In the 21st century it is the demand of time and i think teenagers must know about sex, sex does not mean how you satisfies your partners but you know at least the biology.Sex is a subject not to be taught with the time man or women themselves comes to know about it.By keeping the subject in school it will just divert the minds of students from their main subjects and will definitely take them to wrong side as it is always the easiest. Something like sex education deserves discretion. I have a reason when i say so. India is still bounded by tradition and if sex education is imparted to students belonging to such a social background, well the consequences might just not be favorable. Besides the economic condition and the prevalent illiteracy makes it all the more difficult for the scheme to be implemented in every school. Imagine somebody who does not know how to multiply numbers being taught how not to multiply kids!!!!! So my point is whenever such a new idea has to be implemented, the target audience must be identified. Such a scheme is best implemented in stages rather than going all out.
There many married couples they not have exact knowledge about sex. In India many people in illegal sex relation losing their life including youth. By providing sex education at least less number can make better than before. Indian culture does not support this view point. It cannot be implemented in areas where no proper guidance can be provided. Indian villages are fairly backward and people there won't be able to handle such an immense change in thinking and educational structure. I propose that it should be only first started in metropolitan cities so that we can see the social impact of it then we should move on to other cities and villages of the country. The Teachers involved in sex education should be given special training so that the students do not feel awkward while asking there queries and a healthy environment can be developed within the class room.
Every one of us has learned so many things without being thought in school, a human is a very good learner he learns so many things from his friends , parents ,and society ,like how to communicate ,respect others, nobody teaches in college how to establish relationships with your society .We have outnumbered any other country in pace of denizen growth. Is there any need for education in the field in which we are already master. In India if sex education brought as a copy from west need. Then it's a sincere mistake. And a cause for lost of our society values which are ideally thought for Indian society and thinkers. Sex education in India needs to be introduced in schools at higher level with open mindedness this will certainly help our society. We cannot stop the wheel of change. Media and Internet do this if schools are not involved in this and this uncontrolled spread of of knowledge could bring adverse results in society. Again one question arise with such kind of education making necessary at school level , are we not supporting one social evil children marriage which was a feature of Indian culture grown rapidly during medieval period
Young people can be exposed to a wide range of attitudes and beliefs in relation to sex and sexuality. These sometimes appear contradictory and confusing. For example, some health messages emphasis the risks and dangers associated with sexual activity and some media coverage promote the idea that being sexually active makes a person more attractive and mature. Because sex and sexuality are sensitive subjects, young people and sex educators can have strong views on what attitudes people should hold, and what moral framework should govern people's behavior - these too can sometimes seem to be at odds. Young people are very interested in the moral and cultural frameworks that bind sex and sexuality. They often welcome opportunities to talk about issues where people have strong views, like abortion, sex before marriage, lesbian and gay issues and contraception and birth control. It is important to remember that talking in a balanced way about differences in opinion does not promote one set of views over another, or mean that one agrees with a particular view. Part of exploring and understanding cultural, religious and moral views is finding out that you can agree to disagree.
Attempts to impose narrow moralistic views about sex and sexuality on young people through sex education have failed.People providing sex education have attitudes and beliefs of their own about sex and sexuality and it is important not to let these influence negatively the sex education that they provide. For example, even if a person believes that young people should not have sex until they are married, this does not imply withholding important information about safer sex and contraception. Attempts to impose narrow moralistic views about sex and sexuality on young people through sex education have failed. Rather than trying to deter or frighten young people away from having sex, effective sex education includes work on attitudes and beliefs, coupled with skills development that enables young people to choose whether or not to have.
Sex education is not just an option but also a necessity for teens nowadays. Children past the puberty stage need to be informed not only about body parts and the reproductive system but also to learn something deeper about relationships and safe sex, as these will teach them how to act responsibly when the time comes. Irresponsible teens are more prone to acquiring sexually transmitted diseases if they choose not to listen to their parents or follow the principles of safe sex. If sexual relations cannot be postponed until the right time comes, protected sex has to be practiced in the least. If safe sex is not practiced, the outcome is always either a disease or a pregnancy. Whichever it is, the long-term effect is always not pleasant. Kid having kids of their own is currently reaching alarming figures.
Recent figures of HIV/AIDS infections among adults and children in India are estimated at 5.1 million. India has the second largest HIV positive population after South Africa. Without appropriate action and given the risk factors in India, some predict the infection levels will rise as high as 20 to 25 million by 2010, or equal to the combined population of London, New York and Tokyo.
Not talking about it and ignoring it is not the solution. Teenagers must know even if not taught in the schools out of curiosity from magazines , net , friends they try to gather information which may be not complete. sex education should be given in schools, because sex education is not only the porn which is usually understood, it includes lots of parts- Sex education is a broad term used to describe education about human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, and other aspects of human sexual behavior. So if youngsters will not get proper knowledge from the right source they will search here and there and they can get wrong aspects of sexuality so, in my view point sex education should be included in school curriculum.
It is ok to have sex education in schools after certain age but before that i think our education system require a mass change. What current system of education teaches you nothing. There are no moral values in current education system. We are only learning the skills of earning money. Nothing else. There is no Rastra Vaad, Swadesh bhavna, our gaurav sali History, our vedas an puranas nothing.Just only how to earn money.So before giving sex education we the structure of education system needs to be changed and we have to change it.
