Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2012 7:42:14 GMT -5
I recently met with my dd's teacher (10) for her conference. She is in 5th grade. During the course of the discussion with her teacher, i asked about Sex/Health Ed and whether they were going to have any type of class for the girls regarding puberty and soon to be upcoming bodily issues and changes, i.e. getting their periods, etc. I was astounded to discover that the school is no longer doing any type of class like this WHATSOEVER until 9th grade! What is going on? And, while i agree the primary responsibility lies with the parents, and i will certainly teach my dd, i cannot believe the school will teach about drugs and alcohol and bullying but yet ignore this elephant in the room? And, of course there should be an Age appropriate curriculum and i do believe boys and girls should be separated at this age for instruction. And parents who wish to Opt out their child, can certainly do so if they choose and were allowed to do so in the past so i really do not understand their thinking. Anyway, i went to the School Board meeting on Monday night and presented my thoughts on the issue.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2012 8:41:23 GMT -5
Nice job! Maybe they can get Gaga (or a transvestite look alike) to come talk to the girls about their changing bodies.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2012 8:45:32 GMT -5
And teach the boys how to tuck and tape!
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 21, 2012 9:30:09 GMT -5
DS had an "our changing bodies" type presentation in 6th grade and Sex Ed in health class in 7th and 8th grade. His 8th grade teacher did a decent job from what I could tell. I still think they focus too much on abstinence and not enough to protection. His teacher got basically zero funding for the sex ed unit. She wanted to show the kids how to put on a condom using a banana. She had to go to the grocery store and buy the bananas and the condoms out of her own money.
She had one class period dedicated to answering all the questions that the kids put in her question box that week. Holy crap did they have questions for her. She answered every one and some were pretty graphic
I was impressed that they did a unit on "unhealthy relationships" basically what warning signs to look for that you or your friend may be in an unhealthy (ie. abusive, controlling, etc) relationship and what to do about it.
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Saving4Norway
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Post by Saving4Norway on Nov 21, 2012 22:34:02 GMT -5
Hi There,
I'm a 6th grade science teacher in the PNW. Around here, teaching to our state high-stakes test has the rest of our "optional" curriculum in a stranglehold. Parents - please help fill in the life-skill gaps where we have had to cut. Not just sex ed but also, basic cooking, sewing, money management, the arts, woodworking, etc. It's not that teachers don't think these things are important - that couldn't be further from the truth.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2012 0:15:38 GMT -5
"i do believe boys and girls should be separated at this age for instruction." Why? Boys and girls need to learn to talk about this with the opposite gender, therefore they should be taught together.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2012 2:30:29 GMT -5
LOL! The local paper came out and i was front page news at the School Board Meeting! They must record the session because they printed my entire speech in the paper! Luckily, i came prepared and researched and studied the issue including curriculum and other info and had actually written a paper which i read to the board! Glad i didn't just speak off the cuff but brought in some good info. Hey, my 15 min of Fame!
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telephus44
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Post by telephus44 on Nov 22, 2012 14:48:34 GMT -5
I can remember getting some kind of lecture - just the girls - on getting my period in 5th grade. I mostly remember that they took a tampon out of the applicator and put it in a cup of water. Not sure why I remembered that, but hey, it's what stuck for me. Never had a "sex" class.
I do recall getting one class in high school - different school system - on safe sex, but the message was mostly "don't have sex or use condoms." While I agree that STD's are a huge issue, especially for teens, I wish that they had actually discussed all the different types of birth control.
I have boys, so I'm lucky that I get to skip that part. DH agreed to do the talk. I do plan on having condoms available in the house though when they get old enough (right now my oldest is 6, I'm thinking he's still a little young).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2012 16:05:10 GMT -5
LOL! The local paper came out and i was front page news at the School Board Meeting! They must record the session because they printed my entire speech in the paper! Luckily, i came prepared and researched and studied the issue including curriculum and other info and had actually written a paper which i read to the board! Glad i didn't just speak off the cuff but brought in some good info. Hey, my 15 min of Fame! You must have impressed them if they printed the whole thing. WTG!
