Sex Education in Schools for children.
With the increasing number of sex-related crimes and happenings in every nook and corner of the country, it is an alarming situation not only for the Health Ministry and the Police Department but for all of us, especially the youth being the most vulnerable section of the society. The physical exploitation of both young men and women is everywhere to be seen or heard, whether on news channels, newspapers and sometimes even in our surroundings, in schools or colleges.
The adolescence, i.e. the age group from 13 to 19 years, is the most sensitive and fragile time in one’s lifetime, when curiosity and experimentation is at its peak. In India, talking about anything related to sex in open, amidst one’s family, is a strict no-no. The parents are both hesitant and reluctant to entertain any question or doubt in their child’s mind about sex. The S-word is considered as a marriage thing. They are least aware that their indifferent attitude further pushes their child to the unlimited sources of information today, like the internet which is offering free pornography at the click of mouse, magazines and the ultimate knowledge vendors- their friends or peer group. At the hands of all these harmful sources the children land up gathering raw and false information which they now put to test. These tests and experiments might lead these wrongly-fed minds to indulge in unsafe sexual activities, thus increasing the risk of STD’s like HIV, and also they might commit heinous crimes like sexual abuse or become victims of the same.
The youth are the builders of tomorrow but for that the sexual health of the youth of the country has to be very strong and taken very well care of. The most viable solution to keep the youth aware of one’s sexual health is to introduce SEX EDUCATION in the school curriculum at a young age covering the various aspects related to sex, reproductive health, pregnancy, family planning etc. I am sure that if sex education is incorporated in the curriculum then there will be less exploitation of the young minds at the hands of internet and other distrustful sources and there will be more awareness among them about their own physical body which is their right.
Sex Education is the need of the current times and must be brought into the education system as soon as possible. The sooner, the better.
In recent times there has been a lot of thinking and discussion in our country on providing ‘sex education’ for growing children. Though it is difficult to pinpoint when the need for formal sex education courses was first felt, I feel one can safely say that it was concurrent with certain changes in the family and society—to be specific, the breakdown of extended families (joint families, tribes, closely inter-related village communities and such) and the emergence of nuclear families with few or single children, not to speak of single parent families.
Growing up in an extended family, the child was part of a network of relationships, involving people of all ages and both sexes. One felt part of a cyclical process— everything had happened before and would happen again. One took in all aspects of life at one glance, as it were.
There was birth (which probably took place in one part of the house or nearby), followed by a leisurely childhood. Naked children and breastfeeding mothers were a common sight. Coming of age was marked by rites of passage: when a girl crossed the threshold to womanhood it became common knowledge. Young men and women married early and this was usually quickly followed by conception (in fact, delay elicited comment) pregnancy and birth again.
With so many cues from the environment it did not take long for an alert ten-year-old to put two and two together and arrive at the basic ‘facts of life’. Growing up among domestic and farm animals too probably helped. These facts were absorbed not as isolated clinical facts but were taken in as a package, along with emotional and social overtones.
A child growing up in a small nuclear family misses all of this. Its own physiological and emotional changes may appear in stark isolation with no precedents at hand to relate to. The ‘facts of life’ learnt objectively, often as part of a biology course in the 8th or 9th grade, do not help the young to deal with the associated emotions or to appreciate the social implications. In addition plenty of stimuli and disconnected images available from the media (and now increasingly reinforced by the peer group) may also leave the young adolescent with much undigested information that he or she has to piece together and respond to. Apart from increasing parental responsibility for keeping communication open and providing a perspective on life ahead, there is clearly a need for schools to offer a broadbased ‘sex education’ course.
It is suggested here that a ‘sex education’ course should have at least three components—biological, emotional and social.
Biological aspects could be dealt with in an evolutionary perspective, starting with discussion on why nature hit upon sexual reproduction quite early in the march of life. This could be followed up by a description of how the sexual process itself has evolved—from external to internal fertilization, from oviparity to viviparity, and so on.
