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Parow Valley Primary School has come under fire over an ‘explicitly detailed’ sex education booklet circulated among Grade 6 learners. The main bone of contention seems to be the ‘aggressive explanations’ of certain terms used, and not the lessons themselves.

The booklet is part of the school’s ‘life skills curriculum’, and is approved by the Department of Education. Although the parents complained about the ‘detailed pictures of the male and female body when it changes’, they specifically took umbrage with words like ‘ejaculation’ and ‘wet dreams,’ which were described in ‘explicit detail.’

The parents who raised the issue with the school insisted “This is a discussion a parent should have with their children. It’s a sensitive topic and should be done in a safe, comfortable environment”.

“Having discussions like this at school can easily open the doors to curiosity, and nowadays we have our children on phones, which they will obviously use to search for information.”

Although the parents were clear that they knew this sort of education was necessary, it would have been nice for the school to warn parents before discussing wet dreams and ejaculation with 11-year-olds.

Department of Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said learners needed this information “as it was not discussed at home”.

“We understand that these matters are not easy for parents to handle. These books are used nationwide, and we have never encountered any challenges. The intention is to empower young people with information and not to offend anybody.”

Dr. Andre Powan, a student spiritual support and counselling mentor, stated that he conducted a survey with parents on the matter.

“During my poll, it was agreed that (sexuality education) was not age appropriate. However, Powan stated that he does not believe the language used in the booklet are “bad words”.

“These words and their meanings, like ejaculation, are scientifically accepted words for the actions of the anatomy of the human body.”

However, Kavya Swaminathan, an interventions team supervisor at the TEARS Foundation, a crisis-intervention and advocacy organisation believes the content is appropriate, saying “The truth of the matter is children in Grade 6 are in the stage of life when they will be going through puberty, a natural bodily change that everyone experiences.

Anyone with a child on the cusp of puberty knows that at some point, saying that “Daddy puts a baby in Mommy’s tummy”, will no longer suffice. The puberty steam train is rolling and even if 11 feels so terribly young, it’s better to have your kid learn the mechanics of sex from an informed source, than from elsewhere.

I recall my best friend’s brother explaining to us how daddy gets the baby into mommy’s tummy while we were playing with our He-Man action figures on a huge sandpile in their backyard. It blew my mind and made me avoid eye contact with the parents for a few days.

If parents don’t talk frankly with their kids about sex, then the education system will be forced to. There’s always the option to work together.

[source:iol]