Reflection: Sex Ed in Schools

Link to article: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/sarah-desjardins/ontario-sex-ed-curriculum_b_6760792.html

Reflection

I chose this article because it focuses on a topic that I feel strongly about: sex education in Ontario's schools. While I can agree with some of the things that Desjardins (2015) mentions (like the fact that parents these days are much busier and hardly have enough time to speak to their children about anything), there are other points that I disagree with (that everybody must share the author's core beliefs when it comes to sex ed). 

Similarly to Desjardins, I was raised in a Catholic household, and I learned most of the core values of my faith through my parents and through catechism classes in church. With regards to sex ed, I remember that the "Fully Alive" book was used in class, and we started learning things like body parts and how sexual intercourse works around grade 5 or 6. My initial reaction was "that's disgusting!" My parents never spoke much about this, and most of my questions about sexuality were addressed in class by my teacher. Towards grade 8, I had the unfortunate experience of being introduced to pornography through my peers. They would talk about explicit things during recess, and this piqued my interest. By the time I was in high school, it seemed too late to be educated properly about sex because I had already learned about it the wrong way, from the wrong sources. Over the years my parents have tried to replace this false view of sexuality that pornography had created in my mind, with teachings of the church (things like theology, chastity, etc.). I believe that this has worked to a certain degree, but I do feel that this could have been prevented if my parents educated me about sexuality from a younger age.

Desjardins (2015) mentions that "if [children] don't learn about it from parents, there are only three other options: teachers, peers, or the media (i.e. TV, but most likely, the Internet)." I couldn't agree more, as it is not a matter of if children will be introduced to sex, but when and how. It is only a matter of time, and one way or another, children will learn about all things related to sex and sexuality, whether it is in school, through their friends, through the media, or through their parents. It is a race to see which one of these vehicles for sex ed gets taught to children, but introduce too much and too quickly and it may do more harm than good. For example, the 2015 curriculum mentions that Grade 4 students will learn "the physical changes that happen during puberty" (Ministry of Education, 2015), which in my opinion is much too early considering most students only start to experience puberty around Grade 7 or 8.

Many people focus on teaching the children about sex ed, but one thought that had crossed my mind while reading the article, was why not focus on reinforcing the idea of parents as first educators through the schools? For example, schools can introduce courses based on the curriculum for parents on how to appropriately teach children about consent. It is then the parents' responsibility to share this knowledge at their own discretion and in their own way, with their children. This way, all students are on par with the curriculum, but the only difference is that parents would have a choice of how to address sex ed with their children. I believe that it should be an option for parents to have their children opt out of sex ed classes, provided that they teach children that day's material at home. It is true that parents these days are very busy, but if they love their children they should take time out of their busy lives to educate their children on the importance of consent, in a non-sexual and appropriate way (based on the child's age) that won't scandalize them or ruin their innocence. 

If the 2015 sex ed curriculum ever makes its way back into schools, especially Catholic schools, I know that some of the material presented in the curriculum would go against the teachings of the Catholic church. In such instances, it would help to revise the religious education curriculum in order to incorporate topics such as the theology of the body, which can help questioning students clarify their concerns. Ultimately, I believe that parents should have a choice in what their children are learning in school, especially when it comes to sex ed.

References

Desjardins, S. (2015, February 26). As a Conservative Mom, I Still Support Sex Ed in Schools. 

     Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/sarah-desjardins/ontario-sex-ed-

     curriculum_b_6760792.html

Ministry of Education. (2015, August 4). Sex Education in Ontario. Retrieved from https://www.ontario.ca/page/sex-education-ontario