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margaret wente wrote a thoroughly aggravating column in today's globe. she takes aim at the new political agenda within Ontario's public schools- lamenting how children are now being brow-beaten with sensitivity training for every special interest group possible and also being placed in the middle of a consistently conflictual labour environment.

with regard to the labour climate for Ontario's schools, I must agree. I pity the poor kids who must consistently be exposed to quarreling teachers and governments, strings of public awareness campaigns trying to out-propaghanda the other side and a constant between parents, teachers, boards and the government.

i have always applauded the decision of the manitoba teacher's society to unilaterally dispose of the right to strike in favour of binding arbitration as this ensures that children aren't made pawns in employer/employee spats and also removes some of the politicized rhetoric from the classroom.

however, margaret goes too far on the other tack she tries to take. she arrogantly turns important diversity and sensitivity training for kids into a mockery, attempting to pretend that it's all just one big joke for the kids. she singles out "diverse family month" where one classroom drew pictures of non-traditional families. then she takes aim at the entire curriculum which aims to alert children to the diversity within their classroom and the broader world.

i take issue for wente's criticism for a number of reasons. firstly, she is far too sweeping in both her criticism and her presentation of facts. yes, children have an expanded curriculum which includes topics such as artificial insemination, transgenderism, black history and diverse families. not every classroom has lame assignments though and not every school utilizes this curriculum so broadly.

second, wente suggests that much of this curriculum isn't age appropriate. we start family life in grade 3, we draw families starting in grade 1, we start sex talk in grade 5. do we need to be older to understand that there is more to a family than a mom, dad and kids? do we need to be more mature to come to understand that some people don't have two parents? do we need to be wiser before we know that not everyone's straight?

the greatest irony in this is that wente is the proponent of a pro-Israeli, pro-Jewish column approximately once every 2 1/2 weeks. here she preaches tolerance and understanding. here she is unequivocal in the necessity that others must accept and understand the distinct position of her minority group. funny how when it's a different minority group, wente is all for the majority and all for the status quo. must be nice to pick and choose which minorities you'll be sensitive towards.

i will agree that the public school system in ontario is in peril. i will agree that curriculum should factor in ability to comprehend and be sensitive to children's ages. however, i'm not against "Diverse Families Month" because if kids are learning about families we shouldn't teach them what's "normal" and then teach them about diversity when they're more mature. i'm not against conflict resolution groups on the playground. i'm not against learning about oppressed children every where else.

let's safe-guard our kids from the politics that they can't understand. however, let's not place them in a bubble that isn't in touch with reality!