Ottawa school board to ask students if they are gay - Polidicks

[quote]A school board in Ottawa will be asking students if they are gay as part of a census that will be conducted later this month. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board will conduct a survey of parents and students from junior kindergarten to Grade 6; students in Grades 7 to 12 will complete the survey on their own, according to the Ottawa Citizen. The survey will cover a broad range of questions concerning religious affiliation, home life and sexual orientation. The board says results will help it make better decisions about programs and services. But is it appropriate to ask students as young as those in Grade 7 about their sexual orientation? “We don’t want to offend people,” Barrie Hammond, the board’s director of education, told the newspaper. The question from the survey that asks students how they identify their sexual orientation offers several possible answers: “Heterosexual,” “Lesbian,” “Queer,” “Questioning,” “Transsexual,” “Two-spirited” and “Prefer not to disclose.” Students won’t be forced to provide answers to questions that make them uncomfortable, Mr. Hammond added. “If (students) come to a question they feel is too personal or they don’t feel ready to answer or they don’t know what it means, they can go on to the next question,” he said. Individual responses from the confidential survey will not be available to district or school staff. This isn’t the first time such a survey has been conducted. The Toronto District School Board did a similar survey several years ago, and students weren’t bothered by it, Lloyd McKell, the senior advisor to the director of education, told the newspaper. “They take these questions much more in stride than many of the adults in the community,” he said.[/quote] In my opinion, I don't see how asking someone for their sexuality will help the school board teach their students better. :colbert: Source: [url]http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/ottawa-school-board-to-ask-students-if-they-are-gay/article1785782/[/url]

this isn't any of their fucking business

Making mountains out of molehills.

If I were there i'd check lesbian even though i'm male.

Christian teacher walks into a class; "Are any of you students gay?" "Yes!" said one. "YOU'RE GOING TO HELL AND YOU WILL NEVER LEARN... Anyway, on with calculus."

Everyone knows their sexuality at grade 7, of course. We stop developing identities after 5th

Also "queer"? "Two-spirited"? "Gay" and "Bisexual" not politically correct or something?

I'm okay with it as long as it's optional.

[QUOTE=NightmareXx;25945240]this isn't any of their fucking business[/QUOTE] yeah fuck you census bureau it's my private information!!!

[QUOTE=Tetracycline;25945362]yeah fuck you census bureau it's my private information!!![/QUOTE] The Census Bureau =! school board. Try again, though.

[QUOTE=ThatHippyMan;25945385]The Census Bureau =! school board. Try again, though.[/QUOTE] That is definitely not what I was going at but okay

[QUOTE=Covalent;25945265]Christian teacher walks into a class; "Are any of you students gay?" "Yes!" said one. "YOU'RE GOING TO HELL AND YOU WILL NEVER LEARN... Anyway, on with calculus."[/QUOTE] Where does it say the school is based on religion? They are surveying several things. This is just one (very stupid) thing.

[QUOTE=claythepro;25945438]Where does it say the school is based on religion? They are surveying several things. This is just one (very stupid) thing.[/QUOTE] It's not even stupid, it's just a question of sexuality that could be anonymous, or at least other students won't find out.

Why is anyone even interested in what 7th graders think their sexual orientation is

They aren't forcing anyone to answer so really what does it matter? It's just a survey. [editline]8th November 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;25945495]Why is anyone even interested in what 7th graders think their sexual orientation is[/QUOTE] I think they are just trying to see how many people have "decided" their sexual orientation by that age.

A problem with this is students will be pressured by others to say what they answered and it opens up bullying. Or the students could start rumors that'll be spread "did you hear x is gay?" I won't be surprised when I see a kid kill him or herself over this.

[QUOTE=DOG-GY;25945573]A problem with this is students will be pressured by others to say what they answered and it opens up bullying. Or the students could start rumors that'll be spread "did you hear x is gay?" I won't be surprised when I see a kid kill him or herself over this.[/QUOTE] Because lying is so last year.. right? [editline]8th November 2010[/editline] Also, I knew 2 guys who said they were homosexual by grade 7, no one bothered them. No one even cared.

How many transsexuals are you gonna find in 7th grade?

[QUOTE=DOG-GY;25945573]A problem with this is students will be pressured by others to say what they answered and it opens up bullying. Or the students could start rumors that'll be spread "did you hear x is gay?" I won't be surprised when I see a kid kill him or herself over this.[/QUOTE] They could lie to their friends, or just plain not answer and say they dun giv a fuk

[QUOTE=sloppy_joes;25945593]Also, I knew 2 guys who said they were homosexual by grade 7, no one bothered them. No one even cared.[/QUOTE] depends on your environment though

Not everyone lies well under pressure.

I would probably have put on my best stereotypical flamboyant gay guy accent on and say no to fuck with them.

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;25945646]depends on your environment though[/QUOTE] Canada is still Canada. I hate to generalize, but no one seems to care up here.

[QUOTE=sloppy_joes;25945700]Canada is still Canada. I hate to generalize, but no one seems to care up here.[/QUOTE] It may not be as bad there as here but I knew gay kids in high school and everyone seemed to be treated perfectly well, but I know others now who weren't from my school who were bullied to hell and back

This isn't surprising considering the other questionairs I've taken in Canadian public school, They give you essentially the same thing every year and most questions boil down to, are you black/mexican/native How many drugs are you addicted to, How many times a week do your parents beat you how many times a day are you sexually harrased how many times a day are you racially harrased how often are you raped, how often do you rape someone, do you feel you are raped because you are black, are you addicted to drugs because you are raped so often and are black?

7th grade? You know they're all going to put "transsexual" as a joke.

[QUOTE=DOG-GY;25945652]Not everyone lies well under pressure.[/QUOTE] That's why you tell the truth. And then hit them with a frying pan and hope they develop short-term memory loss. [editline]9th November 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=Novistador;25945770] how often are you raped, how often do you rape someone, do you feel you are raped because you are black, are you addicted to drugs because you are raped so often and are black?[/QUOTE] This cracked me up.

[QUOTE=AeroSinthetic;25945820]That's why you tell the truth. And then hit them with a frying pan and hope they develop short-term memory loss.[/QUOTE] You have a very poor sense of reality

[QUOTE=mastermaul;25945278]Also "queer"? "Two-spirited"? "Gay" and "Bisexual" not politically correct or something?[/QUOTE] i don't think 2 spirit means quite what you think it does

[QUOTE=Triumph Forks;25945900]i don't think 2 spirit means quite what you think it does[/QUOTE] It's an undead version of Two-Face, right?