Teaching middle school brings new, poignant meaning to the adage “Spring is in the air!” This week, my eighth grade students are receiving compulsory edification of the birds and the bees. I’m mighty grateful I’m not the instructor. Teaching sexual education to pubescent young adults is not desirable, but is nevertheless necessary.
Parents agree. A survey of California parents conducted by the Public Health Institute found that 89% of California parents – including 86% of evangelical Christians and 71% of people who self-identify as “very conservative” – support sex education that includes instruction about both abstinence and contraception. This support is consistent across racial and ethnic groups.
If you are part of this 89% then you will want to become familiar with BACHE (Bay Area Communities for Health Education). They have released an online “Parent Toolkit” that includes 9 steps necessary to get comprehensive sex-education implemented in your child’s school. The Toolkit is available on BACHE’s website athttp://bacheinfo.org/Toolkit.
The information is enlightening and empowering. For example, California law prohibits abstinence-only sex education in public schools. In spite of this, there are many school districts in the Bay Area that are not complying.
Since 1992, the state has required all public schools to teach HIV/AIDS prevention education. Sex education, also known as family life education, is not required, but if schools choose to teach it, they must satisfy certain requirements. Under California Education Code, sex education in public schools must be science-based, medically sound, free of bias and age-appropriate. If parents do not want their children to receive sex education, they can withdraw them from instruction.
As a parent, you have the right to review all school materials relating to sex education. Materials to request include any books, pamphlets and any other curricula used during instruction. Simply ask the administrator for lesson plans. You can also consider any school board policies and administrative regulations regarding sexual health education.
It is also a good idea to supplement at home. According to With One Voice 2012 (WOV2012), in a series of national surveys commissioned and released by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, teens continue to say that parents have the most influence on their decisions about sex. For more statistical information and other resources, go to www.thenationalcampaign.org.
I believe a well planned, comprehensive sex education course should assist teens in formulating healthier relationships and healthier decisions. If done properly, it should include curriculum that incorporates decision-making skills, includes information about condoms and contraception, and details the benefits of delaying sexual activity. This type of sex education has proven to be effective and is endorsed by the American Medical Association.
Still a bit uneasy and skeptical? Perhaps renowned pediatrician and author Dr. Benjamin Spock can put it in perspective.
“Does sex education encourage sex? Many parents are afraid that talking about sex with their teenagers will be taken as permission for the teen to have sex. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, the more children learn about sexuality from talking with their parents and teachers and reading accurate books, the less they feel compelled to find out for themselves.”
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