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 22, 2012 17:10:14 GMT -5
We got a video of Jonathan Torrens dressed up like a giant phallus. Also, instructions on how to perform oral sex with a condom, which suffice it to say is more complicated than applying the condom to the penis. I don't object to sex education in schools, but I've never seen the need for it either. Any idiot can figure out how to put on a condom. Any girl who's going to foul up inserting an IUD is still going to foul it up after watching a sex ed worker demonstrate on a plastic dummy. And scaring teenagers to death about the unintended consequences of sex works the same way for abstinence-only as it does for protected-sex training. If they're going to ignore the video about the STDs and the video about unwanted pregnancy, chances are they don't give a toot about any other helpful advice a 40-year-old sex ed teacher has to give them. Can anyone here name anything useful they learned in sex ed class? You don't have to be highly explicit. Just an example of something you found was worthwhile to know.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2012 17:17:45 GMT -5
We got a video of Jonathan Torrens dressed up like a giant phallus. Also, instructions on how to perform oral sex with a condom, which suffice it to say is more complicated than applying the condom to the penis. I don't object to sex education in schools, but I've never seen the need for it either. Any idiot can figure out how to put on a condom. Any girl who's going to foul up inserting an IUD is still going to foul it up after watching a sex ed worker demonstrate on a plastic dummy. And scaring teenagers to death about the unintended consequences of sex works the same way for abstinence-only as it does for protected-sex training. If they're going to ignore the video about the STDs and the video about unwanted pregnancy, chances are they don't give a toot about any other helpful advice a 40-year-old sex ed teacher has to give them. Can anyone here name anything useful they learned in sex ed class? You don't have to be highly explicit. Just an example of something you found was worthwhile to know. I don't believe it is possible or likely that a girl can insert her own IUD. Usually this is done by a doctor.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 22, 2012 17:22:56 GMT -5
We got a video of Jonathan Torrens dressed up like a giant phallus. Also, instructions on how to perform oral sex with a condom, which suffice it to say is more complicated than applying the condom to the penis. I don't object to sex education in schools, but I've never seen the need for it either. Any idiot can figure out how to put on a condom. Any girl who's going to foul up inserting an IUD is still going to foul it up after watching a sex ed worker demonstrate on a plastic dummy. And scaring teenagers to death about the unintended consequences of sex works the same way for abstinence-only as it does for protected-sex training. If they're going to ignore the video about the STDs and the video about unwanted pregnancy, chances are they don't give a toot about any other helpful advice a 40-year-old sex ed teacher has to give them. Can anyone here name anything useful they learned in sex ed class? You don't have to be highly explicit. Just an example of something you found was worthwhile to know. I don't believe it is possible or likely that a girl can insert her own IUD. Usually this is done by a doctor. Brain fart. I was referring to a diaphragm. They included a demonstration when I took sex ed.
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mizbear
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Post by mizbear on Nov 22, 2012 18:02:50 GMT -5
The most important thing I learned in sex ed at school was that I was being molested.
