24 October, 2008

Noboby leave the room, everyone listen to me, we had ten tampons at half past two, and now there's only three...

Prepare yourself for a new generation of perverts, drug abusers, teenage pregnancy, STD carriers and nymphomaniacs. Slightly hyperbolic I know but desperate measures calls for desperate rhetoric. What am I on about? I'm on about the government's ingenious idea of planning to make sex education compulsory in primary schools.


Yesterday's Guardian article quoted a spokesperson for Life Education: 'If we want to make a real and lasting difference to teenage drug and alcohol misuse, we must reach them early - at primary school'. Evidently the government has not had time to review the adverse effects of sex education in secondary schools. Minette Marrin in a recent Times online article points out:


[...] sex education has been an utter failure. The increase in sex education here in recent years has coincided with an explosion of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted disease (STD) far worse than anywhere else in Europe. Since the government’s teenage pregnancy strategy was introduced in 1999, the number of girls having abortions has soared. You might well be tempted to argue that sex education causes sexual delinquency.



It begs the question then that faced with such startling statistics why the government want to make sex education compulsory amongst children who still believe in mythical figures like the tooth fairy and Santa Clause.


My generation will be familiar with the science modules on human biology and how babies are made. I remember boys throwing about tampons and menstrual pads - shouting 'Here have a pillow' and sniggering. I'm not saying primary school kids will do this but something similar and more childish. Hitting each other with pads and using tampons as weapons - the latest James Bond gadget, may just be the norm. At the end of the school day teachers won't be asking where have all the scissors gone - but - nobody leave the room, everyone listen to me, we had ten tampons at half past two, and now there's only three. And so the search will begin. One tampon may be amongst the crayons, pretending to be a white crayon; remains may be found of one in the pet cage - what the hamster couldn't swallow and one in the teachers' tea - for scientific purpose of course, to see how much it can absorb.


Concern has been expressed by the sane about sexualising children by teaching them sex education but how do you desexualise sex? Perhaps we will be rigorously scientific and use scientific terms. A child who struggles with remembering and spelling difficult words is expected to take on board terms like vagina, placenta, fallopian tube, uterus, scrotum, prostate gland - need I go on? Maybe to help them learn we can have song-like-poems, like in Matilda - you know - Mrs D, Mrs I, Mrs F F I, Mrs C, Mrs U, Mrs L, T Y - spells difficulty. Mr T, Mr E, Mr S T, Mr I, Mr C, Mr L, Mr Eugh - spells trouble.


I'm over reacting as usual. We're going to teach them BASIC sex education. What is 'basic' sex education? Where do we draw the line? You don't think curiosity will get the better of them? That you can tell a ten year old that a sperm penetrates an egg in the ampulla of the fallopian tube and he or she will simply note it down and that would be all? That's 'basic'. What about all the follow up questions? Teaching little kids is difficult enough without having to teach them about sex.


The problem with a 'basic' and scientific description of sex and how babies are made is that it is bereft of all human emotion. Isn't that the very problem we are trying to overcome? That sex isn't treated as a wonderful way to express human emotion but a competition, a league table of how many you've scored.

And no one is thinking about the teachers! What about the teachers? Teaching a classroom of ten year olds the basics of sex could have a detrimental effect on their sex life! Little money, no peace, and now no sex. There goes a generation of potential teachers. Think of the hot flushes in the classroom. The staff room gossip - 'My year 4s asked me to demonstrate penetration'. And I guarantee you one cheeky ten year old will ask 'Sir, do you have sex? How often?'

Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm not modern enough, maybe I'm too old-fashioned, maybe I need to get with the times, maybe I'm prude or worse yet naive. But every fiber of my being and the little logic I possess vehemently and passionately tells me that teaching sex education at primary schools is wrong, wrong, wrong. Wrong morally, wrong ethically, wrong politically. Period. Oh and good luck explaining that to a ten year old boy!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm not modern enough, maybe I'm too old-fashioned, maybe I need to get with the times, maybe I'm prude or worse yet naive."

There should be no "maybes" in this sentence. Your opinions belong 50 years ago. I just pity the poor kids you will one day teach.

N-onymous said...

Ouch, bitter. Bad day? Empty meaningless life? I can't say I know the feeling.

There is at least a dozen mistakes in the above post. Its a cheap trick to select one like to put me/the post down. Imagine if all editors responded with such uncouth comments.

You've left no website or blog that can be followed up to validate your 'expertise'.

I don't expect rosy comments all the time. I am flattered that despite your low opinion you took at least ten minutes out of your life to read and comment, ten minutes you're never going to get back. Now that's scary. I can't say I'll extend the same compliment one day.

