How Young is Too Young to Talk About Sex in School?

Do you think that 5-year-old's are old enough to be learning about sex to this extent? Parents and faculty members have mixed feelings about introducing topics such as same sex relationships, anatomy terms, and different types of sex. Do you feel that it should be the role of the school to introduce these things or of the parents?

*Mia Evans*

Sexuality in College Courses

      Human Sexuality? Many people when they hear you're taking a Human Sexuality or Psychology of Sexuality course their response is "Why are you taking a class about sex?" The reason I know this is because I am actually taking a course called "Psychology of Sexuality," my professor likes to call it Psychology of Sex. Some other course's that talk about "Human Sexuality" according to Clint E. Bruess and Heather J. Meggers in the article called "Teaching The College Human Sexuality Course" is sociology, psychology, religion and health education. They talk about how this topic is actually becoming more and more popular in colleges and universities (269).

      What do you think you would learn/gain if you took a human sexuality class? Do you think you would learn about sex, intercourse, sexual pleasure, or sexuality? You would actually learn about all of that, but there is actually more to that. In the book called "Sexuality Education: Pass, Present, and Future" by Elizabeth Schroeder and Judy Kuriansky they talk about how no matter what education background/experiences you come from, all students come to college with information and misinformation about sexuality that they learn from their parents, peers, religious authorities, and social and cultural sources (272).

            When you take sexuality courses you would also learn according to the 

            article "Teaching The College Human Sexuality course":

             

                  Student outcomes associated with college human sexuality
                  courses include greater sexual knowledge, reduced sexual
                  anxiety, improved body image, and a better understanding
                  of the ways in which personal sexual values affect other people" (269).

      From the book "Sexuality Education: Pass, Present, and Future" they stated that while you are learning about human sexuality you take into the fact that you are also being challenged to consider facts with in personal, political, social, cultural, and ethical contexts (273).

            After discussing about human sexuality, what exactly is sexuality? From the same book they describe the definition of human sexuality proposed by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS, 200):

                  -Sexuality is not only about taking part in sexual behaviors.

                  -Sexuality is about self-concept, feelings about being male or 

                  female or transgender, feelings about other people, the way we move
                  and speak, and the way we relate to others.

                  -Sexuality is a natural and healthy part of who we are through our

                  lives - from birth until we die.

                  -Sexuality is not what we do, it's about who we are and how we live
                  (274).

            Why should we learn about human sexuality?  The reasons Elizabeth Schroeder and Judy Kuriansky say we should learn about human sexuality is because obtaining accurate sexual knowledge, improving sexual decision making, clarifying personal values, to learn the relationship between human sexuality and the personal well-being, and also to explore how human sexuality can influences one's sexuality (274).

Works Cited

Bruess, Clint E., and Heather J. Meggers. "Teaching the College 

      Human Sexuality Course." Westport, CT, US: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood

      Publishing Group, Westport, CT, 2009. 269-293. PsycINFO. 13 Feb. 2013 .

Schroeder, Elizabeth, and Judith Kuriansky. Sexuality Education: Past, Present, and 

      Future. Vol. 3 Westport, CT: Praeger, 2009. 272-74. Print.

-Marissa Stawkey-

Greetings,

                This semester, I am going to post about the topic of sexual socialization in education. We will explore the ideas of how our education system influences the expectations of sex roles. We shall investigate the different effects public, private, and home schooling has on gender expectations. A valuable method in research gender roles is to comparing the United States’ educational system to foreign approaches. The topic of sexual socialization is very important because it not only brings to light how society shapes the individual, but also how one can liberate oneself from societal pressures.

         Chris

Middle School, and High School

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My name is Cassie Wilson; I am in the education group. I will be specifically blogging on Gender, Sexuality, and Middle school and High school. I picked this topic because it’s the one that most interest me. I also picked this topic because I feel like this is the age that children start to come into their own. This is the age where they start learning about themselves, and they’re feeling on gender and there sexuality. This is a very pivotal age and when I talk to my friends who are gay or lesbians they tell me that middle school, more so High school is the time that they found themselves attracted to the same sex.

Cassie Wilson