Comprehensive Sex Education in School

Education helps to develop a better understanding for the self. Educated person perceives self and society.  Education develops the ability to think independently, rationally, critically and creatively. Education imparts conscience. Conscience helps us to live a meaningful life. In fact we know a conscious person develops a better understanding for self and surrounding.

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is need of 21st century globalized children for living a healthy life. It is time to empower children and young age people without making differences among caste, creed and culture. Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is one of the unrecorded fundamental rights of children. We have rights to accept the thing as it exists.

Great philosopher and international spiritual ‘guru’ Rajnish quoted “truth is truth, and nobody should debar from it”. What is wrong with comprehensive sexuality education (CSE)? Tell it the way it is. What can we hide from our children? Children are very perceptive. Even if we do not tell them, they will discover it on their own. They are smart, intelligent and equipped with Smart phone.

World Wide Web dissolves all the layers and differences between caste and creed, educated and uneducated, literate and illiterate elite class and down trodden, poor and rich. World Wide Web has brought one of the greatest revolution. We are witness of this revolution.

Can we stop our child inquiring about sexuality? We cannot stop the natural flow of a river? Water always finds out its way to move ahead. It goes towards down and down. If we cannot stop natural journey of water, so what should be we do? A wise person channelizes the strength of water and gives it right direction. Sexuality possesses the nature of water. Comprehensive sexuality education channelizes intrinsic impulses of children in right direction.

Parent and teacher face a big question when it comes for educating their child about comprehensive sex education. We do not find a big difference between developed countries and developing countries. Only on difference I could find out that is legalizing age for giving consent for sex and marriage, other than this we work as moral police. Asian countries’ legal age of consent for sexual activity varies from age 12 to 21. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_Asia).

Countries Age of consent for sexual Activity
13 years , 15 years South Korea, North Korea
14 years Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Prorogues
15 years Greece, Poland, Sweden
16 years Belgium, Netherlands, Spain and Russia
16 years United Kingdom
18 years India
14 years China

If globalized citizen consider that 13 years old boys and girls can give consent for intercourse then we need to think to provide comprehensive sex education to our kids’ right from tender age to save them from several unwanted diseases. Growth of a child from ignorant child to a smart child is changed due to prosperity in our life, better living standard and different food habits. Scientific research study reveals that maturity of a girl child can happens at the age of 7 years. (https://www.aap.org).  It is necessary to develop a comprehensive curriculum to develop appropriate knowledge and skills to love a healthy sexual life.

UNESCO recognized comprehensive sexuality education as an age-appropriate, culturally relevant approach to teaching about sexuality and relationships by providing scientifically accurate, realistic, nonjudgmental information* (UNESCO, 2009. International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education).

What are common advantages of comprehensive sexuality education?

  1. Develop physically and mentally a healthy citizen
  2. Keep away from sexual transmitted disease/infections i.e. HIV,
  3. Reduce teenage unwanted pregnancy
  4. Reduce domestic violence

Education is the greatest remedies for coming out from several catastrophes in our life. Comprehensive sexuality education will empower children and young age people to take necessary precautions for living a healthy life. Precaution is better than cure.

Sexual desire and sexual intimacy are intrinsic and impulsive in its nature. We can hide and we can forcefully stop it but we cannot efface it. Rational education imparts skills, values and knowledge among us. Sexuality education addresses most sensitive aspects of human life. Comprehensive sexuality education programme should sensitize the young age people for developing positive values towards gender differences and awareness for own physical and mental development at this stage.

Age appropriate comprehensive sexuality education

Educated world citizen considers importance of age appropriate comprehensive sexuality education. What should be taught at particular age group children? How much should be taught at particular age group children? We are  living in a data world. Children smartly handle smart phone at the age of 5. Children become smart at the age of 8 and develop sensitive nature towards opposite sex. Comprehensive sexuality education curriculum should cater the need of these smart children.

Scientifically accurate comprehensive sexuality education

Generally children inquire different information with the materials available on Web World Wide (WWW) which may or may not be written by expert people. Web World Wide (WWW) has fathomless resources written on sexuality education. Expert people know the technical and scientifically importance of different physical development and different physical and mental need of human beings. To be Ignorant is better than incomplete knowledge. When we don’t know about something, we show hesitation to do experiments in our life due to various reasons but when we know something incompletely, incompleteness  gives us  a sense of achievement and confidence which leads us to experiment with the ideas that possibly leads to bad health i.e. (a) how to keep ourselves neat and clean during periods, (a1) myth and facts about periods (b) how to use contraceptive pill or other available medication to avoid pregnancy,(c) how to use condom to avoid unwanted pregnancy and other transmittable diseases i.e. HIV , (d) when to consult doctor for discussing different bodily changing symptoms, (e) how to keep hygiene during oral sex, (f) why to avoid doing sexual activities at age between (8-15-16-) (g) with whom should we discuss sex related problems at first, (h) What are dos and do not before indulging in sexuality, (i) how to share it with other, (j) other myth and facts about sexuality. Scientifically based education will help our children and young age people to live a healthy life.

Cultural appropriate comprehensive sexuality education

Human beings are socially connected to each other. We accept and respect the existence of other family members and society members. We are unique but we are culturally dependent on each other which help us to live in a peace and harmony. Sexuality is big taboo word for the society. It is universal truth but we are hiding so many things to other person due to cultural connection. Game of hide and seek leads to health hazards. Parents and teachers avoid healthy discussion on sexuality. We face a great question before starting a healthy discussion on sexuality with our children and young age people,(a) how to start it (b) who will start it. We face same dilemmatic situation as “who will bell the cat” due to cultural perspectives.

Cultural limitation and restriction are big hurdles for imparting comprehensive sexuality programme at world level. If comprehensive sexuality education programme is developed and customized to address different cultural limitation, then only we will be successful in imparting it for common people. Comprehensive sexuality education programme has a great vision to sensitize young generation, “how to keep ourselves healthy”. Comprehensive sexuality education programme sensitizes world citizen to be protective, active and alert for own healthy life.  

Comprehensive sexuality education on realistic ground

Sexuality is a taboo word for each one of us. We know its reality but we avoid decorating in words. We cannot neglect the reality to keep our young age general healthy. Sexuality related education programme will help our child to take a wise step. If we fail to educate them, then it will be more hazards for them. They inquire and investigate it through several unreliable sources i.e. friends, World Wide Web (www) and other cheap resources. Comprehensive sexuality education helps children to grow wisely and keep themselves healthy.

Comprehensive sexuality education with nonjudgmental information

Healthy and integrated children can think and perform better. How to impart comprehensive sex education is the biggest challenge for different policy and educational stakeholders? What are the specific words chosen for imparting sex education? Do words create negative impact on child?  Wise educator and parent use appropriate words to impart sexuality education. Wise educator use simple and concrete words to describe essential facts and concepts. Educator avoids a situation where child confuses himself with complex and confusing words. Essential truth of life should be shared in nonjudgmental form and our words and phrases consist of deep meaning based on facts.

Wise parent and educator express truth of life in as simple as sexuality “is”.

 

Rajeev Ranjan

Indian Educationist

Sex Education for Children: Need to implement effective sexuality education programmes

Sex Education: Challenge for 21st Century Globalized World-Its Importance and Benefits

https://www.rajeevelt.com/respect-values-of-life-student-character-building-indian-educationist/rajeev-ranjan/

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_sex_education