Many courses just stop short with describing the sexual organs and the sexual act in objective terms. It is felt that a description of the marvellous orchestration of the (reproductive) hormones of the human body that keep the whole process going—from puberty, through conception, pregnancy, childbirth and even beyond to lactation—along with an outline of the development of a fetus in the womb from a single cell to an entity ready to be born and face the outside world (literally!), would create a sense of wonder and respect for the whole process.
Emotional aspects could be addressed through an introduction to the psychology of emotions. This could be supplemented by relevant extracts from literature, since literature serves as a mirror to emotions. Folklore and mythology have developed in response to human needs to express strongly felt emotions and helped individuals to come to terms with their emotions by a process of catharsis. Many emotions spring from the basic sexual urge—not only infatuation, possessiveness, jealousy, aggression, etc. but also devotion, sacrifice and such altruistic feelings (though the ‘selfish-gene’ theorists may say that altruism is only ‘disguised ’ or ‘enlightened’ egoism).
Perspectives from sociology and anthropology could help the student see the social dimension of sex. Sex is not just a private matter between two individuals. It has a far-reaching impact on society at large. Abandoned mothers and unwanted babies are a burden on society, while sex-related crimes and sexually transmitted diseases are a threat to the social order. All societies therefore seek to regulate the sexual activity of their members—through ritual and taboo, religious injunction, legislation or social pressure. A balance is sought to be achieved between individual urges and society’s concern for stability and continuity.
The whole idea of sex education in our schools, and how comprehensive sex education should be are controversial subjects. The more conservative people in our society would rather just tell kids to abstain and leave it at that, but does that really solve our problem? I don't think so, this whole idea harkens back to the days of marrying young girls off to older men without telling them about what a wedding night entails. Too little information in my mind can be just as bad as giving kids the wrong kind of information.
Here are 10 reasons why we need comprehensive sex education in our schools:
1. Sex is not a topic that kids are discussing at home with their parents. Many parents aren't comfortable discussing sex, and prefer to hope that their children are figuring it out from other sources such as television, movies, their friends and school. This is a dangerous hit and miss method that leaves kids in the dark, and causes them to make in some cases disastrous mistakes.
2. Kids are bombarded daily by the media with sexual topics and images. All you have to do these days is turn on the television, read the newspaper, or surf the internet to find sexual themed media. Our kids have easy access to it, and these media often do not provide accurate information.
3. Studies have shown that when kids are given comprehensive sex education in school, the rates for teens getting pregnant or contracting std's goes down.
4. Children are having sex at earlier ages. 63% of kids who are high school age have had sex by the time they reach their senior year. If this isn't a scary thought to parents of teens, it should be, especially if they haven't taken the time to sit their kids down and explain consequences.
5. Rates for teens getting and transmitting std's are soaring. That's right, our kids are clearly not getting the message about safe sex practices because the rates on teens and std's are up and climbing. We need to educate our kids before they get to the point of being sexually active so they don't wind up contracting diseases and or getting pregnant in the first place.
6. Telling kids to abstain, or "just say no" to sex only fuels the fire. Often when you tell a kid not to do something without explaining why, they are going to go right out and do it anyway. This is human nature. It is far better to give kids all the information so they can make judicious choices, instead of leaving them in the dark with the phrase, "just say no."
7. Some are worried that providing too much information to kids on sex will encourage them to have sex, but in a study the World Health Organization did of 35 sex education programs from around the world, there was no evidence that programs which were comprehensive when it came to sex education encouraged kids to be sexually active. The same study found that programs that taught abstinence only were less effective than the comprehensive sex education programs.
8. Surveys taken during the last 20 years say that 80 to 85% of parents in America want comprehensive sex education in schools. This in and of itself should be a red flag that parents are not teaching their kids about sex, but are instead relying on the schools to do it. So, this is another reason schools should provide comprehensive sex education to kids.
9. Having comprehensive sex education in schools makes dialogue between kids and their parents more likely. This is when parents have the opportunity to educate kids about their own views regarding sex, and to supplement whatever kids are being taught in school regarding sex.
10. Sex education is about more than just keeping our kids from having kids before they are ready or getting std's, it is also about making sure they understand the emotional and psychological pitfalls of sex, and how these can affect them.
