the curriculum might change, Corren suggested lessons about computer sciences could mention Alan Turing, a brilliant mathematician who led the team that cracked the German Enigma code in the Second World War but was driven to suicide because of his treatment as a homosexual.

Penny Tees, president of the B.C. School Trustees’ Association, praised the new initiatives. “It’s positive news for school boards [that] are constantly looking for ways to be more inclusive. Society has changed and public schools need to stay current.”

Both she and Corren predicted the changes would make schools safer for all students and especially for those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.

Tees said she expects revisions to the curriculum will be similar to other changes that have, over the years, recognized the contributions of women and aboriginals.

Although schools will decide whether to offer Social Justice 12 based on student demand, Tees predicted it will be a popular course because she said many students are interested in diversity issues. Corren agreed, adding he expects it will be particularly appealing to those who want to pursue careers in law or social work.

Elective courses are not required for post-secondary education but are counted as credits. Some popular electives include languages, fine arts, business classes, foods and woodworking.

Kim Howland, president of the B.C. Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils, said the intent of the change is positive but parents will need to see details before concluding that the initiatives are good for students.

Oppal said he did not know how the changes would affect independent schools that receive partial government funding, especially religious schools.

Hugh Burke, a director of the Federation of Independent Schools of B.C., said Thursday he was not familiar with the specifics of the deal but said independent schools always try to balance the interests of parents with the requirements of the provincial curriculum and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“We have no idea what’s in this agreement . . . [but] we aren’t going to get into an argument with the provincial government over this,” said Burke, who is also headmaster of Meadowridge School in Maple Ridge.

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