Sex education is a controversial subject for families. Some parents support it, others do not, and still others believe it has its place depending on the age of the students. Like it or not, sex education has been in the news lately, including compulsory lessons on sex education for children as young as five years old.
Let’s get to the first piece of news.
An initiative was announced in England that millions of children from the age of five to 16, who attend state-funded schools, will be given compulsory lessons about sex education and drugs.
It is important to note that the schools minister, Jim Knight, seems to be well aware that this is a complicated and controversial pronouncement. As such, a head teacher will be appointed to review the best ways to comply with the proposal. Faith schools may have different guidelines, but no schools are exempt. Knight says that it is government duty to equip young people with the knowledge and skills to deal with the complicated world of today and that the policy is a way of attacking the high rate of teen pregnancies.
Five year olds are expected to learn the proper names of body parts, and I believe, though can’t confirm, that discussions about the anatomy of reproduction will be taught to eight-year-olds.
The next piece of news concerns Proposition 8 in California which would define “marriage” as between one man and one woman . Specifically, the proposition states: “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Some proponents for the proposition are concerned that if “marriage” is defined as existing for same-sex couples, schools will then begin teaching about marriage between two people of the same sex, something that many parents fear.
Some of those against the proposition say that the other side is using an obscure tactic to instill unnecessary fear about the proposal. The issue is complicated with both sides quoting law and policy about classroom instruction on sex education related to marriage in California.
According to Wikipedia, “The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law conservatively estimates that more than 11,000 same-sex couples have married in California between June 17 and September 17, 2008.”
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