Time for sex education to be a school subject
March 13, 2010, Saturday
NOW who says only girls giggle. Boys do that too. Well, my classmates and I were guilty of giggling during secondary school more than 30 years ago when our biology teacher started talking about reproductive organs. (Now, we can all laugh at ourselves for giggling at that time.)That was our first introduction to sex (via the science class, of course). Then, the teacher would discuss the fertilisation of the egg by the sperm but would never mention that a man and woman must have sexual intercourse in order for reproduction to take place.
That would have tickled our curiosity (and innocence) even more and definitely, heighten our giggles and blushes. Well, I suppose it is only natural for teenagers to feel shy to talk openly about sex in school. For our biology teacher then, that was as far as she could go. No, there was nothing in the curriculum to warn students about unwanted pregnancy or to advise on safe sex.
This week, the Education Ministry brought up the subject of introducing sex education in schools. The issue was broached because of the increasing number of unwed mothers, mostly students.
There is now a realisation that sex and relationship education is critical. Children must be taught about relationships, responsibilities, and the social and emotional side of sexual behaviour.
During my time in secondary school, unwanted pregnancy was not actually a serious issue. Well, we can say that teenagers then were more ‘careful’ or less ‘adventurous’. Still, we have to concede that students then were also having sexual relations.
Sex education in schools has been brought up many times but somehow, the matter was put in cold storage as soon as it was brought up.
In 2005, Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein, then the Education Minister, was all for sex education. He was quoted as saying in the media that “we are faced with various forms of sexual crimes: Internet pornography, incest, pre-marital sex, sexual abuse and harassment, and paedophilia. The guidelines address all these. All must take sex as a serious issue.”
Then in December 2006, there was an AFP report saying that Malaysia is to introduce sex education in schools for the first time, with topics to range from pre-marital sex to homosexuality and masturbation.
It reported that under the plans approved by the Cabinet, sex education will start for preschoolers from the age of four up to teenagers and young adults, according to the Education Ministry and the Ministry for Women, Family and Community Development.
Subjects would also include rape, sexual abuse, abortion, infanticide and the spread of HIV/AIDS, the ministries said.
“This action is needed so that society, especially the youth, are given accurate and detailed information to curb these social ills,” they said in a statement.
The ministries said they had developed a sex education guidebook incorporating the topics that were written after consultations, which started in July 2002.
“The guidebook was published to impart knowledge to all Malaysians from various age groups to think positively in life by absorbing good and honourable social values,” they said.
Five years later, what happened to the guide book? It’s strange that there was no follow-up on the matter. Has the guide book been used to train teachers in the teaching of sex education? Or like the quest to introduce sex education, it has also been placed on the shelf to gather dust. What a waste of the funds and efforts put in coming up with the guide book, really!
As sex education was raised again this week, it is not surprising to hear the same lamentation — teachers are not trained to teach the subject.
National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng voiced the union’s full support of the government’s move for sex education in schools but lamented that, “teachers lack formal training in the complexity and sensitivity of the subject and are not confident to teach it”.
Some teachers feared being sued by parents for imparting sexual knowledge to their children, she said.
We can appreciate the concerns of the teachers as these fears are real. How often have we heard of parents taking action against the school authorities or teachers for alleged mistreatment of their children.
Whatever the obstacles are, it is high time that sex education be made a school subject. Why? An editorial in an online news portal said it best this week.
“As children are sexually active at an earlier age these days, sex education should be made compulsory and be taught in line with the ethos and values of the school. Maybe, what needs to be done is for a survey of parents, to be commissioned by the government, for the parents’ feedback.
“It is important to teach children about puberty and the facts of life, the differences between boys and girls, healthy relationships, different kinds of relationships (heterosexual and homosexual), body image and self-confidence.
“At secondary school level, pupils should know about contraception, HIV and AIDS, pregnancy, effects of drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, responsibility, abortions and importance of relationships.
“As in any teaching, the weakest point is the quality of the teachers and their treatment of the subject. Teachers must be strict and disciplined with pupils who might want to misconstrue why sex education is being taught.
“Simultaneously, a group of trained teachers to provide counselling services must be made available for any student with problems of a sexual nature, to be discussed in confidence.
“Perhaps, the main message is that sex education is not about teaching young children to ‘have sex’. It is to give them an idea about relationships, to be developed as they get older. It might help if the sex education was kept purely scientific, as opposed to calling it pleasurable or ‘making love’.”
Today, I am not giggling or blushing. As a father myself, I have spoken to my teenage kids on all they need to know about their bodies and relationships with the opposite sex.
And I’m glad, my kids did not giggle in our discussion on sex. Thankfully, they were more mature than me when I was their age.
