Sex education for students at school and at home. Sex education at school: pros and cons

How is the school sex education system structured in your country? How do teachers approach this topic?
Perhaps in your country this topic is taboo for school?

And finally, what do you think?
Should we talk about this in school lessons - or is it the direct responsibility of parents?

I believe that there should be sex education in schools. But these classes should not be taught by teachers, but, for example, by psychologists or doctors who will be prepared for this sensitive topic. And for this you need to create special program. In the meantime, unfortunately, our schools are not ready for this topic.

The topic is relevant.

I conducted conversations on the topic of sex education for schoolchildren of various classes in schools in our city.

High school students listen to such conversations with interest and ask many questions. It is felt that the topic is necessary for them... With some students at home, parents do not talk about this topic at all.

The conversations were held separately for girls and boys... The conversations touched on various issues: hygiene issues sex life, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, psychology of sexual relationships, gender differences in relationships and others...

I believe that it is necessary to develop a training educational program for school on this topic
or invite specialists (psychologists, doctors) to schools on an ongoing basis to conduct conversations with schoolchildren on the topic of sex education.

In schools, it is necessary to introduce a subject about the competent building of family relationships, raising children, so that practical knowledge is given: what difficulties may arise, how to overcome them.

Subject "ethics" family life"does not provide the basis that could help in the future. This subject should be in a training format, it should be conducted not just by a psychologist, but by an experienced psychologist who knows what they are coming to see him with. And there should be a sufficient number of hours, and within the framework of this course, touch on the topic of sex education, for example, show a video of how an abortion is performed, and it is clear that the fetus is a living being, and it is killed. serious attitude. Now this seems more like a touchy subject.

The issue of sex education in schools is in keeping with the spirit of the times in which we live. The sphere of intimacy ceases to be the unique space of two people.

Intimacy, sexuality, femininity, and masculinity cannot be taught compulsorily by creating a program and inviting a doctor from the clinic.

Our school is about how it should be, about knowledge, about assessment, sadly, about the power of the teacher and the position of the student. In such an environment there is a greater chance of frightening, simplifying, hurting, and traumatizing. I am against this attitude towards intimacy.

How to deal with this topic?

You can invite a professional psychologist to the school who can understand a teenager, knows how to work with him, creating trust, contact in which you can feel awkward and at the same time talk about the topic of sexuality, without turning the conversation simply into a formal program about sex education for schoolchildren.

It's important to find Right words so that information about sexual life reaches teenagers. The school must be ready for this. Ready to cooperate with specialists, must be able to choose specialists, the school must have a culture of relationships. In our schools, a culture of relationships is very rare, and you are talking about sex education...

SEX translated from English is gender. And it is present from birth.

Sex education, as a story about the characteristics of gender, how to further develop a responsible attitude towards sex in hypersexual teenagers, the basics security sex life like parts of a whole life - uh that's what needs to be done.

Not all parents can provide this knowledge. Conversations with parents about sex are possible for teenagers only if they have a close and trusting relationship. Do all families have them?

So specially trained people can be very useful. Only necessarily trained and definitely specially.

Sexual culture in society is necessary, but I would not call it education.

Indeed, in rare families they convey information about sex, sexual relationships, contraception, and the characteristics of sexual relationships in the family. Dialogue with teenagers is especially difficult; adults find it difficult to communicate with them on any topic. Or parents are very late in their attempts to educate their child; they (the children) are now maturing early. Information also comes from the Internet, from friends who “have had it”, come up with something on their own and, as a result, then suffer from problems, early pregnancy, etc.

I believe that (not education) these conversations should be conducted not by teachers, not by doctors and biologists, and not even by sexologists, but by experienced and trained psychologists and psychotherapists who know how to establish contact with children, support them, respect them, who, if something happens, , will take their side, understand and be able to help.

Unfortunately, our society is not ready for this, and not just schools. It is not so easy to find a good professional for such work. Let's hope for the best that we will eventually get there.

Understanding of masculine and feminine We, adults, do not have (natural purpose, meaning), so we cannot convey to children the full depth of this phenomenon - the natural division into male and female.

Children, and even more so their parents, must be told, shown, and explained all sides of this phenomenon. We don't do this, and people grow up who don't understand what happens in this life. Where to look for happiness, joy, health.. People lose their natural essence so much that they begin to experiment in sexual relations. But happiness, love, warmth are not found there either - only pain, disappointment, fear...

We need to talk to very young children about natural laws, about the meaning of human existence in general, about how a person is born, what makes up his personal system (organism, psyche, energy of life).
But they will rather teach us the technique of sex and the use of various means. :(((This knowledge has become too obvious and accessible... What should be hidden and intimate is turned inside out, cynically smeared, perverted and used for the purpose of degradation of our children. :(((

And we sanctimoniously lower our heads and pretend that we are highly moral, and we are ashamed to talk about “this”... Or is it scary? Because we can’t say what we ourselves don’t understand?

