Home Sex Education

Home Sex Education
Why schools and families need to talk about relationships, caring, and consent as part of a comprehensive approach to sex ed

By:

Grace Tatter

Develop an ethical approach to sex ed. Place emphasis on helping students learn how to care for and support one another. This will reduce the chance they’ll commit, or be vulnerable to, sexual violence.
Don’t just tell students how to ask for consent; prompt them to consider why concepts like consent are important. It’s not just about staying out of legal trouble — it’s also about respecting and caring for others.
Respect students’ intelligence and engage them in discussions about who they want to be as people. Serious dialogue about complicated topics will hone their critical-thinking skills and help them be prepared to do the right thing.
Even without access to a curriculum, students, parents and educators can work together to facilitate conversations around sexual violence prevention through clubs, with help from organizations like Safe BAE.

- Any - Arts Civics and History College and Career Diversity and Inclusion Early Childhood Education Policy Global Education K-12 Language and Literacy Learning and Teaching Mind and Brain Parenting and Community School Leadership Social-Emotional Wellbeing STEM Learning Students with Disabilities - Any - - Any - Arts Civics and History College and Career Diversity and Inclusion Early Childhood Education Policy Global Education K-12 Language and Literacy Learning and Teaching Mind and Brain Parenting and Community School Leadership Social-Emotional Wellbeing STEM Learning Students with Disabilities

The importance of outdoor, child-centered play in helping children manage unpredictability

By:

Emily Boudreau

New insights into how motivation works, why it can lag, and what we can do to help students develop it

By:

Grace Tatter

CONTACT US:
Usable Knowledge
Harvard Graduate School of Education
20 University Rd., 6th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
Challenges? Interests? Get in touch!
uknow@gse.harvard.edu
@uknowhgse
Historically, the measure of a good sex education program has been in the numbers: marked decreases in the rates of sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancies, and pregnancy-related drop-outs. But, increasingly, researchers, educators, and advocates are emphasizing that sex ed should focus on more than physical health. Sex education, they say, should also be about relationships.
Giving students a foundation in relationship-building and centering the notion of care for others can enhance wellbeing and pave the way for healthy intimacy in the future, experts say. It can prevent or counter gender stereotyping and bias. And it could minimize instances of sexual harassment and assault in middle and high school — instances that may range from cyberbullying and stalking to unwanted touching and nonconsensual sex. A recent study from Columbia University's Sexual Health Initative to Foster Transformation (SHIFT) project suggests that comprehensive sex education protects students from sexual assault even after high school.
If students become more well-practiced in thinking about caring for one another, they’ll be less likely to commit — and be less vulnerable to — sexual violence, according to this new approach to sex ed. And they’ll be better prepared to engage in and support one another in relationships, romantic and otherwise, going forward.
Giving students a foundation in relationship-building can enhance wellbeing and pave the way for healthy intimacy in the future, experts say. It can also prevent or counter gender stereotyping, and it could minimize instances of sexual harassment and assault in middle and high school.
Diving into a conversation even tangentially related to sex with a group of 20 or so high school students isn’t easy. Renee Randazzo helped researcher Sharon Lamb pilot the Sexual Ethics and Caring Curriculum while a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She recalls boys snickering during discussions about pornography and objectification. At first, it was hard for students to be vulnerable.
But the idea behind the curriculum is that tough conversations are worth having. Simply teaching students how to ask for consent isn’t enough, says Lamb, a professor of counseling psychology at UMass Boston, who has been researching the intersection between caring relationships, sex, and education for decades. Students also to have understand why consent is important and think about consent in a variety of contexts. At the heart of that understanding are questions about human morality, how we relate to one another, and what we owe to one another. In other words, ethics.
“When I looked at what sex ed was doing, it wasn’t only a problem that kids weren’t getting the right facts,” Lamb says. “It was a problem that they weren’t getting the sex education that would make them treat others in a caring and just way.”