March 13, 2010, Saturday
NOW who says only girls giggle. Boys do that too. Well, my classmates and I were guilty of giggling during secondary school more than 30 years ago when our biology teacher started talking about reproductive organs. (Now, we can all laugh at ourselves for giggling at that time.)That was our first introduction to sex (via the science class, of course). Then, the teacher would discuss the fertilisation of the egg by the sperm but would never mention that a man and woman must have sexual intercourse in order for reproduction to take place.
That would have tickled our curiosity (and innocence) even more and definitely, heighten our giggles and blushes. Well, I suppose it is only natural for teenagers to feel shy to talk openly about sex in school. For our biology teacher then, that was as far as she could go. No, there was nothing in the curriculum to warn students about unwanted pregnancy or to advise on safe sex.
This week, the Education Ministry brought up the subject of introducing sex education in schools. The issue was broached because of the increasing number of unwed mothers, mostly students.
There is now a realisation that sex and relationship education is critical. Children must be taught about relationships, responsibilities, and the social and emotional side of sexual behaviour.
During my time in secondary school, unwanted pregnancy was not actually a serious issue. Well, we can say that teenagers then were more ‘careful’ or less ‘adventurous’. Still, we have to concede that students then were also having sexual relations.
Sex education in schools has been brought up many times but somehow, the matter was put in cold storage as soon as it was brought up.
In 2005, Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein, then the Education Minister, was all for sex education. He was quoted as saying in the media that “we are faced with various forms of sexual crimes: Internet pornography, incest, pre-marital sex, sexual abuse and harassment, and paedophilia. The guidelines address all these. All must take sex as a serious issue.”
Then in December 2006, there was an AFP report saying that Malaysia is to introduce sex education in schools for the first time, with topics to range from pre-marital sex to homosexuality and masturbation.
It reported that under the plans approved by the Cabinet, sex education will start for preschoolers from the age of four up to teenagers and young adults, according to the Education Ministry and the Ministry for Women, Family and Community Development.
Subjects would also include rape, sexual abuse, abortion, infanticide and the spread of HIV/AIDS, the ministries said.
“This action is needed so that society, especially the youth, are given accurate and detailed information to curb these social ills,” they said in a statement.
The ministries said they had developed a sex education guidebook incorporating the topics that were written after consultations, which started in July 2002.
“The guidebook was published to impart knowledge to all Malaysians from various age groups to think positively in life by absorbing good and honourable social values,” they said.
Five years later, what happened to the guide book? It’s strange that there was no follow-up on the matter. Has the guide book been used to train teachers in the teaching of sex education? Or like the quest to introduce sex education, it has also been placed on the shelf to gather dust. What a waste of the funds and efforts put in coming up with the guide book, really!
As sex education was raised again this week, it is not surprising to hear the same lamentation — teachers are not trained to teach the subject.
National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng voiced the union’s full support of the government’s move for sex education in schools but lamented that, “teachers lack formal training in the complexity and sensitivity of the subject and are not confident to teach it”.
Some teachers feared being sued by parents for imparting sexual knowledge to their children, she said.
We can appreciate the concerns of the teachers as these fears are real. How often have we heard of parents taking action against the school authorities or teachers for alleged mistreatment of their children.
Whatever the obstacles are, it is high time that sex education be made a school subject. Why? An editorial in an online news portal said it best this week.
“As children are sexually active at an earlier age these days, sex education should be made compulsory and be taught in line with the ethos and values of the school. Maybe, what needs to be done is for a survey of parents, to be commissioned by the government, for the parents’ feedback.
“It is important to teach children about puberty and the facts of life, the differences between boys and girls, healthy relationships, different kinds of relationships (heterosexual and homosexual), body image and self-confidence.
“At secondary school level, pupils should know about contraception, HIV and AIDS, pregnancy, effects of drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, responsibility, abortions and importance of relationships.
“As in any teaching, the weakest point is the quality of the teachers and their treatment of the subject. Teachers must be strict and disciplined with pupils who might want to misconstrue why sex education is being taught.
“Simultaneously, a group of trained teachers to provide counselling services must be made available for any student with problems of a sexual nature, to be discussed in confidence.
“Perhaps, the main message is that sex education is not about teaching young children to ‘have sex’. It is to give them an idea about relationships, to be developed as they get older. It might help if the sex education was kept purely scientific, as opposed to calling it pleasurable or ‘making love’.”
Today, I am not giggling or blushing. As a father myself, I have spoken to my teenage kids on all they need to know about their bodies and relationships with the opposite sex.
And I’m glad, my kids did not giggle in our discussion on sex. Thankfully, they were more mature than me when I was their age.
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