Colleagues, while we are thinking about how we can protect children from depravity, they are being used by those who benefit from children not knowing about the essence of gender division, using their natural curiosity and, unfortunately, the huge deficit of love, acceptance and warmth in our children !

It's how you look at it that matters. If sex education is a compulsory subject, in other words, mandatory, nothing good will come of it. Especially if the state determines what and how to say ( the example of the European Union is frankly frightening). This is an intimate, heartfelt conversation with a teenager, where he has the right to ask, doubt, read and return with his own questions. This is a stage of life where it is important to support, share experiences and thoughts, create a normal attitude towards what is happening to their body and feelings now and will happen in the future life.

The issue of norms is no less significant. The norm, in my opinion, is to maintain intimacy in this matter - tactful, polite intimacy. Sexuality, screaming from all labels, is a pathology. This is possible if the teenager has access to parental support and a good example.

It is more effective to educate parents and help them in this so that they can convey the norm to their children. And this should only be done by trained and tactful psychologists.

I have experience in sexual education of mothers and daughters at the same time ( in one group, in one audience), a strong thing, I tell you!

Unfortunately, when I was at school, teachers were poorly prepared to discuss the topic of sexuality. I personally had only one lesson in biology, where the teacher, blushing, talked about the structure of a man and a woman; sex was out of the question.

The situation has changed little. In my opinion, it is very important for a trained teacher or school psychologist to conduct classes on such important topics in accordance with the age of the students, forming a healthy attitude towards sexuality.

My opinion is that prevention is the best cure for disease. But I would rather focus not on sex education, but on informing teenagers.

The forbidden fruit is sweet, and it is the prohibition and taboo on this topic that makes sex so interesting, especially taking into account the psyche of teenagers who want to do everything the other way around. :)) I am for information, high-quality, properly prepared from a psychological point of view. Especially informing about the consequences.

But under no circumstances should you be scared. Just tell it soberly.

And one more thing that seems absolutely important to me is that it is served to girls and boys separately! Children at this age do not yet need to know those features about female body, which is already important for girls and young women to know, and vice versa.

What happens is that from infancy we teach the child the rules of behavior, potty training, talk about hygiene, and teach him to eat with a spoon. Moreover, mind you, we often teach what is obvious, that is, the child sees how we eat, walk and talk. It is a reliable fact that with a potty in the garden, things go faster for children, rightly so, precisely because the child sees how his more agile colleagues dashingly cope with this task.

But we, adults, try to delay sexual contacts and therefore hide this information behind seven seals. This is what gives birth to an unhealthy interest in the sexual topic. After all, as they say, the forbidden fruit is truly sweet, and you really want to taste it. That is why sex education, specifically sex education, is necessary.

Sex education is a system of medical and pedagogical measures to instill in parents, children, adolescents and youth the correct attitude towards gender issues. This is a fairly broad area, which includes issues of clothing style and behavior of boys and girls, men and women, their relationships and rights, what games to play, how to talk and what to get involved in.

Sex education is a little narrower, it is actually an attitude towards your body, sexuality and sexual relationships. And sex education is part of sex education, the transfer of necessary knowledge in this area.
Psychologist

I believe that sex education for teenagers is necessary. Perhaps it could be called differently, but the main thing is that adolescents receive information about the structure of their body, the consequences of early sexual activity, sexually transmitted diseases, the consequences of abortion, and the virtues of family life. Most likely it would be education and awareness. Teenagers do not receive such information in their families, and what is shown on TV and on the Internet distorts the information more than adds knowledge.

Another thing is that such subjects do not take root in school. We need specialists, programs, it’s a delicate matter. Besides, adults have a lot of their own fears and just hypocrisy. Therefore, such an important and necessary item remains unclaimed.

I would introduce compulsory sex education in schools for parents.

Question "How to talk to your child about sex?" - occurs in parents repeatedly and regardless of the age of the child. Someone in the first grade faced this question, someone in the tenth, and someone in kindergarten. And often parents avoid this conversation. There are those who hope that “they will explain it at school.” There are those who try in every possible way to keep the child in the dark - “the longer the better.” However, children grow up and inevitably face this issue, and inevitably discuss it with each other.

I would support discussions among parents—discussions about how, when, what, and in what language to talk to their children about sex—in every age period. And their responsibility for these conversations.

In the same way, I would invite psychologists, gynecologists, urologists - but only to parent-teacher meetings. I would discuss all sorts of important information - including about sexually transmitted diseases, about contraception, about abortion, about what sexual perversion is and what to do if children encounter it, about changes that occur in the body, about the family , about love, about falling in love, etc. and so on.

By way of illustration:

I think that one of the most adequate reactions of a schoolchild to a naked body was encountered by me in the text of Andrei Astvatsaturov in the book “Naked People”. Sexual education as a separate activity is a violent thing, in my opinion (like any education taken separately from life).

If the naked body is part of life, part of art, then no “culture shock” will arise. Parents who first protect their child from this part of the world and then give the function of getting to know the body to other people are making a big mistake, in my opinion.