In order to help our kids make informed decisions regarding sex, we need to have comprehensive sex education in all our schools. If this issue is not addressed by our schools and we leave it up to the media, parents who either aren't comfortable or just simply refuse to discuss the topic, or our kids' friends, then we have to be prepared for higher rates of pregnant teens, kids getting std's at earlier ages, as well as possible increases in pre-teen, and teen depression, and suicide rates, all of which can be linked to kids having sex before they are ready and or have all the facts.
With the increasing number of sex-related crimes and happenings in every nook and corner of the country, it is an alarming situation not only for the Health Ministry and the Police Department but for all of us, especially the youth being the most vulnerable section of the society. The physical exploitation of both young men and women is everywhere to be seen or heard, whether on news channels, newspapers and sometimes even in our surroundings, in schools or colleges.
The youth are the builders of tomorrow but for that the sexual health of the youth of the country has to be very strong and taken very well care of. The most viable solution to keep the youth aware of one’s sexual health is to introduce SEX EDUCATION in the school curriculum at a young age covering the various aspects related to sex, reproductive health, pregnancy, family planning etc. I am sure that if sex education is incorporated in the curriculum then there will be less exploitation of the young minds at the hands of internet and other distrustful sources and there will be more awareness among them about their own physical body which is their right.
Sex Education is the need of the current times and must be brought into the education system as soon as possible. The sooner, the better.
In recent times there has been a lot of thinking and discussion in our country on providing ‘sex education’ for growing children. Though it is difficult to pinpoint when the need for formal sex education courses was first felt, I feel one can safely say that it was concurrent with certain changes in the family and society—to be specific, the breakdown of extended families (joint families, tribes, closely inter-related village communities and such) and the emergence of nuclear families with few or single children, not to speak of single parent families.
Growing up in an extended family, the child was part of a network of relationships, involving people of all ages and both sexes. One felt part of a cyclical process— everything had happened before and would happen again. One took in all aspects of life at one glance, as it were.
There was birth (which probably took place in one part of the house or nearby), followed by a leisurely childhood. Naked children and breastfeeding mothers were a common sight. Coming of age was marked by rites of passage: when a girl crossed the threshold to womanhood it became common knowledge. Young men and women married early and this was usually quickly followed by conception (in fact, delay elicited comment) pregnancy and birth again.
With so many cues from the environment it did not take long for an alert ten-year-old to put two and two together and arrive at the basic ‘facts of life’. Growing up among domestic and farm animals too probably helped. These facts were absorbed not as isolated clinical facts but were taken in as a package, along with emotional and social overtones.
A child growing up in a small nuclear family misses all of this. Its own physiological and emotional changes may appear in stark isolation with no precedents at hand to relate to. The ‘facts of life’ learnt objectively, often as part of a biology course in the 8th or 9th grade, do not help the young to deal with the associated emotions or to appreciate the social implications. In addition plenty of stimuli and disconnected images available from the media (and now increasingly reinforced by the peer group) may also leave the young adolescent with much undigested information that he or she has to piece together and respond to. Apart from increasing parental responsibility for keeping communication open and providing a perspective on life ahead, there is clearly a need for schools to offer a broadbased ‘sex education’ course.
It is suggested here that a ‘sex education’ course should have at least three components—biological, emotional and social.
Biological aspects could be dealt with in an evolutionary perspective, starting with discussion on why nature hit upon sexual reproduction quite early in the march of life. This could be followed up by a description of how the sexual process itself has evolved—from external to internal fertilization, from oviparity to viviparity, and so on.
Many courses just stop short with describing the sexual organs and the sexual act in objective terms. It is felt that a description of the marvellous orchestration of the (reproductive) hormones of the human body that keep the whole process going—from puberty, through conception, pregnancy, childbirth and even beyond to lactation—along with an outline of the development of a fetus in the womb from a single cell to an entity ready to be born and face the outside world (literally!), would create a sense of wonder and respect for the whole process.
