How Should Primary Schools Conduct Sex Education?

Primary schools in Wuhan， central Chinas Hubei Province， started to use a new sex education textbook in September. The textbook has detailed information on females physiological structure and the changes they go through during puberty. It also features illustrations of females reproductive organs and the process of menstruation. Parents and even most teachers say sex education in this form is not suitable for primary school students.

Although it is already in use， public debate continues to rage on. Some blame a conservative attitude toward sex education for the widespread lack of understanding on the topic among Chinas youth. Many of those with this view also blame the lack of knowledge， at least in part， for the tragic cases over the past year where school-age girls were found to have been the victims of abuse. Insufficient sex education may even further trigger students curiosity and they may risk “eating the forbidden fruit” and doing so without taking necessary precautions.

Some others， however， believe that sex education should be more discreet， so as not to encourage students to become too interested in sex.

Demystifying sex

Si Hanhan （www.gmw.cn）： Sex education still lags behind our childrens development levels. Traditional textbooks do not divulge much on these topics and， as a result， they can make sex seem even more mysterious. Without a formal textbook， teachers dont know how to talk to and educate their students about their physical development. Students learn about their bodies from sources they find themselves， which include uniformed gossip and rumors from their peers that at worst may end up being pornographic in nature and grossly misleading. This leads to a large amount of confusion and misunderstanding for the countrys youth.

Honest and candid sex education as in this textbook indicates some extent of progress in the understanding of and attitude toward sex by the whole of society. In recent years， more than one incident of teachers taking advantage of their students has been reported. In some cases， the victims did not know how to protect themselves.

If we educate our students about their reproductive organs through diagrams and discussions， then their sexual health during puberty will be safeguarded. In addition， they will also understand the origin of life and their own process of growth and development. Their bewilderment and curiosity about puberty and sex can be resolved.

Chen Qianxuan （www.cnhubei.com）： Recent years have seen an increasing number of children becoming the victims of abuse. Exposed cases by the media are suspected of being only the tip of the iceberg.

Education on sex safety is now on the agenda in primary schools. The problem is how to achieve safety. Influenced by our traditional culture， most Chinese are conservative when it comes to the topic of sex. When they received the textbooks， teachers in Wuhans primary schools were shocked at first. As for pupils， many girls were embarrassed and unwilling to participate in the lessons. Obviously， the students felt that “sex”was mysterious. However， the teachers must realize their obligation to their pupils. Parents are also obligated to teach their children to ensure they are safe and not confused.

In China， when a child asks “where I am from，” their parents tend to tell them that they were picked up along a river or in a park. Parents and teachers need to be honest about the origin of life and put aside their own embarrassment for the sake of our children.

Li Zhaoqing （www.rednet.cn）： China has become more open in many aspects during the 30 years of reform and opening up， but sex remains one of the few topics people refrain from talking about in public. Primary and even middle school students receive next to no sex education， except the limited basic knowledge in their biology textbooks.

However， adolescents are curious about their bodies and want to know more about the changes happening to them during puberty. Driven by this curiosity， some of them engage in relations with their peers without taking proper precautions， which can lead to unintended consequences including disease and pregnancy.

If they are informed about their bodies and the changes they are going through， will such incidents diminish？ We cannot expect such things to stop completely， but at least young students will know the risk. Theyll know sex can result in babies. They themselves are still minors， who live on their parents support， so how can they afford to support their own children？ Sexual relations must be restricted within the framework of marriage and should not be something between two young school students.

Its great to see the introduction of the human physiological make-up and the changes during puberty in the new textbooks in Wuhan. Its necessary to give such lessons in primary schools to enhance their awareness of how to protect themselves， particularly for girls.

Also， students will know how they came into the world， instead of being tricked by their parents with stories that they were found in a dust bin on the streets and then taken back home. Those who dont believe their parentsstories may try to find out the answers by themselves and the information they get may be misleading.

Liu Guoqiang （www.chinanews.com）： Sex is a normal physiological and psychological phenomenon， but sex-related knowledge is not easily acquired through instinct. Sex education is thus necessary and should not be discriminated against.

Children see sex in a different way from adults. While adults debate on whether the sex textbook is too “straightforward，” young students do need such a textbook to clear their doubts and confusions about sex. If the class is given in a secretive way， the children will not understand it. Some people consider any direct depiction of sex-related things to be too straightforward， which they believe risks destroying childrens puerility. However， primary school is an important period for students sex education. Statistics from countries where sex education is well-conducted among children show sharp drops in premarital pregnancy and adolescents sexrelated crime rates.

Indeed， sex education should be done in a proper way that is suitable for childrens psychological features， but it does not mean“conservative methods.”

Exercising prudence

Chen Mo （Xinhua Blog）： Once physical development begins， pictures can easily spark young students libidos. These new sex education textbooks in Wuhan put a number of such pictures in front of the students， in the hope of conducting effective sex education.

However， such a direct form of sex education will， instead of guiding students toward the right direction， encourage them to think more about sex and even risk sexual behavior. Its quite possible that compilers forgot that something is still forbidden to children when it comes to sex.

While some people are worried about the lack of understanding among students， in real life， rarely do we see a young person that knows nothing about sex at all. They have easy access to the Internet， where they can find almost everything about that subject.

Its great that early-age sex education is now being stressed in primary schools in Wuhan， but if sex education is not done carefully， we might get whats opposite to what we want. Probably， it will be more dangerous to tell them about sex in such a straightforward manner than to keep them under-informed.