“Once during a break, Misha called me aside. I reluctantly approached. By that time, he began to bother me a little. I don’t know why. He made some new friends in the yard. Misha constantly told me about them, and I was very bored. In addition, Misha began to communicate with other classmates. He tried to educate them in his own way, which, of course, should not have been done.
- What did you call? - I asked him.
Looking around, Misha reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a stack of small black and white photographs.
- Look here!
In the first photo I saw smiling naked woman. On the next one - another one. On others there were both women and men, also completely naked. They hugged, stood, sat, lay in different positions. Everyone had happy faces.
The photographs didn't make much of an impression on me. At our house there were many thick albums with reproductions of naked people. Mostly women for some reason. And in the Hermitage they showed me statues of ancient Greek gods, goddesses and heroes depicted completely naked. I then asked the adults why everyone walked like that in ancient Greece. And they explained to me that in Ancient Greece it was very hot and no clothing was needed. So Misha didn’t reveal anything new to me that time. In addition, the people in his photographs did not seem very beautiful to me. However, their joyful faces completely compensated for this shortcoming in my opinion. Since they smile and are happy, I thought, that means they are good, good people. And it doesn’t matter that they’re naked. They won't do anything bad to anyone.
- How do you like it?
I shrugged:
- So-so…
Then the bell rang. Misha put the photographs in his pocket, we ran to class, and I immediately forgot about these pictures."

Not many parents feel confident about the topic of children's sexual development, but rather feel embarrassed. Not many people are sure what to give a child in this area of knowledge. And also, no less important, what and how to talk about sexual violence.

If sex education is equated to enlightenment. To support children with their sensory development. Give children information that helps develop a positive attitude towards their own body, sexuality, the ability to feel, love, confidence, and the ability to self-determinate.

In many ways, sexuality education must be based on the sociocultural realities of life and personal responsibility.

It is also necessary to focus on individual development child. Not only do children learn to speak at different times, but they also differ in their curiosity about sexual issues. Some children ask their first questions about sexuality at an earlier age, others later or not at all. In addition, the need for physical closeness or affection in children manifests itself in a completely different way.

It is more important to observe children and accompany their individual development path. Therefore, sex education should rather take place in the family. Then Goethe's poetic prescription about wings and roots, which it is desirable to receive from parents, will come true.

And an in-depth analysis of one’s own thoughts and ideas, the associated expectations and expectations from children, among other things, can help parents remain not overloaded, do not regret missed opportunities, and be able to cope with different situations of growing up.

The problem is often seen as the fact that until children have mastered the terminology and physiology of the genital organs (in anatomy classes in high school), it is too early to discuss sex issues with them.

In fact, already first-graders know quite a lot about the genitals and where children come from. Very often they also know (usually from older siblings, boyfriends and girlfriends) about contraception and homosexuality. Sometimes this information is reliable, sometimes it is not. High school students know even better. But, unfortunately, not all. And the consequences, as a rule, are sad: from teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, to disappointments, complexes and other psychological problems. And this can be completely avoided if you teach your child the basics of sexual literacy.

Sexual education begins from the moment of birth. And it begins with the fact that the baby’s genitals are immediately called by their proper names, and are not replaced with “children’s” names. Around the age of 3, when the child begins to make “discoveries” (interest in his own genitals and the differences between boys and girls), more is explained to him in words that he understands.

To the questions “Where do children come from?” a fairly clear answer is given: “Mom and dad love each other very much and want them to have a baby.” Most children are completely satisfied with this answer and do not ask further questions. At older ages (5-6 years), the topic returns again. Then the child can find out that the father's sperm connects with the mother's egg, and then the baby appears. And so on - the child is given information about sexual behavior, coitus, contraception, sexual orientation.

Doesn't need to be provided to children premature information that is not age appropriate. But when a child is interested in issues of gender and sex, he needs to be given understandable And true to reality answers.

I believe that competent sex education (including in schools) necessary, because it relieves the child of unnecessary fears and complexes in preschool and junior school age, protects him from rash actions in adolescence, preserves his physical and mental

In some countries, no one will be surprised by sex education lessons in schools, where issues of sexual relations are covered in detail. From attraction to sexual intercourse itself. All are considered possible options, in some places it is even suggested that you choose your gender roles and try out different forms of relationships in practice. They promote homosexuality to children using the example of fairy tales about the happiness of two princes - instead of the traditional lovers of a prince and princess.

In Russia, the promotion of homosexuality is prohibited, but every now and then the issue of choosing gender identity and, in a larger sense, sex education itself and sex education for adolescents is raised. The reasons are obvious: early sexual intercourse, early pregnancies. At what age should we talk about this, if today is early, and tomorrow will be too late? Is it necessary and how to tell children about homosexuality? After all, they watch foreign films, and questions inevitably arise.

If a child is completely prohibited from everything related to sexuality, the opposite effect is possible - a premature increase in the child’s interest in these issues.

