Sex-Edu-Module INTRODUCTION

Sex education, which is sometimes called sexuality education or sex and relationships education, is the process of acquiring information and forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, relationships and intimacy. It is also about developing young people's skills so that they make informed choices about their behaviour, and feel confident and competent about acting on these choices. It is widely accepted that young people have a right to sex education, partly because it is a means by which they are helped to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS. Below are a few definitions of what is sex education. There are: 1. Sexuality education is a lifelong process of acquiring information and forming attitudes, beliefs, and values. It encompasses sexual development, reproductive health, interpersonal relationships, affection, intimacy, body image, and gender roles. Sexuality education addresses the biological, sociocultural, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of sexuality from the cognitive domain (information); the affective domain (feelings, values, and attitudes); and the behavioral domain (communication and decision-making skills). Issues and Answers: Fact Sheet on Sexuality Education (Published in the SIECUS Report, Volume 29, Number 6 August/September 2001) 2. Sexuality education includes information about anatomy and physiology, puberty, pregnancy and STDs, including HIV/AIDS. But it also addresses the relationships and emotions involved in sexual experience. It approaches sexuality as a natural, integral and positive part of life, and covers all aspects of becoming and being a sexual, gendered person. It promotes gender equality, self- esteem and respect for the rights of others, Sexual and Reproductive Health Education and Services for Adolescents.

Actually, sex education begins at home. From the moment of birth, children learn about love, touch, and relationships. Infants and toddlers learn about sexuality when their parents talk to them, dress them, show affection, play with them, and teach them the names of the parts of their bodies. As children grow into adolescence, they continue to receive messages about sexual behaviours, attitudes, and values from their families and within their social environment.

When Should Sex Education Start? Kids eight years old and below are supposed to learn something about sexuality. They need not know everything right then and there, but they sure require satisfactory answers to their questions. Kids of this age are naturally curious and they must have decided to throw at least one at their parents. But unfortunately, not all parents are there for their kids inquiries. Some kids may have only one parent. Some have none at all. And more sadly, some have at set of parents who fails to understand what it means to give their children the right amount of attention. But whichever the case, here are the different things kids aged 3 to 8 years old have to learn about sex and their sexuality: 1. Boys and girls are different. There are certain body parts that are exclusive to boys and there are parts that only girls have. Basically, they are called the reproductive organs. And because they are still kids, these body parts are not yet fully developed. But as they begin to grow, several changes are expected. These changes are normal, and so theres no need to be afraid. 2. Puberty is the start of adulthood. The changes are going to be apparent as one enters into puberty. The exact age of puberty cannot be determined as it varies from one person to another. Some kids enter into it as early as 8 years old. But generally, it happens between 10 to 12 years of age. At which point, the body suddenly grows very fast. 3. Basic changes in boys. Boys tend to grow 4 inches taller in a matter of just a year. And to complement this growth, their shoulders starts to widen and their bodies become a lot muscular as well. Their voice suddenly becomes deeper. Their genitals are enlarged too. Pubic hair will start to grow and mustache is expected. Boys would also experience spontaneous erections at this point. 4. Basic changes in girls. Girls will develop during puberty as well. Girls usually gain a little bit more weight and their hips starts to widen. Their breasts will begin to develop too. In two years time, girls are going to have their regular menstrual cycle. Girls, and boys too for that matter, will begin to notice acnes developing in their faces. 5. Emotional changes. Because hormones cause these changes, emotional changes are also anticipated. Emotional outbursts, confusion, the feeling of being sad and alone, very strong

