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Sex education: Should it be included in the curriculum or not?

The current debate is whether or not classes on sex education should be included in the curriculum or not. The ultimate aim of education is to prepare the individual for a better social life. In detail, social progress, upliftment of people, and maturity to distinguish between good and evil should be obtained from education. The field of education is growing through the struggles for social justice and equality. In order to strengthen the education sector, we need to boldly confront the forces that try to hinder it. The field of education is moving forward by uprooting all kinds of discrimination. It is because of this that the girls, the poor, and others have been able to get an education. Although many changes are taking place in the social life and family structure every day, it is a fact that when it comes to sex education, at least some people think against it and some people support it. Now what is sex education or should sex education be included in the curriculum or not is a question and matter of debate.

Relevance of sex education

What is sex education? The term ‘sex’ refers to a number of biological characteristics present in humans and animals. The term is primarily used to describe physiological and physical characteristics. Every child should know from an early age who can touch them, where they can touch them and what bad touch is. There are some children or people who don’t know what sexual violence is, so good sex education is needed to teach the younger generation what it is. Sometimes even some grown-up children are not aware of the sexual exploitation they are going through, so they hesitate to tell their parents about it. This will have a far-reaching effect. 

Why is sex education important in schools?

Whether education on sexuality should be included in the curriculum is a question. There is a lively debate about the importance and necessity of sexuality education in the curriculum. Society reacts when it hears the news that children have been sexually abused. But when there is a debate about whether or not sex education should be included in the curriculum, there are few people who are in favor. Some have realized that sex education is a big mistake. Or some say there is no need for it. The doubt of some others is whether it will be good or bad if these things are taught at such a young age.

When biological growth and development collide with the sociocultural environment, many new problems appear to emerge. Hormonal changes due to physical growth cause emotional crisis and as a result, our children reach a state where they cannot distinguish right from wrong. In this state of tension and lack of proper awareness, they are often guided by lies or half-truths. The problem becomes serious when parents and teachers who are supposed to impart the right knowledge are reluctant or unable to do so. The only way out is to include sex education in the curriculum.

Influence of electronic media

Does the presence of electronic media contribute to scientific and non-scientific sexual awareness and knowledge? Or does it have the opposite effect? Today even little kids know about sex. This knowledge is not obtained from teachers or relatives but rather from electronic media and peers. That’s how much influence these media have on our young generation. Such knowledge works both positively and negatively not only in children but also in adults. Circumstances are also crucial here. There are a lot of differences between ‘reel life’ and ‘real life’.  If children are to be able to distinguish it, they must be educated to do so. This is where sex education comes into play.

Children see and understand many things through the internet, mostly they are taught about sex in a bad way. Children are inquisitive. Parents think that they are small children, so what do they understand, but before they can even imagine, they are gathering information about sex from various illegal sources. If the education department can include sex education in the curriculum, children will be able to identify the pitfalls of society and learn about sexually transmitted diseases and their transmission potential.

Why is sex education important for teenagers?

It seems that today’s generation has no real knowledge about their own body. A major reason for this is the shift from joint family to nuclear family. In the joint family system, there were many senior members of the family. They would not only protect the children but also teach them what they needed. But in the changed situation, those living in the nuclear family are not able to impart any of these life values and those who give advice and instructions now limit it to girls only. Some schools have special classes on sex education for girls only. Sexual reproduction classes should not be limited to girls. This is not a trend that can be followed. Are boys born with all knowledge? The same classes should be given to boys. Sex education is needed for both boys and girls. 

 
Benefits of sex education in schools
  • Here are some reasons to support sex education in Schools
  • Students learn to adapt to the concept and will be more respectful towards each other.
  • Instead of teasing each other, they try to come to terms with the idea and as a result move more cooperatively without succumbing to depression.
  • Sex education helps them understand the differences and similarities between males and females, and learn more about their bodies and how they change as they grow.
  • A social justice-based perspective on gender and equality should be developed in schools.
  • Creating a sense of equality among students.
  • Cultivating the spirit of mutual cooperation.
  • Boys and girls understand each other.
  • Sex education helps adolescents understand themselves biologically and face the world without prejudice.
  • Sex education helps to recognize each gender’s abilities and importance.
  • Sex education can teach teenagers about its positive and negative aspects.
  • They can also learn about sexually transmitted diseases.
  • Their confidence increases.
  • Shame and prejudice are removed.
  • Sex education enables them to know what changes happen in a human body at each age and prepares them mentally, physically, and emotionally for that.
  • Even if children are going through some physical changes or girls are menstruating, they will not make fun of their peers.
  • A systematic approach to sexual education will allow students to gain a better understanding of reproduction and procreation.
  • Teenage pregnancy, unwanted pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases will be reduced with information about safe sex.
  • Adolescents can gain the knowledge and skills to realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights by participating in school-based comprehensive sexuality education (CSE).
  • Considering all these facts they strongly support that sex education should be made compulsory in schools.
Sex education: Should it be included in the curriculum or not?
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Parental limitations