She became aware that when schools were talking about consent — if they were at all — it was in terms of self-protection. The message was: Get consent so you don’t get in trouble.
But there’s more at play, Lamb insists. Students should also understand the concept of mutuality — making decisions with a partner and understanding and addressing other people’s concerns or wishes — and spend time developing their own sense of right and wrong.
“If a young person is not in a healthy relationship, they can’t negotiate sex in a meaningful way. Even if they’re not having sex yet, they’re grappling with the idea of what a healthy relationship is.”
The curriculum she developed invites students to engage in frank discussions about topics like objectification in the media and sexting. If a woman is shamed for being in a sexy video, but she consented to it, does she deserve the criticism? Regardless of what you think, can you justify your position?
“How do they want to treat people, what kind of partner do they want to be? That takes discussion,” Lamb says. “It’s not a skill-training thing.”
The idea behind the curriculum isn’t that anything goes, so long as students can discuss their reasoning. Instead, the goal is that students develop the critical-reasoning skills to do the right thing in tricky situations.
After Randazzo’s students got over their cases of the giggles, the conversations were eye-opening, she says. “You give them the opportunity unpack their ideas and form their own opinions,” she says.
Most sexual assault and violence in schools is committed by people who know their victims — they’re either dating, friends, or classmates. Regardless, they have a relationship of some sort, which is why a focus on relationships and empathy is crucial to reducing violence and preparing students for more meaningful lives.
And while it might seem uncomfortable to move beyond the cut-and-dried facts of contraception into the murkier waters of relationships, students are hungry for it. A survey by researchers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Making Caring Common initiative found that 65 percent of young-adult respondents wished they had talked about relationships at school.
“It’s so critical that kids are able to undertake this work of learning to love somebody else,” says developmental psychologist Richard Weissbourd , the director of Making Caring Common and lead author of a groundbreaking report called The Talk: How Adults Can Promote Young People’s Healthy Relationships and Prevent Misogyny and Sexual Harassment . “They’re not going to be able to do it unless we get them on the road and are willing to engage in thoughtful conversations.”
Nicole Daley works with OneLove , a nonprofit focused on teen violence prevention. She previously worked extensively with Boston Public Schools on violence prevention. She echoes Lamb and Weissbourd: A focus on relationships is key to keeping students safe.
“If a young person is not in a healthy relationship, they can’t negotiate sex in a meaningful way,” she says. “Really discussing healthy relationships and building that foundation is important. Even if they’re not having sex yet, they’re grappling with the idea of what healthy relationship is.”
And it’s critical to start that work before college.
Shael Norris spent the first two decades of her career focusing on college campuses, but now is focused on younger students with her work through Safe BAE . By college, many people’s ideas about how to act when it comes to sex or romance are entrenched, she says. The earlier young people can start interrogating what they know about sex and relationships, the better.
Safe BAE is led by Norris and young survivors of sexual assault. The organization works to educate students about healthy relationships, sexual violence, students’ rights under Title IX, and other related topics.
Movement to change middle and high school curricula to include a focus on healthy relationships and consent has been slow, Norris notes. In 2015, Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced the Teach Safe Relationships Act, which would have mandated secondary schools teach about safe relationships, including asking for consent, in health education courses. It didn’t go anywhere. And while eight states now mandate some sort of sexual consent education , there’s no consensus about what that should entail.
Instead, the momentum for a more comprehensive sexual education that considers relationships and violence prevention is coming from individual teachers, students and parents.
“We don’t have to wait for politicians to start having conversations about this,” Norris says.
Part of a special series about preventing sexual harassment at school. Read the whole series .
Illustration by Wilhelmina Peragine
13 Appian Way | Cambridge, MA 02138
©2022 President and Fellows of Harvard College