emotions, and mood changes all happen. These are normal. But just the same, if any of these emotions seems to be out of proportion, it is always good to consult with a health professional. Todays kids are overly conscious and are highly influenced of what they see and hear. With the overstated role of media in a childs life, there are certainly a lot of misrepresentations and wrong assumptions about sex that have to be corrected. On the other hand, talking to the children about sex is certainly not an easy job. A lot of parents actually feel very uncomfortable in doing so. But that should not be enough reason for them to put the whole thing off. Always remember that part of their childs future depend on a good sex education coming from their own parents. The right time to talk to children about sex is during their young and tender ages. These are the years when children are at their most curious stages. They tend to ask about anything and everything under the sun. And the most common question children throw at their parents is how those cute little babies were born. Children could even ask where they came from before they came to be babies. If parents dont take the opportunity to tell their kids about it, they would believe anything else that they hear around them. Sex education should works starts early, before young people reach puberty, and before they have developed established patterns of behaviour. The precise age at which information should be provided depends on the physical, emotional and intellectual development of the young people as well as their level of understanding. What is covered and also how it is covered, depends on who is providing the sex education, when they are providing it, and in what context, as well as what the students to know about. Sometimes, it is difficult for adults to know when to raise issues, but the important thing is to maintain an open relationship with children which provides them with opportunities to ask questions when they have them. Parents have to be proactive and engage their child to discuss about sex, sexuality and relationships. Naturally, many parents and their children feel embarrassed when talking about some aspects of sex and sexuality. Viewing sex education as an on-going conservation about values, attitudes and issues as well as providing facts can be helpful. The best basis to proceed on is a sound relationship in which a young person feels able to ask a question or raise an issue if they feel they need to. It has been shown that in countries like The Netherlands, where many families regard it as an important responsibility to talk openly

with children about sex and sexuality, this contributes to greater cultural openness about sex and sexuality and improved sexual health among young people.

The role of many parents and as sex educators changes as young people get older and young people are provided with more opportunities to receive formal sex education through schools and community-settings. However, it doesnt get any less important. Because sex education in school tends to take place in blocks of time, it cant always address issues relevant to young people at a particular time, and parents can fulfill a particularly important role in providing information and opportunities to discuss things as they arise.

Aims of Sex Education Sex education is a very important subject that every child has to be aware of. The concept of the childs sexuality needs to be inserted sometime in their life, most preferably before they reach puberty. And it does not only prepare them for the adult life ahead. It also makes them a better person with the right values in the process. Schools have now adapted sex education to become part of their curriculum. This is how important the subject has been since it is first introduce several years back. Today, all schools take it as part of their duty to provide every student the right information about sex and to inculcate in them the right beliefs, attitudes, and ideas about their identity, sexuality, and intimacy. But sex education is not all about relationship and intercourse. Teaching it also includes the stages of a persons physical development, his body image, gender roles, and even his emotions. It is the topic that teaches the younger ones about how they came to be, the way they are expected grow, and their ability to reproduce offspring themselves. Another important point why sex education needs to be taught to children is to make them aware of the things that will happen within themselves and their social world. Sex education will take away the ignorance that can lead young adults to commit errors in their judgments as far as coupling and sexual interactions are concerned. With proper sex education, the incidence of teen pregnancy and irresponsible parenthood can be controlled.

Sex education will not only enrich the minds of the children. It will also boost their confidence and self-esteem, which consequently, a lot of youngsters seem to lose as they enter puberty. Those without adequate learning about the changes happening in their bodies end up being either afraid or confused about the situation they are facing. And if this dilemma is not addressed right away, the child may grow up shy and intimidated amidst other people. With all these said, it is a must that sex education start at home. Parents should take it upon themselves to inform their children in a subtle and low-key manner what sex and sexuality is all about. This is quite fitting, as almost all children tend to be very curious about themselves and the world they live in. And surely at one point in their life, they are going to ask a lot of questions about themselves and the things around them. As parents, they should take that as an opportunity to introduce sex education to their kids. Sex education does not necessarily have to be taught in one go. It is a gradual and evolving process, mostly to make sure that what parents teach their children is up to the times and are highly accurate. The schools and the community the children belong to are now actively participating in the process of teaching young adults about sexual health. Parents are not alone anymore in tackling this rather difficult and awkward topic. But, it is still the parents responsibility and the teenagers duty to make sure that they receive and accept only the right information about it.

Therefore, we can conclude that there are several aims of sex education and it contributes good impacts towards society. By sex education, the numbers of sexual partners or unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) rates are reduced. Programmes that focus upon sexuality, including sex and HIV education programs and school-based clinics do not increase any measure of sexual activity. On the other hand, all of the programmes increased knowledge among young people about sexuality, only a few conclude that courses on sexuality increase the tolerance of the students' attitudes towards the sexual practice of others, and sex education did not make a difference in adolescents' attitudes toward pre-marital sex, birth control, or other issues of sexuality.