To understand how traumatic mistakes in sex education and the propaganda of homosexuality among children are, you need to imagine the entire coordinate system in which this problem arises for the still developing child’s psyche. Let's consider all the components of the issue, using the knowledge of the training “System-vector psychology” by Yuri Burlan.

Sexual education of children: infantile sexuality

We often think that children “understand everything.” Of course, from an early age they see their parents’ relationships and scenes from adult films do not pass them by. Even in fairy tales they often write about love. But we must not forget one decisive fact: child sexuality is infantile, the child has no need for the sexual act itself. Therefore, sex education should be aimed exclusively at the development of the sensory-emotional component without an emphasis on physiology.

The child does not understand the word “sex”; for him it is sensual, emotional intimacy. Even while masturbating, a child is just exploring his body, discovering that different parts of the body have different sensitivity. From the desire to masturbate it does not at all follow that the boy is ready to associate this action with a girl. Children's games “doctor” also have as their goal only the study of differences, and, in fact, also oneself - how am I different? These are a kind of first sex education lessons, where adults are not allowed.

At the mental level, a child does not have an “understanding” of the physiology of the process, even when he completely distinguishes the gender of those around him and has long seen differences in the genital organs of his peers. Yes, he has a guess how everything happens, but there is no physical NEED and DESIRE. Nature has taken care of this mechanism for all living beings.

If, nevertheless, the child receives it, then it becomes a huge stress for his psyche. To the point of stopping his psychosexual development. This is especially dangerous when parents become the source of information about sex. The basic natural prohibition against incest is violated. This is where shame and rejection arise. Subconsciously, the child feels that it is impossible to talk about these topics with his parents, and his psyche is protected by the thought: “My parents never do such things.”

Sex education for boys and girls

Even the first guess about THIS causes strong emotional experiences. For example, when a child hears a swear word for the first time. (Swear words are words about sexuality.) In the wake of these children’s emotions, it is very important for parents not to disrupt the child’s formation of the idea of adult relationships as a natural, purely intimate continuation of love between a man and a woman. A mistake in this inevitable point of sex education will significantly affect the child’s entire subsequent life and his idea of sex - either as a sacred act of love, or as something vulgar, animalistic.

And in an understandable form, parents don’t have to worry about this; the child will receive the necessary information about the physiology of sexual relations from “more advanced” boys at school, in the yard or in kindergarten. This is precisely the most correct, natural option for obtaining information “where children come from.” It is a mistake to think: “We’d better tell you ourselves before the neighbor’s bully Kolka tells you.”

It is also a big mistake that sex education for boys and girls should be different, or that classes with detailed visual diagrams are needed at school. Human sexuality, unlike animal mating, is a purely intimate process. When any relationship is exposed, it becomes devalued. Sex education lessons should deal with the education of feelings, but not the mechanics of the process.

From the age of three, a child (except for skin-visual boys and girls) begins to feel the shame of uncovered genitals. If this shame is “destroyed” by showing how grown-up men and women are engaged in “this simple matter,” then there will be no room left for the development of sensuality, real human sexuality as it is. After all, human sexuality is, first of all, prohibitions, which we will talk about in more detail later.

Development of human sexuality

More than one thousand years have passed since human sexuality separated from the animal process of reproduction and ceased to be exclusively procreation. Sexuality is much more than a mechanical process and a variety of positions. First of all, human sexuality is feelings and, strange as it may seem at first glance, limitations. These fundamental laws are built into the human psyche and regulate not only sexual relations, but also all behavior in society. So that society itself survives and reproduces itself in the future.

A man is taboo in his attraction to children and his own gender. A woman is limited in her behavior by modesty - so that men do not kill each other, like animals in the fight for a female. The final stage in the development of human sexuality in general and the sexual education of adolescents in each specific case can be considered a cultural limitation. Culture limits not only actions that can lead to death, but also provides an additional opportunity for pleasure - sensuality.

Only the development of sensuality, as the basis of sexual education, guarantees the development of full sexuality. Developed sensuality gives a person immunity from vulgarity and helps create truly strong, trusting relationship. Relationships based on emotional and intellectual closeness, spiritual kinship, empathy. And attraction itself becomes the basis on which love is built.

Classical literature is most suitable for developing sensuality from an early age. But a child needs to be taught it from childhood. This perfect tool for the sexual education of children and adolescents, the development of good taste and imagination. Classic literature, appropriate for age, gives the first idea of love, selflessness, fidelity, tenderness, and other high feelings, without which love loses its meaning. For a child, this is a much stronger emotional experience than possible sexual contacts.

This is especially important if an emotional connection with parents is not built and the child does not receive life in the family. Or the environment leaves much to be desired. In this case, books can become the only source of the right direction for sex education, environment and, to a large extent, protection from bad fate. But normally, the feeling of security and safety that the mother initially gives to the child is the basis on which the development of properties given by nature occurs. The only way sexual development natural process As a person grows up, it occurs naturally without delay.

