SHSM: Specialist High Skills Major or Specifically Hurting Student Mindsets?

For those of you immediately wondering what in the world is this Jillien referring to, let me first clarify that “SHSM” stands for Specialist High Skills Major.

“Ah . . . yes . . . those”

The Ministry of Education implemented SHSMs as options for high school students; depending on the school that you attend and the SHSMs that the school offers, students have the opportunity to take one of these programs in order to specialize in course content of their own interests. By enrolling in a SHSM – the health and wellness SHSM for example – a student’s high school course schedule is modified to accommodate for courses and real-life experience in the health and wellness field. According to the Ministry of Education SHSM website, these programs allow students “to identify, explore and refine their career goals and make informed choices about their next steps after secondary school”.

Let’s Talk Sex!

Hey all!

This week I want to talk about sex. Sexual education to be specific. In the beginning of 2015, Ontario implemented revisions to the Health and Physical Education (i.e. sexual education) curriculum; such changes – as you might be aware – were not taken lightly.

Protesters against the revisions on the 2015 Health and Physical Education Curriculum

Let me make my own views clear: I am in full favor of the implementations made. Students should be more educated on sex, and communicating about sex should be a normalized topic of conversation in our society. The more that students are introduced to sex (i.e. sex and gender identity, sexual positions, sexual conduct, sexual misconduct, and sexual safety), the better. 

To best illustrate why I have these views, I would like to respond directly to some of the implementations that people have raised concern over:

Testing 1…2…3

Hello! Welcome to my first blog post!

Because I am creating this blog with a focus on the conversations surrounding the politics of education – mainly the curriculum and various responses to such changes – I figured I would start with a topic known and discussed by nearly every student . . .

STANDARDIZED TESTING.