It is unfortunate you offer no constructive criticism and that your comment reveals FAR more about you than it does about my post or me.

And yes, I should have lived at least fifty years ago and I guess you're just going to have to make sure I don't end up teaching anyone you know - but with the way cosmic irony works I bet I will!!

Who was it that said that using an exclamation mark is akin to laughing at your own joke? I'm guilty!

Anonymous said...

Hello,

I personally did not think that your utterances warranted constructive criticism, however, I suppose it is only fair that I let you know why I left such “uncouth comments”.

Firstly, your opening did not persuade me to agree with your forthcoming argument. The first sentence was far too extreme – I realise you were aware of that – but it really did not make the impact you intended. Then to use words and phrases such as “hyperbolic”, “desperate measures calls for desperate rhetoric” but not carry that tone throughout the article makes me think you are an A-level English student that has learned some new words.

You then go on to quote a Guardian article which you argue with using a Times online article, which is fine but you then only comment on the Times article. It would have been nice if you would have explored the Guardian’s point of view. This would have made the reader think you had considered every option and drawn your conclusion rather than just naively and ignorantly wrote this article. Have you considered that the education may be too little too late by secondary school? Or that there needs to be more ground work before secondary school? If you look at the education system in Holland they teach sex ed. from a young age and there figures for teen pregnancy are much less (six times I believe).

As for your “tampon” story I must say your grasp of how these lessons will be taught is minimal. For the majority of the time the lessons will be focused on friendship, relationships, respect, how to deal with conflict etc... This is “basic” sex education not a scientific explanation. Any teacher worth their salt would not hand out anything like tampons, condoms to KS2 pupils.

As for it affecting the teacher sex life... well that actually made me laugh out loud. I have been teaching sex ed. to KS3 and never has it altered my sex life.
I’m sure I could go on but I won’t. I hope this has satisfied you a little and I’m sure as you grow up your opinions will change.

Kind Regards.

N-onymous said...

Had you written what you wrote above - or even a short summary of it in the first place I would have held you much higher esteem than I do at present. Your first comment - that my opinions were outdated and you pitied the students I would one day teach were attacking the arguer, nothing to do with the argument at hand. Evidently you yourself have a lot more to learn than I do because thats basic.

I disagree, the tone established in the first paragraph is carried right through the end - maybe you missed all the exclamation marks. Hyperbolic - darling, my whole article was hyperbolic! Anyone can see that. The joke on teachers sex life, the idea that primary school teachers would bring in tampons- all hyperbole - I guess that's the problem with written language, its hard to detect tone but I think even a KS3 pupil would have worked out I was exaggerating. To say that I've just learnt these new words like a good A-level student - well, I'm not sure what kind of education you received but these are key stage 3 words, not A-Level.

This is firstly a blog, and its my blog - I didn't realise you were looking for academic level debates and I never gave the impression that you would find that here. Read my profile. However I would gladly send you my academic essays for scrutiny - but I'm guessing then you'd start attacking my teachers and not the argument at hand. You yourself state: 'personally did not think that your utterances warranted constructive criticism' - exactly. Its a blog. Therefore to look for faults like failing to comment on one article - please. I may sound like an A-Level student but you sound like a newly qualified teacher who is feeling the force of the mighty red pen and I bet I'm spot on, of course you would never admit it.

The facts at the end of the day stay the same - therefore it doesn't matter that I compared a Guardian article with a Times article, the statistics stay the same.

I could go on too. And like you I guess I feel that I'm 'right' - oh and please don't insult my intelligence by replying with 'It's not a question of right and wrong'.

As a sort of conclusion if you like I must add I LOVED how you dropped in a little fact about your sex life at the end - not sure what you were trying to prove there - to me, to the readers, to yourself perhaps? :-) You deserve a blue peter badge! Didn't realise I was asking for that kind of information or that anyone here wanted to know. But don't worry - I'll think of you fondly because you felt the compulsion to share that. This will be a great anecdote for todays dinner party.

kind regards and once again thank you for taking the time to comment - I'm being genuine here, I know you find it hard to detect tone. Much appreciated even though I don't agree on all counts.

Right on to more pressing issues...

Anonymous said...

Good brief and this enter helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you seeking your information.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for my bad english. Thank you so much for your good post. Your post helped me in my college assignment, If you can provide me more details please email me.

Anonymous said...

Hey,

Thanks for sharing the link - but unfortunately it seems to be not working? Does anybody here at litarture.blogspot.com have a mirror or another source?


Thanks,
James

N-onymous said...

James,

Just tried both the Guardian and Times link provided: both work fine.