IMPLEMENTATION OF SEX EDUCATION In today's society, it is an unfortunate truth that lots of questions and concerns about sex education have become quite controversial. There have been done several implementations about sex education towards society in our country. The main idea of introducing sex education to society is to make them aware of the changes their body will undergo, the relationships and emotions they are going to feel sooner or later, and the consequences of careless sexual actions that they could possibly indulge into. With these in mind, the role of parents, teachers, government, and society will be greatly guided as to which path to take to achieve these goals. The method of teaching of this topic that should use could vary from one child to another. First, this sex education content must be thought in sequence, which is started from simple to the complex according to childrens age. It is to avoid shock circumstances to the youngster and they will understand it better.

However, many parents do not condone their child having sex and do not want them to participate in a sex education program that accepts sex as normal, acceptable teenage behavior. Some people believe that sex education should only be conducted at home, thus insuring that parents will be free to convey their own moral values regarding sexuality and sexual activity to their children. Many parents are fearful that values, standards and behavior contrary to their own, will be taught to their children within the classroom. Some parents also tend to feel that sex education gives kids more awareness about how to have sex and somewhat encourage it. They do not want their child to be a part of a course that influences students that as long as they practice safe sex, then becoming sexually active is acceptable. It has been proven that less educated and older parents have generally been found to have less favorable attitudes towards sex education. In fact, in all states that provide a health curriculum, parents have been given the right to remove their child from any sex education program that they do not want their child to be apart of it. In order to overcome this barrier, first of all, parents have to realize the importance of sex education towards their childrens future. Kids have to be taught about their sexuality and the body parts that are gender specific. They can easily have one-to-one discussions with parents which focus on specific issues, questions or concerns. It is also important to teach them what

changes they can expect in the near future or when they reach the puberty stage. Teaching them the roles and functions of each body part will also serve as a good framework in teaching them about the reproduction process. Young kids are likely to ask how they were born and how they came to be. These are good signals as to when parents can introduce to their kids about the reproduction system and the process of conception. Depending upon their ages, parents can thoroughly explain every stage and what exactly happens in each of them. And once it is clear to the children the idea of how babies came to be, the concepts of love, courtship, and intimacy come next. These concepts anticipate the childs social interactions, mostly to the persons of the opposite sex. It is okay to tell children that some emotions are normal. An open communication between child and parent is necessary, especially when they reach this point. Children past the puberty stages are expected to undergo first hand experiences about relationships. Parental guidance is very important. Teachers are not always trained how to properly teach sexual education courses and may transgress their own beliefs or morals into the subject matter rather than stick with the facts. In order to overcome this barrier, the government should look into the preparation of teachers who would be teaching this subject so that they were really prepared to share information with the students as it was a sensitive issue. We have to monitor as there are shy teachers, some may not be open-minded and the rest may be too open-minded, since they are at the forefront. Teachers without skills, knowledge and who are shy will create problems even some students may know more of sexuality issues than the teachers themselves. At the pre-school level, pupils should be exposed to early teachings of their body, for example they need to be taught that their private parts could not be touched by anybody and whom they should speak to in that case. At the primary school level meanwhile, teachers need to explain on the physical changes experienced by the pupils. Besides that, imparting of sexuality information should also be the responsibility of the parents. Thus they need to be more open when facing their children to avoid them going from going to wrong sources such as pornographic websites and movies. The curriculum for sex education be integrated based on the its objectives and appropriate age groups. If the curriculum is made to prevent social ills such as rapes, sodomy and such, then it should be conducted to suit that objective.

Sex education was needed amongst the children so that they were aware of the implications and effects of sexual activities. Most of the youngsters today do not understand the change they experienced, and this prompted them to try a sexual activity without knowing the effect from that. From the teaching perspective, sex education is a new challenge as teachers need to prepare themselves with knowledge and ways to handle the antics of students who are always curious. The challenge will be more on the kindergarten and pre-school teachers as they have to entertain every question and antics of the children, where the children themselves may not know what really the real issue is. This is where the teacher's role comes in to provide information based on their understanding. For the example, the implementation of school-based sex education in our country can be an important and effective way of enhancing young people's knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. There is widespread agreement that formal education should include sex education and what works has been well-researched. Evidence suggests that effective school programmes will include the following elements:

A focus on reducing specific risky behaviours; A basis in theories which explain what influences people's sexual choices and behaviour; A clear, and continuously reinforced message about sexual behaviour and risk reduction; Providing accurate information about, the risks associated with sexual activity, about contraception and birth control, and about methods of avoiding or deferring intercourse;

