Our research into “HAM” reveals that there is a great deal of confusion, misinformation, and hearsay about the policy and exactly what it entails. We have heard from students who believe the policy restricts teachers from talking about homosexuality, abortion, and masturbation entirely under any circumstances, and we have also heard from students about instances of teachers commencing health class with a warning of some kind that “HAM” topics were off limits for discussion. We have also talked with teachers in other school divisions who claim to know of the policy, and even one former River-East Transcona division teacher who “remembers being told most emphatically that those three subjects could not be discussed.” In some instances the people we spoke with were familiar with the “HAM” moniker and some not. Across the board, however, the message is clear: something like this policy exists and it limits teachers from addressing sexual orientation, abortion, and masturbation in a meaningful way in the classroom.
This profusion of misinformation about the policy seems to stem in part from the uncertain status the policy currently holds in River-East Transcona. The policy cannot be found in the online version of the school division's Policy Manual (http://www.retsd.mb.ca/site/about/policy/polmain.html). In email conversations with Michelle Williams, the division's consultant for physical education and health, the existence of the policy has been denied. However, our continued questioning into the matter, and the school division's subsequent response, leads us to believe the truth is rather more complex.
We asked the school division: If a policy like “HAM” does not exist, why is there such widespread knowledge about it, to the extent that it shares a commonly recognized nick-name (“HAM”) among teachers and students in River-East Transcona and in Winnipeg broadly?
The answer we received from Ms. Williams is telling: "I am sorry, you are still confused. I should have added some history, maybe this will help put it into perspective. Before amalgamation River East School Division did have a policy termed by teachers as H.A.M. ...Since the amalgamation with Transcona, and with the new health curriculum which occurred pretty much at the same time, we no longer have a policy on this as I stated in my last email."
Here is an admission that at one time before the amalgamation of River East and Transcona, some sort of policy was in effect in River East that teachers had nicknamed "HAM." No specific details about the nature or contents of this policy are provided. Ms. Williams further claims that since the amalgamation and overhaul of the health curriculum the policy is not longer in effect.
The amalgamation of River East and Transcona school divisions occurred in 2002/2003. The current version of the province of Manitoba's Human Sexuality curriculum was released in 2005 (http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/physhlth/hs_s1-2/index.html).
In contradiction to Ms. William's claim, the HAM Happens campaign has recently acquired a River East Transcona School Division policy document that we believe contains the guideline that is at the heart of “HAM.” The document in question is not publicly available and was given to us by an anonymous source. The document is called "Guidelines for Discussing Sexual Orientation, Abortion and Masturbation for Health Education for s1/s2 (Revised, May 2006)," and is contained in the River East Transcona School Division Administrator's Handbook titled Planning for Potentially Sensitive Outcomes (view a PDF of this document here). Revised in May 2006, this document contains policies effective well after the amalgamation of the school divisions and at least one year after the health curriculum was overhauled.
The guideline instructs teachers that sexual orientation, abortion, and masturbation are NOT to be introduced as lesson topics in health class, and that discussion about these topics may only happen if and when specific questions are raised by students. The guideline states, “Teachers are not to introduce abortion as a lesson topic given that there are no health outcomes that focus on this topic.” The province of Manitoba identifies all health outcomes in the Human Sexuality curriculum as “potentially sensitive” and provides detailed guidelines for teachers and administrators to follow when delivering this content. No where in these provincial guidelines are special instructions given for teachers on the topics of sexual orientation, abortion, or masturbation. It is unclear why River East Transcona School Division has gone this extra step to single out these three topics for special treatment in this regard.
