Sex education. Do you think it should be taught in schools? What grades?

[LadyEmeraude]

After just having a chat with a teacher I know, this topic came up.

This is an open topic, share whatever you want to. Say what you
feel and think.

 

[officerripley]

Yes; at about grade 7 or 8.

 

[LadyEmeraude]

Of course, there are pros and cons to this topic.
My thoughts are though in support of sex education
being taught in schools and including middle and
high school.

 

[KSav]

My knee-jerk reaction—and I almost just posted this—was that this should be up to the parents. But some parents, like mine, simply do not address the topic at all. So I agree that some form of it should be taught in the schools.

 

[IrishEyes]

I had the class in 8th grade, unfortunately it was a male teacher and coed class. I was not comfortable at all.
In this current state of what is gender and not, I am not sure what would be right or if each student could
select the teacher and classmate attendees. It just could be a bit touchy or maybe kids now are not affected
as much as I was due to the "entertainment" they view anyway. I should just hush up now.

 

[KSav]

In this current state of what is gender and not, I am not sure what would be right or if each student could
select the teacher and classmate attendees.

I agree, @IrishEyes, that it seems like a bit of a minefield these days. I sure wouldn't want to be tasked with teaching it in a school.

 

[MACKTEXAS]

It's up to the parents in Texas, but I have no personal opinion.

Texas law "requires a school system to first obtain written consent from a parent before a student may receive instruction in human sexuality."

From Texas Education Agency

 

[IrishEyes]

When my boys entered that stage their father had passed so it was up to me and did they squirm
I was soft voiced but very blunt when it came to how to treat girls or not treat them. I guess I got my point
across. Each one had 1 steady GF (carefully chosen) through High school and no babies on the way.
Parents need to be involved too, not just schools.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I believe that age appropriate sex education, health, hygiene, life skills, etc… should be a part of public education from K-12.

Sadly, so many things are not properly covered at home, where I believe they should be, that the public school system really needs to step up and provide a clear consistent fact based and unbiased message for every kid to have a solid foundation for what life sends their way.

 

[MountainRa]

I believe that age appropriate sex education, health, hygiene, life skills, etc… should be a part of public education from K-12.

Fully agree. Our society over exposes children to sex at a very young age. TV, movies, internet, billboards, even slogans on T-shirts - it’s inescapable.

I’m not sure when to begin age appropriate sexual education but if you wait until, say, 7th grade you’ve probably waited too late.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Fully agree. Our society over exposes children to sex at a very young age. TV, movies, internet, billboards, even slogans on T-shirts - it’s inescapable.

I’m not sure when to begin age appropriate sexual education but if you wait until, say, 7th grade you’ve probably waited too late.

My belief is that it should start in kindergarten and continue through 12 grade.

 

[Jules]

Start early, make it age appropriate. Maybe a well trained specialist needs to teach these classes. It’s not just about facts. The online garbage shows things that are beyond the grasp of most young folks. They think they have to do or have done to them what they see.

 

[Warrigal]

As a teacher of science in a girls junior high school I taught some biology including the various systems of the human body. This included the digestive, skeletal and respiratory systems, circulation of the blood, hormones, and reproduction system. We did not talk about, nor teach very much about human sexual behaviour. I did manage to explain the various methods of contraception available at the time and how each one worked to avoid unwanted pregnancy. It was hardly enough but better than what I received at the same age.

When they asked questions, I did my best to give factual answers but steered away from morality. That was not the role of a science teacher.

 

[jujube]

We got "The Talk" in 9th grade. The girls' gym teacher took the girls off to one room and the boys' gym teacher took them off to another. "The Talk" consisted of very little practical knowledge or advice.

One thing I'll never forget was the teacher telling us that boys just couldn't help thinking about sex all the time because their sex organs were out there where they could see them and be reminded. This, apparently, made them 24-hour-a-day raging sex maniacs. We girls, on the other hand, had ours neatly tucked away and didn't have to think about them all the time. Thus, it was up to WE GIRLS to keep things under control.

Then we got to watch a lovely movie, very graphic, about venereal diseases.

One of my friends, who went to a convent school, was told never to go with a boy to a restaurant that had white tablecloths because as he sat across from you at the table, he would be thinking about beds. I guess the secret there was for mothers of boys to only have pink or blue or flowered sheets, so the boys won't be triggered by white tablecloths...LOL.

Anyway, after finding out that boys think about sex constantly, I couldn't look a guy in the eye because WHAT IF HE WAS THINKING ABOUT WANTING TO HAVE SEX WITH ME???? Of course, I had nothing to worry about. Frizzy hair, teenage acne, braces on my teeth, ugly glasses and a figure like a board, I doubt any of them were fantasizing about me in particular.

It's a wonder any of us ever moved on to actually....doing IT.

 

[Nathan]

Children are well aware of all the Birds & the Bees business at an early age, but at least before puberty hits kids need to have The Talk with their parents. Perhaps the health and interpersonal aspects of sex should be presented in a class, at least by the time the students are ready to enter puberty.