The cost of mistakes in sex education for boys

Perhaps a child will one day ask his parents why uncles kiss. To answer correctly, parents themselves must understand the mechanism of formation of this attraction. To do this, it is necessary to distinguish the preconditions for choosing such relationships. This knowledge will also be needed in order to avoid critical mistakes in the sexual education of boys.

There are many opinions, but the reason for homosexual relationships is explained with mathematical precision only at Yuri Burlan’s training “System-vector psychology.” Looking ahead, let's say that only two types of men enter into homosexual relationships:

Owners of the cutaneous-visual ligament vectors

Only the latter, with certain characteristics of development and sexual education, which we will discuss in detail later, experience a real attraction to boys. The first ones are deprived of the animal component in the psyche. This is what allows skin-visual boys to “unlimitedly” use sexuality to preserve own life. But the choice of homosexual relationships, whether for some or for others, is not a given norm, but the result of frustrations in the anal vector or fears in.

At the same time, homosexuality is more a social pathology than an individual one. The child is not free to choose the environment for his development, and cannot significantly influence the process of his own sexual education and the teenager. Even in adulthood, without realizing your real desires, it is impossible to make an independent choice of destiny. Therefore, it makes no sense to consider men who choose such relationships to be guilty of their choice.

Sex education lessons: propaganda or education?

It must be said that sex education lessons in themselves are already propaganda of sex among children and adolescents. They are basically not needed. The education of feelings should take place at school - in literature and language lessons, through general atmosphere at school, gallant attitude towards girls, etc. When an adult tells and shows children films about the physiology of sex, the child experiences a strong internal experience - shame. It is not for nothing that Freud pointed out the traumatic effect of a child watching his parents during sexual intercourse.

Returning to the essence of sex education, let us emphasize the most important points:

The sexuality of a child before full mental and puberty is infantile, that is, it is directed towards himself and does not need a partner.
Before puberty, the child is not yet ready for this action, not only physically, but, above all, mentally. Premature information about the physiology of sexual intercourse is perceived by the child’s psyche as something disgusting, shameful and even unacceptable.
Excessive zeal in attempts to diversify and “deepen” sex education can seriously negatively affect the natural psychosexual development of the child.
Development of sensuality, timely development of cultural restrictions - natural, propaganda of homosexuality and other negative influences.

PERVUSHKIN BORIS NIKOLAEVICH

Private educational institution "St. Petersburg School "Tete-a-Tete"

Mathematics Teacher of the Highest Category

Deputy Director for HR

Unstable position in Russian society, normative and value uncertainty, greater autonomy of adolescents and young men from their parents than before, greater availability of information on gender issues contributed to an earlier onset of sexual activity. At the same time, the duration of a person’s social maturation has increased, and the moral and psychological problems of building intergender relationships fall on people who are less mature in personal and social terms. Insufficient and incorrect education in the psychosexual sphere, unfavorable sexual experiences, acceptance of false or archaic stereotypes of masculinity or femininity can negatively affect moral, somatic and mental health. All this actualizes the issue of reforming sex education and enlightenment in modern Russia.

The problem of sex education is not simply explaining to children the physiology of sexual relations - it includes the formation of the correct attitude towards oneself, a representative of the opposite sex, love and marriage, it implies the assignment of certain values, regulation of a person and society towards gender issues.

Parents have a significant influence on psychological and sexual child development. Many families do a poor job with sex education, and today's schools have a big responsibility. The school psychologist can play a significant role in the implementation of the sex education program. In this paper, we propose a model of sex education and education in school, developed taking into account the characteristics of adolescence and young adulthood.

We see the main goal of sex education in school as creating conditions for the development of a healthy and moral attitude to issues of gender and sexuality. The principles of complexity and continuity are fundamental to such work.

The work of a psychologist is represented in three main areas. When working with parents, the following aspects are addressed:

* parents' awareness of their own role in the process of gender socialization of the child;
* bringing to the attention of parents the fact of the mythological nature of cultural sexual norms that reinforce gender socialization in society;
* increasing the reflection of each spouse, developing flexibility in communication and efficiency in interaction with each other.

Working with teachers. Today, teachers themselves are in dire need of qualified training to work with teenagers in this area. Such preparation cannot be reduced to a few lectures on the topic of sexual development and behavior of adolescents. It requires the removal of emotional barriers among teachers themselves, making it clear that the sexual development of adolescents can neither be stopped nor slowed down.

Based on the goals of sex education in school, we can highlight the following aspects in the work of a psychologist with teenage schoolchildren:

* study of the physiology of sex. Possible topics: changes during adolescence, physiological differences, pregnancy and childbirth, sexual intercourse and the likelihood of pregnancy, etc.

* protection from pregnancy. Formation of a healthy lifestyle through explanation;

* problems of interpersonal relationships. Within the framework of this direction, a discussion of the following topics is proposed: love and mutual obligations, sexual feelings and attractions, communication with the opposite sex, personal values, making sexual decisions, etc. Work is needed to increase the level of self-knowledge, develop self-confidence, destroy gender stereotypes, establish optimal communication attitudes between men and women.