Dealing with peer and other social pressures on young people; Providing opportunities to practice communication, negotiation and assertion skills;

Uses a variety of approaches to teaching and learning that involve and engage young people and help them to personalize the information;

Uses approaches to teaching and learning which are appropriate to young people's age, experience and cultural background;

Is provided by people who believe in what they are saying and have access to support in the form of training or consultation with other sex educators. Formal programmes with these elements have been shown to increase young people's

levels of knowledge about sex and sexuality, put back the average age at which they first have

sexual intercourse and decrease risk when they do have sex. All the elements are important and inter-related, and sex education needs to be supported by links to sexual health services, otherwise it is not going to be so effective. It also takes into account the messages about sexual values and behaviour young people get from other sources, like friends and the media. It is also responsive to the needs of the young people themselves - whether they are girls or boys, on their own or in a single sex or mixed sex group, and what they know already, their age and experiences. 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 behaviour - 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. Sex education does not necessarily have to be taught in one go. It is a gradual and evolving process, mostly to make sure that what parents teach their children is up to the times and are highly accurate. It is important for our children today to know and learn the true facts so they will be prepared in later life. Sex is a certain topic that takes time and understanding. There are lessons to be taught and questions to be answered and if this is not done properly or appropriately, it is wastes of time because children are not getting the right message. As long as the information is being taught, as long as teenagers

understand and realize how crucial one decision might be, how one situation could affect their entire lives, then that is what counts. Teaching all the facts and the proper information is the easy part, having adolescents pay attention and using the given information wisely, is in fact the real

issue we should be concerned about. The schools and the community the children belong to are now actively participating in the process of teaching young adults about sexual health. Parents are not alone anymore in tackling this rather difficult and awkward topic. Then again, it is still the parents responsibility and the teenagers duty to make sure that they receive and accept only the right information about it. The truth is, the children now are our future, and if we prepare them with the correct information, and with the truth, then later generations will be able to handle difficult situations and responsibilities. ADVANTAGES OF SEX EDUCATION Sex education is an ongoing process of communication within a society. The sexual education of adolescent children is presented to parents as a necessary and legitimate course of study. It is widely accepted that young people have a right to sex education, partly because it is a means by which they are helped to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It is important to prepare a child for what they will become as an important part of their adult life. It is usually hard to talk to a teenager about sex than it is to preteen. Laying the groundwork now may also help keep the lines of communication open during childs teenage years. When being though properly, sexual education and development could be easily become part of any other scientific course of study like Human Biology, Human Behavior, Human Anatomy or Health. More importantly, perhaps if administrator present a more dignified and academic approach to the delivery of sexual education, complete with test and grades, it may just impress upon our children that they should view sex as a serious part of their human development rather than a recreational activity. Like preschoolers, primary, school-aged children need age appropriate information about the biological processes of sex and reproduction. However, the conversations need to start broadening their scope that they learn in school such as puberty, sexual responsibility, feelings, and relationships. It develops this young people's ability to make decisions over their entire lifetime. Sex education is going to be effective only if it include opportunities for young people to develop skills, as it can hard for them to act on the basis of only having information. The kinds of skills young people develop as part of sex education are linked to more general life-skills. For example, being able to communicate, listen, negotiate, ask for and identify sources of help and

advice, are useful life-skills and can be applied in terms of sexual relationships. Effective sex education also develops young people's skills in negotiation, decision-making, assertion and listening. Other important skills include being able to recognize pressures from other people and to resist them, deal with and challenge prejudice, seek help from adults including parents, careers and professionals, through the family, community and health and welfare services. Parents and government of school must understand the importance of providing good quality and appropriate sex education at earlier age of their children. 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, which enables young people to choose whether or not to have a sexual relationship taking into account the potential risks of any sexual activity. Besides that, many youth who become sexually active doing sex without accurate information about reproductive health may put them into risk of unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Sexual health education can be one means of helping young people prevent these problems and improve their future reproductive health. Studies of young people in other regions have shown a similar lack of accurate information. In India, of 100 girls who came to a hospital seeking abortion, 80 percent did not know that sexual intercourse could lead to pregnancy or STDs, and 90 percent did not know about contraception. For teenagers that already sexually active, including those who are married, sex education can encourage correct and consistent use of contraception or STD protection. Fears that sex education programs encourage or increase sexual activity appear to be unfounded. The most effective sexual health programs are those that include more than information on reproductive health. Sex education programs may be the only place that young people can learn accurate information about reproductive health. Sex education programs may offer the only setting in which young people can practice the skills necessary to maintain good reproductive health.