Sex education at this delicate point of age(teenage) might affect adversely the minds of school youths. Already these guys are watching such things thru various media. They know enough about sex. So a separate education is a nonsense. Instead, there should be an education which strengthens the minds of these youths as I think, this generation is mentally so very weak.India need sex education even if that means lowering of average age for sex as an outcome. Unwanted teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, child molestation, etc have become so routine in India and the only way to stem the spread of these ills is to make sex education mandatory right from the primary school onwards!!
We know that Indian society is far behind in sex education. Because of that there so many other social problems emerged. AIDS is one of the most dangerous thing among all issues because of lack of awareness.
Recently one of the school in Kerala, cancel the admission of 5 students because they are affected with HIV. The good thing is that Kerala govt. intervenes in matter and force school to admit them back or else state govt. will cancel the permit of school. School admitted them back but then again problem occurs. Parents of other children refuse to accept the decision and force school not to take them back or else they will stop sending their children to study with AIDS affected students.
In another incidence, Punjab Govt. has instructed school to give sex education and they also give the booklet which is published with guidelines by AIDS control society. As we always feel that govt. is not taking proper steps, but in this case govt. has taken a step but teachers refused to teach such subject to student. So as student also refuse to attend such classes. Teachers argue that such subject increase curiosity of students even more.
How important you all think sex education is and What are the effective ways to introduce sex education in schools?
Sex-education is a dire need for kids from a very early age in this era. But I would say that the responsibility of this whole thing should not fall only on the shoulders of teachers, as is usually done and expected for other moral and social issues as well.
Though teachers can be instrumental in bringing about a change in this sphere, the following points have to be kept in mind:
- Teachers also belong to the same conservative society and its unfair to expect them to spearhead a liberal teaching-learning approach in this area
- Even if teachers are properly trained, the conservative nature of our society does not favor teaching or even discussion of such topics with ease
- It is really very tough to get things across to small children in this context. Direct usage of proper terminology renders it incomprehensible for them while circumvention (indirect language) doesn’t help much.
I think the whole issue involves a lot more responsible role from the parents and the whole society in general, instead of passing the buck to the education department, specifically the teachers. For that we need support and responsible from various media too.About the attitude of the school and the parents in the cases u quoted above, definitely both are at fault.
One important thing I would like to focus on is that almost all anti-AIDS campaigns focus on ‘safe sex’ which send a out an implicit message that sex is the main/ only cause of AIDS and that’s why our society associates AIDS with involvement in unsafe/undistinguished sex and as a result ‘bad character’ of the victim. There is a dire need to eradicate this myth.
I don’t know how and why to differentiate between 'sex' education and 'sexuality' education but I'm convinced that there are certain issues which need to be taken up seriously. It’s not about 'birds and bees' or 'ants and mosquitoes'.
What needs to be discussed is a whole gamut of serious issues concerning adolescents, particularly those who lead their life in quite a conservative social scenario with a meager or no freedom for healthy relationship with the opposite sex, with nobody to discuss the dilemma of transitional stages of adolescence, with a bombardment of visual images and half-baked information through media and even their own surroundings which excites them and leads them on to carry out dangerous experiments with their bodies as well as that of others.
Moreover, sex education is particularly important for girls right from a very early age, keeping in mind the decreasing age of attaining puberty and also the increasing sex-starvation and pedophilic tendencies among people who don’t even spare little kids these days. They need to be made aware of things like bad touch, indecent gesture, talk, gaze etc. I don’t think it’s only a part of life skills. Adolescents also need to know what 'sex' can lead to. Maybe these days all of them know what the specific act is all about but most of them (don’t just consider the affluent class or the better informed gender here) don’t have much idea about the rest of the story.
I don’t think sex education would ruin our culture. But the reason behind it is that our education system is not such that it would be able to convey the actual message that lies behind the concept of sex education. Sex education means creating an awareness of sex related issues amongst the students. If the same is not handled properly it would lead to teenagers getting more involved in sex without proper knowledge of the same. For years we have been taught history – the real aim was to learn from our past experiences, but our education system has turned it into something else. Unnecessary mugging up of dates and memorizing of life histories of rulers have proved of no use. The aim of teaching history is lost. The same treatment of sex education would be disastrous. If children are taught of sex in an inappropriate manner they might not be able to understand it well. The result is quite imaginable. The aim of sex education – to prepare them mentally and physically for it, would be lost – they might be induced to indulge into it.
When children are denied comprehensive sex education in their schools, and are not given examples of positive sexuality by their parents or the media, pornography and Half educated Friends become their alternative to learning about sex. Which are totally unreal and ridiculous.
If not offered positive portrayals of sexuality, we will be left with pornography's message that women like being degraded and that they are sexual objects to be used. That's the main reason of Rapes and Sexual harassment.
Now let me put some light on Present Condition of India
Government is trying very hard to educate people about AIDS, Contraceptives (Pills, condoms, etc), breast Cancer, etc on Television, i.e Door Darshan. But no matter how hard Government tries, ppl don't Get The 100% required basic knowledge. One Humorous incident - recently a boy of 13 was caught with condom in his school bag, when asked for explanation, he innocently said "TV pe toh roz dikhate hai ki AIDS se Bachne ke liye condom pass rakho."This humorous incident shows how much more effort is needed to educate the children. I am not saying that Government should include kamasutra in syllabus, but at least they should provide basic Information to boys and girls for preventing unwanted Pregnancies, STDs and Rapes. So it is a must.
On the whole, it’s very important to have 'sex education' (maybe under a more fancy term if this one sounds too old fashioned now) as an integral part of our learning.