A survey* of students from both public and Catholic high schools (cited in a recent Globe and Mail article)  found that the students were overwhelmingly in favour of learning about sexual diversity: “Nearly 82 per cent said information on all sexualities should be taught during sexual education classes.”

Another interesting finding is that,  despite Premier McGuinty’s view supporting the use of cellphones in high school classrooms “as an educational tool”,  more than 72 per cent of student respondents disagreed.

On a more disturbing note,  45 per cent said they’d been bullied in school.    This number was variable from board to board, with the worst being the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic District School Board, where the number was 60 per cent!

* More than 2,600 students, mostly in Grade 12, responded to the survey commissioned by the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association, circulated through Facebook and e-mail with the help of Scholarships Canada and Student Vote.  As a voluntary survey, the detailed statistical results would likely not stand up to rigorous analysis, but are interesting nonetheless.