Emotional aspects could be addressed through an introduction to the psychology of emotions. This could be supplemented by relevant extracts from literature, since literature serves as a mirror to emotions. Folklore and mythology have developed in response to human needs to express strongly felt emotions and helped individuals to come to terms with their emotions by a process of catharsis. Many emotions spring from the basic sexual urge—not only infatuation, possessiveness, jealousy, aggression, etc. but also devotion, sacrifice and such altruistic feelings (though the ‘selfish-gene’ theorists may say that altruism is only ‘disguised ’ or ‘enlightened’ egoism).
Perspectives from sociology and anthropology could help the student see the social dimension of sex. Sex is not just a private matter between two individuals. It has a far-reaching impact on society at large. Abandoned mothers and unwanted babies are a burden on society, while sex-related crimes and sexually transmitted diseases are a threat to the social order. All societies therefore seek to regulate the sexual activity of their members—through ritual and taboo, religious injunction, legislation or social pressure. A balance is sought to be achieved between individual urges and society’s concern for stability and continuity.
The whole idea of sex education in our schools, and how comprehensive sex education should be are controversial subjects. The more conservative people in our society would rather just tell kids to abstain and leave it at that, but does that really solve our problem? I don't think so, this whole idea harkens back to the days of marrying young girls off to older men without telling them about what a wedding night entails. Too little information in my mind can be just as bad as giving kids the wrong kind of information.
Here are 10 reasons why we need comprehensive sex education in our schools:
1. Sex is not a topic that kids are discussing at home with their parents. Many parents aren't comfortable discussing sex, and prefer to hope that their children are figuring it out from other sources such as television, movies, their friends and school. This is a dangerous hit and miss method that leaves kids in the dark, and causes them to make in some cases disastrous mistakes.
2. Kids are bombarded daily by the media with sexual topics and images. All you have to do these days is turn on the television, read the newspaper, or surf the internet to find sexual themed media. Our kids have easy access to it, and these media often do not provide accurate information.
3. Studies have shown that when kids are given comprehensive sex education in school, the rates for teens getting pregnant or contracting std's goes down.
4. Children are having sex at earlier ages. 63% of kids who are high school age have had sex by the time they reach their senior year. If this isn't a scary thought to parents of teens, it should be, especially if they haven't taken the time to sit their kids down and explain consequences.
5. Rates for teens getting and transmitting std's are soaring. That's right, our kids are clearly not getting the message about safe sex practices because the rates on teens and std's are up and climbing. We need to educate our kids before they get to the point of being sexually active so they don't wind up contracting diseases and or getting pregnant in the first place.
6. Telling kids to abstain, or "just say no" to sex only fuels the fire. Often when you tell a kid not to do something without explaining why, they are going to go right out and do it anyway. This is human nature. It is far better to give kids all the information so they can make judicious choices, instead of leaving them in the dark with the phrase, "just say no."
7. Some are worried that providing too much information to kids on sex will encourage them to have sex, but in a study the World Health Organization did of 35 sex education programs from around the world, there was no evidence that programs which were comprehensive when it came to sex education encouraged kids to be sexually active. The same study found that programs that taught abstinence only were less effective than the comprehensive sex education programs.
8. Surveys taken during the last 20 years say that 80 to 85% of parents in America want comprehensive sex education in schools. This in and of itself should be a red flag that parents are not teaching their kids about sex, but are instead relying on the schools to do it. So, this is another reason schools should provide comprehensive sex education to kids.
9. Having comprehensive sex education in schools makes dialogue between kids and their parents more likely. This is when parents have the opportunity to educate kids about their own views regarding sex, and to supplement whatever kids are being taught in school regarding sex.
10. Sex education is about more than just keeping our kids from having kids before they are ready or getting std's, it is also about making sure they understand the emotional and psychological pitfalls of sex, and how these can affect them.
In order to help our kids make informed decisions regarding sex, we need to have comprehensive sex education in all our schools. If this issue is not addressed by our schools and we leave it up to the media, parents who either aren't comfortable or just simply refuse to discuss the topic, or our kids' friends, then we have to be prepared for higher rates of pregnant teens, kids getting std's at earlier ages, as well as possible increases in pre-teen, and teen depression, and suicide rates, all of which can be linked to kids having sex before they are ready and or have all the facts.
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