Effective sex education also provides young people with an opportunity to explore the reasons why people have sex, and to think about how it involves emotions, respect for one self and other people and their feelings, decisions and bodies. Young people should have the chance to explore gender differences and how ethnicity and sexuality can influence people's feelings and options. They should be able to decide for themselves what the positive qualities of relationships are. It is important that they understand how bullying, stereotyping, abuse and exploitation can negatively influence relationships. Nowadays, 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 behaviour that 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. Furthermore, sex education can support people through their physical, emotions, self development, as well as promoting the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental, and physical development for the youngsters at school and of the society. Plus, sex education teaches young people to responsibilities and experiences of adult life. The youngsters here will understand human sexuality and to respect themselves and others, without their knowledge, it will make one more mature and at the same time build up their confidence and self-esteem. In addition, sex education will let the society knows on how to be aware of the different type of relationship such as friends, family, and marriage in order to develop effectiveness of relationship between each other. From sex education, youngsters will learn on how to respect the differences between people as they develop their own senses of identity as well to recognize the

emotional and physical changes that take place during puberty and how to manage to manage them in a positive way. The society will also learn about the nature and importance of marriage for a family and bringing up children in a positive way. Lack of information may be one reason that adolescents use of family planning methods is generally low. In South America, for example, only 43 percent of young married women, ages 15 to 19, are using contraception, according to data compiled by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). Among unmarried sexually active women, 29 percent use contraception. In western Africa, 5 percent of married teens use a family planning method, compared with 34 percent of sexually active unmarried teens. In Southeast Asia, 36 percent of married youth use contraception, compared with 28 percent of unmarried adolescents. It is a very small amount of women using contraception in order to bring up family planning. Last but not least, the society will be able to understand the reasons for having protected sex and also to understand the consequences of their actions and behave responsibly within sexual and pastoral relationships. People also will have the confidence and self-esteem to value themselves and others in order to seek respects in the society.

DISADVANTAGE OF SEX EDUCATION TOWARDS OUR SOCIETY There are some barriers that our government has to face when they implement this sex education in curriculum. One of the most resistances comes from religious leader. These religious leaders are totally apposed discussing male or female relationships based upon understanding that religion forbids it and therefore the topic should not be discussed at all. Besides, the resistances also come from the parents. They think that this topic should not be introduced in primary school but in secondary school. In their opinion, it is too early to expose their children with this topic. They believe that their children are too young to know about sex education because when they are apposed to sex education it will encourage sex activity among them. The resistances to implementing this topic also come from the society. They think that when this topic is implement, students are more influence to try it and this will cause a social problem among them. Some teachers also hinder this topic to implement in school curriculum. It happens because they do not know what exactly to teach to their students. Furthermore these sex education topics are too broad and some teacher get confuse which part is necessary for the

students to know especially for the primary school students. Besides,

teachers are not always

trained how to properly teach sex education courses and may transgress their own beliefs or morals into the subject matter rather than stick with the facts. The researches on sexual attitudes also come out with some disadvantage of sex education. One study concluded that courses on sexuality increase the tolerance of the students' attitudes towards the sexual practice of others, and many studies have found that sex education did not make a difference in adolescents' attitudes toward pre-marital sex, birth control, or other issues of sexuality. Other researchers have found that adolescents' knowledge of fact-based sexuality and biology information, of AIDS or of how to use birth control does not necessarily stop them from engaging in unprotected sex or unreliable contraceptive use. Today's teenagers reach physical maturity earlier and marry later. A steady increase has occurred in the percentage of young people having sexual intercourse and a decrease in the age at which sexual intercourse is initiated. Studies have found that approximately eight in ten males and seven in ten females are sexually experienced by age 19. This further suggests that the timing of sex education is crucial. REFERENCES 1. http://www.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/english/research_guide/pdfs/final_ draft_sample.pdf

The Benefits of Single-Sex Education

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