Sex education has
been a topic causing uproar for many years, proving not only an issue for
educators in Sydney but schools all over the world. Sex education has been monitored
and influenced from a range of different factors, from parents, teachers and
the government all in which in some way or another, have their own judgement on
when they believe it is suitable to teach and what to teach in schools. In the
article Culture and education by Wadham, Pudsey & Boyd it speaks about what
culture is and how it affects ones judgement and values in life. Further the
article by Denise Ryan’s ‘Teachers urged to address porn factor’ depicts the
need for broadening the topic and discussion of sex in schools, in order to
keep up with the current issues that teenagers and students are facing.
Ryan’s article speaks of the dangers many
teenagers are facing daily as a result of the lack of education being provided
in schools. Statistics have proven that sex is actually getting more violent
and especially towards women, due to many men replicating what they have seen
on phonography sites. This has led to many women being harmed and scarred from
such events as they have only had the basic information provided to them in
school. ''Every young person
we interviewed told us that pornography is a significant part of youth culture
and particularly of young men's lives … and at the same time the pornography
has become harder, rougher, more hard-core,''. (Ryan,. D, 2012) Ryan goes on to say in her article that
schools have taught her about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases,
although fail to educate upon the current issues arising. The reason behind
this is many parents are already uncomfortable with the topic of sex education,
let alone the topic of pornography and education upon it in schools. Wadham provides
insight into this concept as the article outlines “culture provides meanings
and reference points via which we can make sense of our selves, the world
around us, and how we fit into that world. Culture provides us with
classification systems through which we lean to interpret the world in
particular ways”( Wadham, B. Pudsey, J. & Boyd, R. (2007). In which case
culture proves to be the fueling drive and influence behind parents making certain
decisions that are affecting their children’s education.
“That means not just teaching young people
about the biology of sex, but also teaching them about the personal, emotional,
societal and cultural forces which shape the way in which they choose to
conduct their lives. Armed with this understanding, young people can make far
more considered
decisions.”( Braeken,. D, 2012)
Ultimately there is
a danger in not educating students upon sex in which Ryan explores in her
article, “''Pornography is now
our most prominent sex educator,'' she says. ''And while Victoria has good sex
education relative to other states, it varies in quality. Some schools do
fantastically and others don't, but even those that do it well face a
significant challenge because of the mainstreaming of hard-core pornography.'' (Ryan,. D, 2012). Right now issues within schools is
that they are unable to educate upon the current issues they are facing in the
subject of sex education, with the dangers of students seeking information else
where such as pornography sites. Ryan’s plea for an awakening upon this serious
notion and its importance is clearly stated in the article as “school-based
pornography education might sound controversial, but argues that young people
urgently need help to critique pornography's representations of gender and sex,
and to help them distinguish between what they see and reality.”
References:
- · Braeken ,. D, ‘Sex education: we should teach young people about more than the mechanics’, The Guardian, (2012 )
- · Ryan,. D, ‘Teachers urged to address porn factor’, Sydney Morning Herald, February 13, 2012<http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/teachers-urged-to-address-porn-factor-20120211-1svr0.html>
- · Wadham, B. Pudsey, J. & Boyd, R. (2007). Culture and education. Sydney: Pearson Education.
What is the role of the school and the role of the parent in sex education? My friends and I have already discussed how we are going to discuss the issue of pornography with our future sons. I for one, certainly do not want teachers telling my son that pornography is a healthy normal thing. Considering the statistics on the use of pornography, I have no doubt that my sons future teachers may not take issue with it, even saying its 'natural' or 'normal'.
ReplyDeleteThe article 'School and Family Partnerships' discusses the changing nature of parental involvement in schools. However, while they speak of the American context of community involvement, there is very little room in the Australian public education system for parental involvement in the classroom.