* marriage and family relationships. When considering issues of marriage and family relationships, special attention should be paid, in our opinion, to problems of compatibility, awareness of the causes of conflicts in the family, the formation of marital roles and the development of attitudes of mutually responsible partnership.

When implementing this model, a predominantly group form of work is assumed. As the main methods of the sex education program, we have identified lecture, conversation, debate, analysis and discussion of specific problem situations, business and role-playing games , complete training programs and training elements.

Today, the school feels the need to develop new approaches to sex education and awareness. New psychological research on gender issues and real work to introduce a culture of intergender interaction are needed.

The debate about whether or not to introduce sex education classes in Russia has been going on for several years. While politicians, lawyers and sociologists break their spears in their offices, we use the examples of other countries to understand what it is, how it is carried out and what results it leads to.

What is sex education

Sex education classes exist to teach people of all ages about human anatomy, contraception, pregnancy and childbirth, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and how to combat them, sexual orientation and attitudes toward a partner.

Sex education can be obtained formally and informally. The first includes special courses at educational or medical institutions, developed by specialists and approved by the state. The second method (widespread in our country) involves independently obtaining information using the “heard something somewhere” method. From conversations with parents, friends, the Internet, the media. It is possible to say that the child has received full sex education only in the first case.

Examples of educational programs in countries around the world

Sex education programs are available not only in European countries, but also in Asia, Africa, the USA, that is, practically throughout the world. Of course, they are all different, and largely depend on the goal pursued by the state, as well as on what structure (religious or secular) created and promoted the training program.

It is impossible to analyze all the options in detail, so we will select only the most popular and widespread.

Netherlands

It is the Netherlands that supporters of the introduction of sex education in Russian schools like to cite as an example. This is no coincidence: children here receive their first knowledge at the age of 4-7 years, and at the same time, the Netherlands has the lowest rate of teenage pregnancies and STDs in minors in the world. The connection between these facts can be disputed ad infinitum, but it was here that the first educational cartoons for preschoolers appeared and junior schoolchildren, which are considered part of the biology course. It is worth clarifying that at this age children do not receive knowledge about sex, but information about their body and its characteristics.

Great Britain

There is a sex education program in every school in the UK, but any parent can write a refusal for their child to attend these classes. At the same time, according to the results of numerous surveys, British teenagers themselves want to receive more information on this subject. In the UK, there are several versions of the program (for secular and religious schools), all of them take the form of lectures only and do not include tests or discussions on topics. Classes are devoted to the physiology of sexual relations and pregnancy, and the teacher can raise issues of contraception and safe sex at his own discretion.

Germany

The pedantic Germans turned out to be the most persistent in this matter - they make sex education for the nation obligatory. Starting from elementary school, schoolchildren receive knowledge on all gender issues. At the very beginning, these are cartoons and picture books telling about the differences between boys and girls, the birth of children and creating a comfortable environment in the family.

Then educational films and lectures on the psychology of growing up, puberty, building first relationships, and the inadmissibility of violence are used. Teenagers in high school are taught in detail and clearly about contraception, diseases, pregnancy and abortion, and homosexuality. Like other subjects, this one is also assessed and tests and exams are conducted on it.

France

Sex education in France has been part of the school curriculum for more than forty years. In grades 8-9, the school allocates 40 hours to this subject and places special emphasis on issues of contraception and respect for a partner.

USA

In the United States, there are two types of sex education taught in schools—“full” and “limited abstinence.” What program a child ends up with depends on the state, the type of school, and even the principal. In the case of complete sex education, a child from grades 3 to 10 will receive information about gender differences, pregnancy, childbirth, contraception, genital diseases, sexual orientation, violence, abortion, etc. If we are talking about education limited by abstinence, then the course of study will be much shorter (only two years) and the emphasis will be on the ethical side of intersexual relations. Simply put, the teacher will tell children for two years that they cannot have sex before marriage, without specifying why and what consequences this may lead to.

Asian countries

In Asian countries such as China, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, sex education is taught in schools, but the main emphasis is on studying the physiology of the process. However, this is enough for schoolchildren to know the minimum required and not risk their health. But in Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan, such knowledge is not given either at school or at college.

African countries

Sex education in Africa has been provided by the Red Cross and other voluntary organizations for the past thirty years. The main goal of the program is to reduce the increase in the incidence of AIDS and teenage pregnancies. Unfortunately, many African countries have not yet matured enough to have their own educational initiatives and are completely dependent on volunteers.

Statistical results of sex education around the world

Contrary to the increase in debauchery and destruction of moral standards predicted by Russian experts, countries that provide sex education lessons can boast excellent results in the field of adolescent health.

Statistics show that the number of teenage pregnancies ending in childbirth or abortion, as well as cases of STDs among minors, is much lower in states that actively promote sexual literacy.