Sticky Post
By Cheryl Critchley
On August 30, 2017

Eileen Berry
is a journalist and publisher with more than 30 years’ experience on newspapers and magazines. She created Parent Guides as a way to help parents of school-aged kids educate themselves about issues young people face and to discuss them as a family. Eileen experienced many of these issues first-hand when raising a nephew. Read more about Eileen's story.

Parenting Guides Ltd ABN 786 2129 8093 © 2022 | Privacy Policy | Terms of use

Most young Australians receive sex education, many in primary school. Experts say they should learn about body parts and respectful relationships from a young age, both at home and at school.
The fifth National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health 2013* found 86 per cent of Australian teenagers had received sex education at school. More than one in 10 (10.4 per cent) hadn’t and 3.6 per cent didn’t know.
Sexuality and relationship education is mostly taught by teachers (83 per cent), with people outside the school (34 per cent), and/or the school nurse (22 per cent) sometimes involved. School counsellors (10 per cent) or chaplains (four per cent) were less likely to be used.
While most schools teach it, the quality of sex education varies. Many have excellent programs but some offer the bare minimum.
It doesn’t hurt to ask your school what it is doing. If an outside group is providing the service, you may also want to check to ensure its values align with yours.
Good sex education starts at home from a very young age and continues at school with a comprehensive program covering all aspects of adolescence, relationships and diversity issues.
Sex Education Australia’s Jenny Ackland says a child’s early sexuality education has nothing to do with sex, but should involve using the correct names for body parts and understanding the concepts of public and private and appropriate and inappropriate touching.
She says children can ask questions from a very young age and parents and carers should answer them in an age-appropriate way.
It’s also important for very young children to understand “same” and “different”, basic ideas about gender, correct names for basic reproductive body parts and thinking about respectful friendships.
As children get older, Ackland says they should learn about reproduction, how babies are made and born, including the different ways they can join families such as adoption, IVF, surrogate, donor sperm and/or eggs and so on. “Being inclusive is important,” she says.
In late primary school, Ackland says sex education should cover the physical, mental and social changes of puberty and how to manage them. This can include key messages on sexting and sexually explicit material online.
“Friendships, managing social media, greater freedom and responsibility are all important topics,” she says. Ackland says most children in years 5 and 6 know or have heard about sex. Some even younger students may have too.
“In sex education, in school it’s good for them to have a simple, clear explanation to inform and clarify if what they might have heard before is untrue,” she says.
While it is important for primary and secondary schools to have comprehensive sex education programs, Ackland says
as their children’s primary carers, parents know them better than anyone else.
“Ideally sexuality education should also be covered at home,” she says. “Home is where individual values, beliefs and expectations can be shared, and it’s important that parents are available to answer questions and provide support.”
Some parents feel uncomfortable discussing sex with their kids. Ackland says this is OK, but if that’s the case you need to let them know this and show you are available to offer support.
“Reliable age-appropriate books are good to have in the house so young people can read these in private as well as referring them to quality websites,” she says.
What does a good sex education program cover?
A good school sex education program is nonjudgmental, with no hidden agenda. Information is accurate and up to date, inclusive and respectful of sexual diversity and different values and beliefs.
Diversity is crucial. LGBTIQ students should not feel invisible or that their needs are not being met or considered unimportant. Being inclusive can help reduce the feeling of isolation that some same-sex-attracted young people feel in schools. They experience higher rates of verbal and physical abuse than heterosexual peers and are at higher risk of depression, self-harm and suicide.
Sex Education Australia’s Jenny Ackland says a good school sex education program covers:
• The domains of sexuality, including sexual diversity, sexual stereotypes, same-sex attraction, respectful and healthy relationships, male and female sexual response, sexual decision-making, safer sex;
• STIs and contraception;
• Consent;
• Sex and the law;
• Sex and technology, including a detailed discussion about pornography and sexting;
• Where to go for help; and
• Explanation of doctor and patient confidentiality and the cost of medical visits.
In Victoria, it is compulsory for government schools to provide sexuality education within health and physical education, including assessment and reporting against the Australian curriculum.
The Education Department says the goal of sexuality education in Victorian schools is to build on knowledge, skills, and behaviours, enabling young people to make responsible and safe choices.
“Good sexuality education focuses on love, safer sex, abstinence, respect for others and oneself, diversity, personal rights and responsibilities, relationships and friendships, effective communication, decision-making and risk behaviours,” its website says.
The most effective sexuality education programs also take a whole-school learning approach. Good school-based sexuality education is:
• Driven by the school leader;
• Comprehensive;
• Inclusive;
• Supported by the latest research;
• Ongoing and integrated into a student’s cross-curriculum learning;
• Assessed and reported against student achievement in the Victorian Essential Learning Standards; and
• Part of a student’s whole-school learning experience.
Catholic and independent schools are welcome to use the department’s policies, training and resources.
Parents and schools each have a role to play.
Most schools teach sexuality education, but parents and carers cannot assume that their child is learning enough to stay safe. Up to one in 10 teenagers receives no sex education at school. Less than four in 10 confide in their mother and only about two in ten approach their father about their sexual health. Some talk to friends, doctors and teachers. Almost half use the internet.
While a parent’s role is important, they should also ensure their child’s school has a comprehensive sexuality education program.
• Most students (86 per cent) have received sex education at school; about four per cent were uncertain. One in 10 students reported having no sex education.
• Most students are taught sexuality and relationship education in health and physical education classes (80 per cent) while 31 per cent learnt it in science and biology classes (Table 9.3). One in 10 (13 per cent) had sex education as part of a religious instruction program.
• Sexuality and relationship education was mainly taught between years 7 and 10 with 64 per cent taught in years 7-8 and 68 per cent in years 9-10.
• Students most commonly consulted either their mother (36 per cent) or a female friend (41 per cent), the school sexual health program (43 per cent) or a website (44 per cent) for sexual health information.
• Doctors (29 per cent) and teachers (28 per cent) were also a common source of information.
• More young women than men gained sexual health advice from the school program (45 per cent vs 39 per cent), their doctor (32 per cent vs 25 per cent), websites (47 per cent vs 39 per cent), an older brother or sister (16 per cent vs 13 per cent), their mother (43 per cent vs 27 per cent), and a female friend (51 per cent vs 27 per cent).
• Young men were more likely to use their father (23 per cent vs 16 per cent), or have sought no advice (16 per cent vs 10 per cent).
* Source: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University: The fifth National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health 2013.
Parent Guides have helped multiple Victorian schools co-ordinate informative Q&A-style panel nights for the benefit of teachers and parents. These events provide direct access to some of the country's foremost experts on drugs and issues affecting our youth. If you'd like more information, please contact us

Therapists
:
Login
|
Sign Up

Are you a Therapist?
Get Listed Today

Get Help

Find a Therapist

Find a Treatment Center

Find a Psychiatrist

Find a Support Group

Find Teletherapy

Members
Login
Sign Up

United States

Austin, TX
Brooklyn, NY
Chicago, IL
Denver, CO
Houston, TX
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
Portland, OR
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Seattle, WA
Washington, DC

Our conversations are sprinkled with slips, pauses, lies, an
Amateur Porn Mature Hairy
Porno Latin Stepmother
Teens Orgy Video

Home Sex Education

Report Page