LogFAQs > #974956005

adjl posted...

This is why a lot of newer sex ed curricula start in kindergarten (at which point it's pretty much just "bad touch," though even that has been found to dramatically increase the likelihood of catching sexual abusers) and gradually introduce new concepts over subsequent years. That way, you make sure everyone has age-appropriate information before it's needed, plus you've normalized it to avoid the "not listening because it's awkward" issue.

See, that actually seems like a pretty good solution. Treat Sex Ed like Math or English, where you teach to the current level and build on past lessons over time.

The main problem there would seem to be that a full-length class each year would feel excessive (and would take time away from other potential classes, so prioritizing becomes an issue). But if you just do it as a short class (say, as an alternative class that only lasts for a few weeks or a full quarter/half-semester) it runs the risk of feeling less important, and kids may not internalize or retain what you teach. The best scenario might be to have a general "health and lifestyle" sort of class that deals with sex ed but also includes other elements that are sorely neglected by most modern education (like critical thinking, finances, and so on). So you space the sex ed lessons out between other lessons, and help socialize students better in other aspects of their life as well.

Though like you pointed out, you'd have to avoid the ideological pitfalls where parents feel like you're indoctrinating as opposed to just presenting straight facts and science. Because that's where the usual pushback comes (and in some cases, it's not even entirely unwarranted).



Zangulus posted...

I dont even remember what was shown or discussed in sex Ed in 5th grade. I remember health class we had like a 20 minute presentation by the school nurse on how to prevent STIs including her putting a condom on a sex you in the class. I took a nap.

In 5th grade we mostly had the "separate the girls and boys into different rooms" class, where they talked about going through puberty (from clinical stuff like "here's how your testicles work" to mundane stuff like "and you're going to start needing deodorant"). And all the guys wondered what secrets they were telling the girls because they clearly weren't telling us anything worth splitting everyone up for, so they were obviously telling the girls sinister things.

The actual sex ed stuff like condoms and STD and the mechanics of stuff didn't come until like 9th or 10th grade for us, by which point it was completely useless because most of us were either already sexually active or knew someone who was and had already picked up most of the basics, so we just ignored most of what they were trying to tell us.