I think one of the biggest problems with sex education in schools is that sex is generally presented as a bad thing. If you aren't careful you might get life-threatening diseases, get pregnant, lose the trust of your parents. Pre-marital sex has a number of negative consequences. People are quick to point out those consequences, but they hardly ever address the fact that sex is really beautiful.
Some abstinence programs appear to promote the exact opposite: that sex is extremely ugly. When I was a senior in high school we were presented with a long series of disturbing slides that showed the effects of various STDs. I don't know about my peers, but for me seeing those pictures really was a "turn-off" to sex. No one in thier right mind would ever want to have sex if that was all is was about.
Instead of presenting it as something ugly, sex should be presented as extremely beautiful. If it is presented as beautiful, I think people will be more likely to respect its sacredness. Think of it this way: we do not tend to respect ugly things; rather, we throw them away. But if we see something as beautiful we tend to honor it. If we give teenagers the reasons why sex is so beautiful and sacred, I think they would more inclinded to stop and think about it. Maybe I am too idealistic, but surely expressing sex as beautiful won't do anyone any harm.
ED460 Personal and Social Well Being is a course taken by college students in education during their student teaching semester. Topics covered include: poverty, child abuse, bullying, drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, counselors' role in school, adolescents and choices, and the use of technology.
I agree with what you are saying here and what we said in class about sex being portrayed as an ugly thing. It is very true that a lot of times the scare tactic seems to be used. "Don't have sex because you will get herpes" is a lot less convincing to me than "Wait for sex because it is something beautiful, holy and created by God."
ReplyDeleteHow great would it be if there was a sex education program that was created on a secular level that portrayed the same values outlined by Humane Vite and Theology of the Body! It is a lot easier to present these ideas to Christians, but it can definitely be presented to anyone who is willing to listen. Even if less graphic tactics are used such as presenting the divorce rates among those that have premarital sex or explaining the emotional consequences.
However, I don't want to be naive about this topic either. I realize that children and adolesents are going to have sex. I do think that it is important that they receive an education on how to prevent the spreading of STDs and how to take care of themselves.
I feel like you are trying to pass on a great message. Teachers are always telling students, don't do this..don't do this...don't do this...After awhile, the student may get sick of and just want to rebel. We need to make sure students are aware that sex is not the devil, and that there is an appropriate time and place for everything. Growing up, I wish I would have heard more people saying the positives, and not constantly the negatives. It is good for us as teachers to know that sex is going to be an issue for our students. We want our students to be safe, but at the same time, we should inform our students that sex is a special gift given to us by God.
ReplyDeleteYep, I agree. I read in a book this quote from Muhammed Ali (a famous boxer), something he said to his daughter: "Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground, covered and protected. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell. Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You've got to work hard to get to them . . . Your body is sacred. You're far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too." (from the book Dressing with Dignity, Colleen Hammond).
ReplyDeleteI think that this message is one that can be especially meaningful for young women and can also give them good reason to not only save sex until marriage but also to dress modestly and to protect their hearts in their relationships with young men. It is also a message that could be communicated in public schools, not just in Catholic schools, without controversy.
The first thing that comes to my mind after reading your post is how are you going to teach that sex is beautiful and a gift from God to a public school? A public school cannot say the word God let alone teach the sex is a gift from Him. As a public school kid, I know from experience that teaching students that sex is a sacred gift from God will just want to make them have sex even more. If you have ideas about ways to teach about sex in a public school let me know.
ReplyDeleteI think you made a great point about disregarding things we think as ugly. If students are taught that sex is ugly, they will disregard it and engage in it. I think we need to teach students both sides. We need to teach students the good, bad, and the ugly of sex. If we only teach the good, students are going to suffer the consequences.
First of all, I love that quote, Laura! I agree. Whether or not it is idealistic, it is certainly true and can't hurt. Eventually students might need more of an explanation than sex is beautiful because they will need to understand the parameters. It would be confusing to say sex is beautiful, but STDs are ugly, and STDs come from sex. They'd need to understand why it is best to have a single, permanent partner that can be trusted. However, the goodness of sex is something that should not be overlooked in any education program.
ReplyDeleteGina, I agree that students should be taught sex is beautiful, as long as they clearly know it belongs in the context of marriage.
ReplyDeleteI think a big way to help students see the importance of waiting until marriage is to teach a little basic philosophy. We can emphasize what it means (physically, spiritually, role, etc.) to be male or female. Also, students should learn about authentic human freedom, which involves a rational choice. I think high schoolers should be taught Dr. Rziha's Twelve Steps of the Human Act. When I teach my students about philosophy and chastity, I'll summarize it by saying, "You are human, you are not God and not a dog." That ties in our created state, that we cannot do whatever we want, and that we have the ability to choose rationally instead of acting on instinct.
Gina you took the words right out of my mouth. We have to teach sex as a beautiful thing and get rid of the stigma that comes with it all. Sex should be taught as something that we GET and DESERVE. Instead it is taught as a bad thing and something that only gives you bad things when in reality that isn't true at all.
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