Fine and McLelland’s article makes me wonder about three
things in particular: 1) If school’s
were not bound by monetary incentives, would schools allow and teachers
comfortably reach out and teach the many facets of sexual education necessary
and covered in this article; 2) At what grade level do we begin this curriculum – due to the
nature and culture of individual student’s homes, as well as maturity level,
some have a need for this education earlier than others and others should not
be educated too thoroughly, too soon; 3) It seems we should at the same time be
educating parents/guardians of our students, especially those of the socio-economically
compromised groups, such as “Black,
Latino, and Native American youth, those living in poverty, and/or recently immigrated
to the United States.“
Regarding
the first point, I know of some wonderful Health teachers who would have no
problem discussing and being open about any of the topics discussed in the
article and others who I think would quickly gloss over certain subjects. That
alone could make the difference in a good, comprehensive sexual education.
Health is
one of the topics whose coverage in school has been reduced, but not
eliminated. Because some students are
more sexually aware, or exposed to more sexual matter or talk in their lives,
or possibly abuse, they need to discuss this subject matter much earlier, where
other students may not be developmentally ready for as in-depth
discussions. So how do we decide at what grade to teach the various topics?
Schools,
unfortunately, often fill in gaps that parents and guardians have been unable
to talk to their kids about due to work, culture, lack of education, or other
factors. These adults may or may not be
receptive, but schools should offer open forums to discuss these matters and
explain what services are available to them and their students in the community
and how best to speak with their children.
Lastly, to
speak to Anderson’ article on homosexual teens, the school I work in has many
openly gay and lesbian students, and our students are very accepting, even
though I know there are some students who are also homophobic. We have also had a transgender student who
identified as female and began the surgical process of changing to female near
the end of the year. Even so, I agree
with the problems and issues related in the article, because homosexuality is so
‘taboo’ during the adolescent years, and I cannot imagine how difficult it must
be, added on to the other school and life issues facing pre-teens.
Laura,
ReplyDeleteI often wonder the same thing that you pointed out – when should we start teaching students sexual education? To many people middle school seems too young but then there is the argument that by high school it is already too late to have this talk. And like you said, every home and child’s maturity is different so 8th grade might be an appropriate time for one child to learn about it while others might need it earlier or later. I know that when I was in middle school there were already a few girls having sex by 8th grade. I do not even think they knew what having sex truly meant, they were just doing it because they felt pressured to do so. These girls clearly needed some education earlier on rather than later.
I love how you pointed out that we also need to educate parents/guardians as well. I think this is a topic that many parents do not want to deal with or do not know how to deal with it. They are happy that their child is learning about it in school because it is something they do not know how to approach. But, the parents do need to be involved more in this. I think the parents that are most involved and outspoken are those who are against sexual education and just want to teach abstinence. A program would be more beneficial if all sides could come together, put aside any differences or issues of money, budget, etc. and just do what is best for the students. That would be in a perfect world though.
Hi Laura and Kim,
ReplyDeleteI, too, wondered "at what age?" And, I like (agree) with your thoughts. Seventh grade, is, of course, "hormone hell." Would it be better to start here? Or, as Kim suggested, to wait until 8th grade? Regardless, this is the right "ballpark" age, I think—(just) before high school.
The forums for parents is a great idea, too. Though, I would think with such forums, the "tone" would have to be set "just right" given the subject matter.
It's reassuring to hear that the school you work in has a caring and/or open environment/atmosphere. I hope this continues to be the case for all schools through time.
Everyone -- this issue stands out to me, too. As boys and girls are usually on different tracks regarding maturity, they are not always on the same page despite being in the same grade. Similarly, since each individual develops and matures differently, it's near impossible to know when they are "ready" to approach sexuality education in an appropriate way.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to hear that you know health teachers who are caring, open and honest, and really hopeful to help their students with what they need.
I do think it would be helpful for students and schools alike to have a communicative relationship with parents regarding sexuality culture and the home. Parents sometimes have an "I'd rather not know" attitude, but it's so important that students (and their parents) know what resources are available to them to help them get answers or assistance.
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you have many addressed key issues in your blog. Being a parent and a teacher you are able to identify the hurdles faced in giving sex education to the teenage children. I also do not what age is good for education the students. Personally, I thought even ninth grade was early for my children. It will definitely help if parents were informed more about it.
Laura, Rob, Kim and Kate,
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to read such thoughtful comments. I just wanted to pitch in my two cents. I wonder if it would be nice to separate girls from boys when we talk about sex and sexuality. I mean in case of a family, I can’t visualize a mother talking to her son and daughter at the same about sex. I am sure, mother is comfortable with daughter and a father or an uncle (in the absence of father) would be a good person to talk to a boy. On similar grounds, I feel girls can be separated from boys in school setting during sex related talks. Believe me, some girls may have a lot of questions but may be shy or afraid to ask in front of boys in a classroom setting and I feel this is true for boys too (I do not have much exposure dealing with boys in this matter)
Another point I wanted to make that when it comes to talking to children, a lot of parents are not comfortable. In some cultures, like Archana has mentioned in her blog post that parents in Indian culture don’t talk to their children about sex. A lot of women in India find out about sex only after marriage. Things have changed a lot in the last 20 years though. It is like two extremes since many girls in big cities like Bombay are having affairs and going through abortions. I would like to conclude by saying that talking in school about safe sex definitely helps but I also feel that girls and boys should be made comfortable to talk. They shouldn’t be rushed through it. I remember I was substituting one day at a Middle School. I had a free period and I sat through this class where the Health Education teacher came in and talked about safe sex. She did it matter-of-factly and I think she did a good job talking about it. But I truly felt that some students were just not ready for it. Some students didn’t quite even understand the sensitivity of the topic. I almost feel that talking about sex so early may give them ideas to try it out with someone.
I wish my school was as accepting as yours. In Tewksbury, we are "Tewksbury Tough." While I don't know of any openly gay or lesbian students, I can understand why they wouldn't share that information. "That's gay" is still the go to phrase when describing a situation that ended with less than positive results (also, "that's retarded"). Having a discussion with the behavior specialist, I was directed to address this by telling students not just why what they're saying is wrong, but by giving them an appropriate alternative.
ReplyDelete