What type of sex education should students receive and at what age? Can teachers be trusted to handle this sort of thing appropriately? If not, can parents? What do you think of Tennessee’s law and of George Takei’s response? What should be done about prejudice against homosexual students or students that are labeled as such?
Please base your replies on the text rather than the videos.
Please base your replies on the text rather than the videos.
Here is Alex's comment:
ReplyDeleteI think that talking about sex is an issue which seems that no one really knows how to tackle right. I would say that avoiding the sex themes in schools and therefore making it taboo can only make the matters worse, as not all parents talk to kids about sex at home and children then go and get information from various sources, many of which can be misleading and not true. Schools should hire a specialist, who knows how to deal with the sensitive topics on the level that is adequate to the age of the kids. I would not completely trust ordinary teachers as they are not required to know how to handle the things right. However they could at least encourage parents to talk about sex with their children as well. In my opinion, a common mistake is that many schools/parents start to talk about sex too late, when kids have already discovered some facts on their own and therefore any future talks are just awkward to them.
As far as the question about whether to include homosexuality into sex education at schools goes, I would certainly add it to the study plan. The right time seems to be the period when sexuality awakens in kids. It seems ridiculous that just because it is discussed in school, or learned about during sexual education lessons, kids would be influenced in such way that their orientation would change, as Senator Campfield indirectly said.
Also, I would not ban discussing homosexuality at schools during other lessons. I agree with the opponents of the bill, who say that it will increase bullying and isolation of gay and lesbian youths. If teachers and students were forbidden from talking about homosexuality, it would be like pretending that there is no one like that, which I can imagine could be quite depressing for the young teens who feel different. However, I know that there are some teachers who have negative feelings towards gay people and are not afraid to throw some nasty remarks every now and then. In such cases, I would forbid them just from talking adversely about them, as it could lower the self-esteem of the gay youths.
The solution that California Senate proposed seems on the other hand too much. Having a special subject in school only about gay history would again separate homosexuals as something extraordinary from the rest and again not making students think about them as of normal ordinary people who are a part of our society. They could be included in the normal history or literature classes from time to time and that would be enough, I think.
Takei did an amazing thing. Letting his name be used instead of “gay” in his anti-campaign is both humorous and courageous and by that he stands up and supports gay and lesbian teens. He is willing to be their official role model, the one who they were lacking until now. Takei also mocks the whole bill by his actions and because he is famous, his campaign is likely to be heard and successful.