So, the number of pregnancies per thousand minor women:

Netherlands - 12
Spain - 12
Italy - 13
Greece - 13
Belgium - 15
Germany - 18
Finland - 19
France - 22
Norway - 31
UK -51
USA - 86

Unfortunately, there are no official statistics on abortions among minor residents of Russia; various sources say the figure is from 45 to 75 girls per thousand, but it is worth understanding that we are talking only about registered operations performed in state clinics. The number of minors giving birth is approximately 30 out of a thousand. Thus, Russia is considerably ahead of all European countries, although it cannot compare with African countries, where similar indicators start from 105 people per thousand and reach 300.

Prospects for sex education in Russia

Despite the change of the Children's Ombudsman, the situation with sex education in Russia is unlikely to change in better side in the coming years. The state still leaves this topic to the family, and parents do not find the strength or words to discuss. Adolescents who are completely illiterate in matters of intergender interaction continue to seek information on their own and, as a result, cause significant damage to their health.

Elena Anatolyevna Rodionova, director of a secondary school

The situation with sex education in Russian educational institutions extremely ambiguous. Behind last years Many new, atypical subjects appeared in the school curriculum. Are they necessary? Undoubtedly. But are the programs ready? methodological manuals Are there teachers for these subjects? Alas, the answers are not happy. Of course, the school can also take on sex education for children, but for this it is necessary to fulfill certain conditions.

First, develop a course that includes work with a psychologist, doctors, and biologists. Secondly, provide each school with these specialists, who are experienced and competent. And the third, in my opinion the most difficult condition, will be obtaining consent from the parents. After all, it’s too late to tell ninth-graders about contraception. It makes sense to start sex education in the 5th grade, but for many parents their children at this age are still unconscious babies. Nowadays, schoolchildren partially receive this knowledge in class and in several lessons in the life safety course, but this information is not enough, it is not systematized, and teachers are often not ready to talk. So do modern schoolchildren need sex education courses? Yes. Is the school ready to take on this? At this stage, no."

1.3. The role of school in sex education for high school girls

School plays an important role in a child's sex education.

Currently, many social educators and psychologists believe that it is useful for children to study in non-family sex education programs, which do not replace, but complement home lessons. This is due to the following reasons:

1. Some parents or children, when confronted with a topic or event related to sexuality in family or social life, are so embarrassed that they simply cannot discuss the subject. (Mom tells me to talk about this with dad, but dad says he’s busy.)

2. Some parents wait until their children start asking them questions about sexuality, but the children do not ask about it, or parents do not notice questions asked in an indirect form.

3. Some parents simply don't have the information needed - beyond basic knowledge of where babies come from - to answer their children's questions.

4. Often, it is easier for people who have received special pedagogical training to convey information to children clearly, intelligibly and objectively than for parents who are extremely emotional towards their children, which is quite natural and correct.

5. As children enter puberty and face the new challenges of adolescence, they are particularly keen to achieve independence in areas such as sexual relations and sexuality. They cannot understand why their parents are so concerned about their sex life. They really want and need physical and psychological privacy when it comes to sex, but they still need to be able to talk about sex with each other and with respected authority figures.

6. In most families, children have few opportunities to talk about issues of gender and sexuality with their peers, but this skill is necessary for people of any age. Such conversations help prepare boys and girls for mutual understanding with their future spouses, teach them to make reasonable decisions and take responsibility for them.

7. The classroom can provide a 'safe', semi-structured situation in which young people can more easily speak up than in a more intimate family setting. They also have the opportunity to learn silently by listening to others share their opinions.

The school organizes activities promoting sex education, which are conducted by a teacher, psychologist, class teacher and social worker.

The role of the class teacher in sex education is great. Children need to know where to turn if things get difficult. Therefore, the class teacher organizes consultations for students at the family planning center, introduces the school psychologist, the school social worker, and the girls to a gynecologist. He also conducts cool watch on the topics: “harm of early sexual relations”, “sexually transmitted diseases and ways to prevent them”, “contraception”, and much more.

The school psychologist conducts various surveys on issues of sex education, conducts lectures on a healthy lifestyle, the means of “safe” love, talks about the sexual maturation of the body, AIDS and its prevention, together with children, teachers, and a social educator organizes events for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases diseases.

The work of a social educator on sex education at school involves working with both children, teachers and parents. He conducts conversations, lectures on gender relations, family, conducts seminars specifically for parents and teachers on issues that concern them, and, if necessary, organizes and conducts consultations for parents and teachers.

Perhaps parents did not receive sufficient and systematic knowledge about sex education at one time, so specific help from the school is necessary here. At the same time, sex education cannot be entrusted to schools. It is not surprising that such parents have children who are not adequately prepared for areas of life such as love, marriage and family. The effectiveness and high efficiency of sex education is only in close cooperation between family and school. The educational process must be closely connected with the general complex of educational and educational measures. Its success is ensured only with everyday, methodically correct management, and not when some special occasion or special circumstance appears. If in a particular school cases of pregnancy of a student or infection with a sexually transmitted disease are detected, then this is not at all a reason for holding lectures and conversations with students. These cases are convincing evidence that sex education, as an important section of general education, is missed by both family and school. The school reform currently provides for special lessons in hygiene and psychophysiology of gender. But these lessons are only an addition to the work carried out by doctors on sexual and moral education.