4th grade sex ed.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2012 18:05:14 GMT -5
The most important thing I learned in sex ed at school was that I was being molested. 4th grade sex ed. So sorry mizbear. Thats awful, I feel so horrible for you. That does raise a valid point though about sex education and what is appropriate touching etc. being taught to children.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2012 21:51:42 GMT -5
We got a video of Jonathan Torrens dressed up like a giant phallus. Also, instructions on how to perform oral sex with a condom, which suffice it to say is more complicated than applying the condom to the penis. I don't object to sex education in schools, but I've never seen the need for it either. Any idiot can figure out how to put on a condom. Any girl who's going to foul up inserting an IUD is still going to foul it up after watching a sex ed worker demonstrate on a plastic dummy. And scaring teenagers to death about the unintended consequences of sex works the same way for abstinence-only as it does for protected-sex training. If they're going to ignore the video about the STDs and the video about unwanted pregnancy, chances are they don't give a toot about any other helpful advice a 40-year-old sex ed teacher has to give them. Can anyone here name anything useful they learned in sex ed class? You don't have to be highly explicit. Just an example of something you found was worthwhile to know. Well, as i said, there is usually some opt out for parents who don't wish their kids to participate. But, why would we NOT want to teach reproductive anatomy and physiology? Do you not think it would be a frightening thing for a 10 yr old to begin menstruation and not have a clue? And, the avg age of menarche is 12 but girls as young as 8 can begin this. Also, i don't understand why ignorance of how one's reproductive system works would be preferable. And, an age appropriate curriculum could be reviewed by the school board and parents and educators and find something they agree upon. It certainly can be informational, informative and useful without being overly graphic, explicit or titillating as well. There is no reason this cannot be presented in a clinical, matter of fact way. And, in addition, you then can discuss healthy body boundaries including what children should do and whom to report to if they feel these lines have been crossed. To ignore this giant elephant in the room seems absurd.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 22, 2012 22:34:01 GMT -5
Our sex eduction classes never addressed puberty, menstruation, the reproductive system, etc. Topics relating to puberty were built right into the curriculum of elementary school courses.
Sex education was about sex.
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mizbear
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Post by mizbear on Nov 23, 2012 0:22:38 GMT -5
We didn't get the sex end of things until 9th grade. That was the first mixed gender class we had on sex ed and both times I had a male teacher for it. The teachers actually threatened all of the kids beforehand that they would toss anyone who was "inappropriate" in class- actually the one teacher actually said "if you act like an ass". My parents didn't talk about those things- my father for obvious reasons. If it wasn't for sex ed and my grandmother- I would have been clueless.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2012 3:15:55 GMT -5
Our sex eduction classes never addressed puberty, menstruation, the reproductive system, etc. Topics relating to puberty were built right into the curriculum of elementary school courses. Sex education was about sex. So, you are saying you had Sex Ed but they never addressed puberty or menstruation? Or you didn't have Sex ed? As for it being "about sex", that would include things like menstruation, puberty, reproductive anatomy, etc.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2012 3:20:17 GMT -5
We didn't get the sex end of things until 9th grade. That was the first mixed gender class we had on sex ed and both times I had a male teacher for it. The teachers actually threatened all of the kids beforehand that they would toss anyone who was "inappropriate" in class- actually the one teacher actually said "if you act like an ass". My parents didn't talk about those things- my father for obvious reasons. If it wasn't for sex ed and my grandmother- I would have been clueless. I think 9th grade is far too late if that is the only type of education the kids are going to receive. I think the curriculum needs to begin in K from just simple "Safe Touch" where you simply explain that the parts of your body covered by your swimsuit should not be touched by others , etc. which is a program they had in our school. It was very basic and the emphasis of it was so a child could start to understand some body boundaries and to help them understand they could report abuse. And, then i would expect some additional curriculum as they begin to move into puberty.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 23, 2012 11:03:42 GMT -5
Our sex eduction classes never addressed puberty, menstruation, the reproductive system, etc. Topics relating to puberty were built right into the curriculum of elementary school courses. Sex education was about sex. So, you are saying you had Sex Ed but they never addressed puberty or menstruation? Or you didn't have Sex ed? As for it being "about sex", that would include things like menstruation, puberty, reproductive anatomy, etc. We had sex ed, and we were taught about puberty, menstruation, reproduction, etc. The latter topics were built right into the curriculum of 'human development' segments of our science courses, or addressed in special presentations. They came as early as grades 2, 3, and 4. Sex ed was distinct. It came in grades 7 and 8, and addressed STDs (or, STIs, as they've been rechristened, since apparently 'disease' is too unpleasant a word), and how to "safely" perform several varieties of sex. I can't recall if they included material on sexual harassment and sexual molestation. I got next to nothing out of the course (when I say 'course', it was a half-day seminar). I suspect I wasn't the only one.
