Strait school board to rule on sexual health programs
07.05.2008 22:00
Health
- Source: cbc.ca
The Strait Regional School Board will decide Wednesday whether to end two school sexual health programs that a board member says are not run by the appropriate people. Frank Machnic is putting forward a motion to deny staff from the Antigonish Women's Resource Centre access to district schools. "Addictions or sexual orientation or human sexuality are sensitive issues," he told CBC News. "We're not talking about algebra and chemistry here. We're talking about things that have moral connotations." The resource centre has developed two programs, one specifically for girls and another for Grade 9 students, that are being offered in several schools. Machnic, a retired teacher who divides his time between the school board and his church, said staff at the resource centre aren't educators or professionals, and therefore shouldn't be in schools. The head of the centre, Lucille Harper, disagrees. "The staff person who works in the schools with Inspire is a social worker, and the curriculum for the Healthy Relationships for Youth program was approved by the Department of Education," Harper said. The healthy relations course is valuable, said Chris McDaniel, a Grade 12 student at Cape Breton Highlands Academy who leads discussions with the younger students. "I know some students have expressed their feelings of how it was really important for them to hear what we were talking about," said McDaniel. "They wanted to hear it from their peers. "I don't know why a program called Healthy Relationships for Youth, why they would want to ban that from schools." Several students have written letters to the board, asking members to support the two courses. Post a commentPeople have commented on this storyRecommend this storyPeople have recommended this storyStory Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKStory comments (0)Sort:Most recent | First to last | Most recommendedPost your commentNote: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are pre-moderated/reviewed and published according to our submission guidelines. Comment:Characters allowed: 2500PostSubmission policyHealth HeadlinesNew research into mad cow-linked prions reveals silver lining00Prions — infectious agents that cause diseases like the human variant of mad cow disease — also have protective properties, new research suggests. Ottawa announces $298M in health research00Federal Health Minister Tony Clement on Wednesday announced $298 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for 764 health research projects across the country. Vitamin D improves outcomes in chronic kidney disease cases: study00Taking vitamin D may cut the risk of premature death by one fourth in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease, a new study finds.C. difficile linked to dozens of deaths at Ontario hospital00Hospitals in Ontario will be ordered to report any outbreaks of C. difficile after a Burlington hospital reported that dozens of people died following an outbreak of the bacteria.Ottawa high school student's flu glue wins national prize00A 17-year-old Ottawa high school student has won a national student biotechnology competition by making a molecule that flu viruses stick to, which could potentially be used to diagnose or eventually prevent flu infections.Health FeaturesHEALTH CAREGoing digitalOnline health records: Convenience vs. privacy HEALTH AsthmaHEALTHSpecial needsChildren with disabilities continue to face social barriers HEALTHVision careOpening our eyes to children's health issuesHEALTHLightning ProcessControversial training program comes to CanadaPeople who read this also read …
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