Sex education in school is carried out taking into account age characteristics, gender, with mandatory consideration of social maturity of moral norms.

Approaches to sex education for children varied. Specially designed sex education programs, which were previously mandatory, exist and are being implemented. But today, more often than not, subject teachers, when implementing an educational program, resolve some issues regarding sex education for children. A special role belongs to the lessons of biology, literature, history, physical education, life safety and others. Literature lessons reveal the formation of roles, stereotypical descriptions of male and female qualities using the example of literary heroes. The history lesson also reveals a description of female and male qualities using the example of great historical figures, and shows the differences between the behavior of men and women in certain situations. The biology lesson examines the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the female and male body, issues of puberty. During a physical education lesson, children’s bodies are formed, they become familiar with healthy image life. The life safety lesson covers sexual hygiene and ways to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

The topics can be expanded due to the specifics of individual groups of schoolchildren. It is advisable that the entire cycle of classes be carried out by the same specialist. This could be a school doctor or a teacher.
The advantage of a doctor over a teacher when conducting classes with high school students, whose interest in the issue being studied is more diverse and acute, is not only in his medical training, but also in the fact that he comes to classes as if from the outside, which contributes to a more frank conversation , increases students' attention.
The most important task is speaking to schoolchildren outlining issues related to sex education. Such a conversation requires naturalness, ease in using specific terminology, accuracy and reliability of scientific information, the ability to control the attention of the audience, simplicity and accessibility of the material presented. After all, the main goal of this large educational work is to prepare young men and women to enter into a happy marriage, which is a guarantee of a stable family. This preparation, in the light of the ongoing school reform, should become as mandatory and complete as the preparation of young people for any professional activity.
Sex education and sexuality education, carried out in school and at home, should prevent and alleviate the difficulties and dangers that young people may encounter on the threshold of independent life.
There is nothing more harmful than the belief that sex education can have an immediate effect - abortions among minors will be eliminated and cases of sexually transmitted diseases will decrease.
These negative phenomena will certainly disappear as systematic, scientifically and methodologically sound sex education for schoolchildren is implemented.

However, many parents are against the introduction of comprehensive sex education in educational institutions.

Parents should know the school curriculum on sex education and, together with teachers at class parent meetings, develop a general line on the organization and forms of sex education, taking into account the characteristics of the class and its individual students. It is advisable to invite specialist doctors to these meetings who can introduce parents to the complex anatomical, physiological and psychological characteristics of the body of girls and boys, girls and boys.

Many parents fear that sex education and family education programs will express or promote ideas that they would not approve of. It must be said that in modern Russian conditions this is a fear, as well as skepticism regarding the level of teaching and quality educational materials for sex education are far from unreasonable. Most parents are undoubtedly shocked by lessons in which a fifth-grader is taught to put a condom on a model or an eighth-grader is told about bestiality. Such programs and seminars caused major scandals and lawsuits, after which “sexually savvy” children began to educate their parents about sexual positions. In essence, here sex education has been replaced exclusively by sex education.

Thus, the school plays an important role in the sex education of children, since targeted and specially organized work on sex education will contribute to the proper development of the child. Only specialists who have psychological and pedagogical knowledge and teaching methods are able to make this work more effective. The school has an arsenal of necessary specialists and a large amount of time that influences the process of a child’s formation.

Conclusions on Chapter I

1. The concept of “sex” is a systemic quality determined by the biologically given gender of an individual, the structure of socially significant activities and gender-role norms of society. In the scientific literature, the concept of “sex” is interpreted differently, and foreign terminology is also used, for example, “gender”. Gender differences lie in the presence of femininity and masculinity in a person. The development of society introduces additional qualities that are not special for any gender, mixing together the striking differences between the sexes. The formation of gender roles occurs in the process of child development, starting from his birth in the family, and in other social institutions, for example, school.

2. The family plays a very important role in sex education. Parents not only purposefully, but also spontaneously contribute to the formation of personal qualities and roles of their children. Moreover, the process of sex education of a child begins from his very birth. It's like family small group able to resolve intimate issues face to face. The effectiveness of the child’s sex education depends on what role the parent chooses for himself.

3. To adjust the educational influence of the family, the school also deals with the issue of sex education. Sex education at school is carried out by various specialists (subject teachers, class teacher, psychologist, social teacher), using a variety of methods and forms of work, through events, lessons, and specially developed programs. The role of the school is especially important during the child’s puberty, which is also characterized by a decrease in the authority of parents and an increase in the influence of others and the environment as a whole. The adjustment of the social environment and issues of sex education at school is carried out by a social teacher who promotes the socialization of the child.

Sex education for students at school and at home. Sex education at school: pros and cons