Tuesday 5 August 2008

Read in the news recently: Condoms and safe sex are not even mentioned in the new sex-ed modules being planned by govt. The plan is, instead, to advocate abstinence and being faithful to a single partner.

Agreed, abstinence is the best way to avoid STDs and pregnancy, but, well, it's obvious not too many people are going to go for it. Sex is no longer the taboo, confined only to the bedroom and the mind. Once again, we're finding out just how good it is.

Monogamy, si, a noble idea. Mom gave me huge long lecture recently about how we just get into relationships for the fun, how we should focus on our lives first and not on relationships, seeing that they take up a lot of time and energy.

She's right, I suppose, and that's the reason I'm a bit scared of relationships as opposed to fling-things. Though, as kay sniffily told me, a lot of people don't share my opinion.

So yes, all this is very good and all, very good that they're FINALLY introducing sex-ed (god knows we need it....). It might be a bit giggly and embarassing at first, but it'd be infinite help, seeing that a lot of us learn about sex and other things related either from porn or from friends who are VERY open with conversation, or online on those sites that ISPs love to block. Those of us who don't, are rather confused, though no one admits it.

Sex ed would stop men in their twenties writing to the Mumbai mirror sexpert with queries like "Will kissing my girlfriend on the lips make her pregnant?" Yes, I've seen this and similar ones more than twice in the past fortnight. The reply is almost invariably a frustrated "educate yourself."

But 'tis rather strange that the words "condom" and "safe sex" get not even an honourable mention .........My tenth grade bio book went only as far as to mutter shamefacedly about copulation. One word. that's it. Our bio teacher didn't even do that part properly. but then again, that was Bio.

My point being that maybe we should be taught everything there is to know, and we should choose the path we wish to tread.

Abstinence, any takers?

Apparently not, and not all thaaaat many for borth control either.....the proof lies in our population.

11 comments:

Ashmita said...

Hear hear.

. said...

If you think it is important enough to be discussed seriously at a classroom level, which must mean most of your classmates do too, talk to your principal or higher authorities. Set a precedent for your juniors. Sex ed is about responsibility and respect, not a how-to manual.

Ish said...

They allowed sex ed there? They didn't let it happen when some people tried to introduce as a subject here. Their logic was that we don't want our 4th graders corrupted by telling them about sex, even if it's about safe sex. We don't want them discussing sex or asking sex related questions from anybody. Somebody please go tell them that 4th graders know a lot more about sex than they do thanks to the so called "adult" websites and magazines which so don't require you to be an adult. So you might as well educate them yourselves. But no, they won't do that. They'd rather fight over religion and blame each other of corruption.

You could see the fear in the eye of your teacher the day the chapter on Sexual Reproduction was to be taught. Most of them have sick leave on that day and start with the next chapter the next day conveniently forgetting that this one still needs to be done. We had a chapter on Pre-marital sex in Moral Science once and most of the kids were calling it pre-'martial' sex. That's the kind of idea they have about things.

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freudian slip said...

hlo hlo. Who're the friends open about conversation??? im assuming im one of them.

busy-writer said...

i was in a convent school for 12 years. everything was really frank and very open, straight-fwd there. we had some major sex ed very early on. i think they initiated the whole thing in the 4th!

so there was never a gaga-woohoo about it phase with me!

think they should implicate the same everywhere.

oh those lame sexpert advice seekin columns, lol.. they should rename it "just for laughs!" .. MUCH more appropriate, i tell you.

Espèra said...

Ah well. I sniffily say I don't share Kay's opinion.

Our 10th Bio section on Reproduction did have everything from Copper-Ts to condoms to psychological teenage issues, such as girls thinking that they have blown up.
But it was drab. It was this one block of text running from one page to the other, with no images or breaks.

Mystique said...

2 ash: si.

2 . : well? maturity is hard, seeing that it's my school. I don't think it'd go down too well in my school, plus we're CBSE board, if the board intros it, we'll have to learn it.

2 snitch: no they didn't. and true, true, and true.

2 R: OBV.

2 mon: you're so lucky.....and yeah, I get my daily laugh from the Mirror's sexpert.

2 espera: CBSE? we had that too. and it was dreadfully dull.

Espèra said...

I read a debate over this issue somewhere. Some politician's reason for not supporting it was: it will cause harm to the teacher teaching it.

Yeah it's CBSE. We didn't exactly have sex ed as a separate subject, but Whisper conducted "seminars" for classes 6th and 7th (basically where they showcased their products) and then there was this thing for girls and boys both in 8th. They had a question-answer section, and the first question that got asked was: "What's oral sex?"

Arr0w said...

I was in an ICSE school where the Sex Ed thing was integrated into biology...

The teacher was pretty professional about it, while we pervy 9th std. kids seemed more excited :)

She started with the line- 'Look, I know that you guys already know more about this topic than anyone gives you credit for, so that means you know enough to be mature about it...so if anyone so much as smiles at this lecture, you can stand outside, and be sure you explain why, to the principal when she walks by...

Marvin Grey said...

I don't know which school you go to. Back in the day at Indian School Muscat, my bio teacher walked in (we were all excited... we knew which chapter was next), warned us not to laugh, took out CBSE-NERT text book and read the chapter about sexual organs, reproductions, etc and walked out. It was all over in 50 minutes. No, it was not good for any of us.