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p8nt
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Post by p8nt on Nov 23, 2012 13:04:19 GMT -5
My children had a semester of "health" class in 9th grade (after some one day courses here and there in elementary) Their teacher took it upon herself to tell them far more than I would have liked, including the fact that she "preferred anal over vaginal sex" All the parents were in an uproar, however I've heard from other parents that she says this every semester. Obviously the school doesn't care.
Just an FYI, my favorite book is "The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls" by the American Girl Publishers. My DD really liked it. It covers everything from shaving legs to using tampons in an appropriate manner and in a format that tweens seem to like.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2012 21:12:06 GMT -5
I got next to nothing out of the course (when I say 'course', it was a half-day seminar). I suspect I wasn't the only one.
Well, as i said Virgil, there is an "Opt Out" for parents who do not wish for their kids to participate.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Nov 24, 2012 15:59:29 GMT -5
Can anyone here name anything useful they learned in sex ed class? ---------------- Everything. And I do mean everything. My sex ed at home consisted of "If you let a boy touch you, you're going to hell."
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Reckless Roselia
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Post by Reckless Roselia on Nov 24, 2012 16:52:37 GMT -5
I think pupils towards their final years of primary school education should be taught about sex education however this does not mean the entire responsibility lies on the teachers and/or the school in educating young minds on sex.
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Reckless Roselia
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Post by Reckless Roselia on Nov 24, 2012 16:54:02 GMT -5
Congrats to Shooby for her fame.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2012 18:11:16 GMT -5
Can anyone here name anything useful they learned in sex ed class? ---------------- Everything. And I do mean everything. My sex ed at home consisted of "If you let a boy touch you, you're going to hell." Because my 4-8 grade classes were co-ed, I learned to talk about sex with the opposite sex, without being embarrassed.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2012 6:45:08 GMT -5
Can anyone here name anything useful they learned in sex ed class? ---------------- Everything. And I do mean everything. My sex ed at home consisted of "If you let a boy touch you, you're going to hell." That was my point to the school board. There are going to be some parents who aren't going to sit down with their kids and teach them. And, for a lot who do, i doubt they are going to give them a lesson in reproductive anatomy and physiology. People need to learn and understand how their bodies work. In general, i do think that classes would be better if they were segregated boys and girls. I think that allows girls to discuss particular issues relevant to girls and vice versa. And, it is sensitive to modesty issues as well. A coed class at a younger age is not a good idea in my opinion and it is going to shut down a lot of real conversations and issues. And it can be taught in a way that isn't overly explicit or graphic, but very matter of fact.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Nov 25, 2012 9:21:02 GMT -5
It's coed now and DS hated it as well as DD hated it. No reason for it other than its easier for the poor teacher who gets stuck teaching it. I know because I and another newbie got stuck doing it our first years of teaching. He was worse than me, was going to be a priest and failed at it so became a teacher instead. Kids knew more than we did.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 25, 2012 15:58:00 GMT -5
I got next to nothing out of the course (when I say 'course', it was a half-day seminar). I suspect I wasn't the only one. Well, as i said Virgil, there is an "Opt Out" for parents who do not wish for their kids to participate. I don't think the courses are harmful. But for me personally, I'd have preferred it if the school had scheduled a half day at the science center or something.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2012 19:00:34 GMT -5
Virgil, you probably aren't exactly the target audience. i don't know your personally but obviously you are way ahead of the curve in terms of intelligence, commonsense and no doubt good looks. So for you, you probably had that covered. But, for my dd, i do believe that it would greatly benefit her to not just get info from her mom, but to also sit among her peers (and i only mean girls at this age) and feel that this is understood, that she can discuss it and i think there will be greater understanding along the way.
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