The majority of parents prepare their children by telling them not to go if strangers call them and not to buy or eat what they give them. But the truth is that our children are exploited by acquaintances rather than strangers. Some people think that sex education is something very bad or wrong.

By implementing sexual education in the curriculum, our children escape from the traps of sexual predators. Our children should never become victims of such people. Sex education is a must for that. Sexuality education empowers girls and boys to speak out, respond and complain when their sexual boundaries are violated.

It has become the need of the hour to have a debate on the necessity of sexuality education. Remember the guardians who hide the reality and tell the contrary things and the teachers who do not tell and do not teach what is said in the textbook about sexual reproductive organs. What happens when you do that is to plunge the next generation into the darkness of ignorance. It is possible to address a wide range of social issues through a comprehensive sex and sexuality education curriculum.

When should sex education begin?

When to start sexual education is also a matter of debate. Nowadays, children reach adulthood very early. It is advisable to start physical and mental preparations for it earlier. Several opponents of sex education argue that it shouldn’t start before high school. But there are those who argue that it is not like that and it should be started even before that. The reason for this is that in the past, the age of physical maturity was 13-14 years. But today, the characteristics of adolescence occur before intelligence, consciousness, and cognition are well developed.

Arguments of opponents of sex education

  • One reason many people are reluctant to talk about sex education is that they believe that this type of education can sometimes encourage sexual activity.
  • But there is still no evidence that providing sexual and reproductive health information and education actually leads to increased sexual activity.
  • It has been consistently argued that including sex education will increase teens’ and young students’ risky behavior.
  • It is likely that cultural norms against discussing sex will be the largest obstacle to sex education in some countries
  • There is a strong ingrained culture of these norms in our society.
  • Another issue is insufficient monitoring and evaluation systems for teachers and students.
  • Although teachers agree that sex education should be taught in schools, they have a dilemma about how to deal with the issue.
  • Many teachers find it difficult and uncomfortable to teach sex education subjects.
  • So, they need special training for handling these classes.
  • In spite of this, we are making small but important efforts to provide more comprehensive sexual education.

Tradition vs Modernity

Is sex education part of our culture? Don’t we have a tradition? There are those who doubt that. How is this taught in schools to small children? Many people question whether it should be so modern. One thing we must not forget is that we had many traditional customs in the past. But today all that is just a memory. Primitive rituals and punishments were a part of our life then. The social reformers struggled a lot to change all that. None of this disappeared overnight but was dismantled through years of continuous innovation processes. It is common for traditions to be rooted in the past and to exercise a strong influence over us, sometimes almost imperceptibly. Modernity is the opposite of tradition and refers to a forward-looking and forward-thinking outlook. As someone said “the modernity of yesterday is the tradition of today, and the modernity of today will be the tradition tomorrow”

Final words

The need for sexuality education in the curriculum is being debated. If our children are to rise to the level, we envision by making them a knowledge society, there needs to be a curriculum and pedagogy focused on approach, knowledge creation, and sustainable development. Along with that, sex education is also needed to develop gender awareness based on equality. Now everything is clear. Now you can decide for yourself whether sex education should be included in the curriculum or not. May you be able to make a good decision.

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This Post Has 7 Comments

  1. Ggusia

    You raised a very important topic that covers most countries in the world, and in my country, such a discussion continued. I am in favor of children knowing a lot about sex education, as it will allow them to make the right decisions later in life. Any honest and truthful education should bring positive results. A very good entry. Regards

  2. David

    You content made me stay glued to the screen, you nailed it all. Sex education should and must become a curriculum in our educational system, otherwise coming generations will continue to fall victim of different abuse.

    You are such a skillful writer, I love it, keep it up dear.❤️

  3. Madan kumar Gankotiya

    Nice advise it should be included

  4. Rhoda Naylor

    I want to leave a little comment to support and wish you the best of luck. we wish you the best of luck in all your blogging endeavors

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