Know
When my kids were in elementary school, a new kind of math education system was being implemented. I don't recall what this curriculum was called, I'm sure it's a mental block, but I remember the ongoing complaints by parents in our community.
▪ "What is this? They have to figure it out on their own??!"
▪ "What happened to solving math problems like I did back-in-the-day?"
▪ "How can I help them with this stuff? I have no idea how to solve these problems!"
▪ | "What is this? They have to figure it out on their own??!" |
▪ | "What happened to solving math problems like I did back-in-the-day?" |
▪ | "How can I help them with this stuff? I have no idea how to solve these problems!" |
In other words, parents were demanding that teachers use their classroom time actually teaching strategies to solve math problems. (FYI: They actually were. It was just new to us.)
So, let's apply that parental concern to health education in the classroom. Kids pretty much get no health education in elementary school, other than incidental instruction ("Wash your hands before lunch!") or what the PE educators implement into their programs.
In middle school in our district, kids get 6 weeks of health instruction, covering all body systems. In high school, it is one semester. Their entire four-year career!
Think about that.
The one thing all kids - all humans! - have in common is that they have a body and they will have sex someday. Yet, we spend so little time educating our youth about how to take care of their health: physical, mental, social, and sexual.
Why aren't parents complaining about the lack of sex education in school by qualified instructors?
Hopefully that will change soon.
In Illinois, there is a new amendment to House Bill 1736 (The REACH Act) that needs to get passed.
Basically, it is requiring that students in Illinois receive evidence-informed sex education. This means, as Representative Willis states, sex education will be mandated to be "medically, scientifically and academically accurate."
You know, like all other subjects in school.
It will also include
* Guidance for school personnel on how to identify sexual abuse of students;
* Be inclusive of all identities;
* Offer age-appropriate education beginning in Kindergarten.
So tell me, what do you know about your child's health/sex education experience in their school? What is being taught and by whom?
Check here to see what your state implements for their sex education curriculum.
Then, contact yourState Representative. Send them an email or make a call to let them know that sex education that is inclusive, science-based, evidence-informed and taught by specially trained health educators should be mandatory in all schools across the nation.
It's just common sense, just like a solid math curriculum, to be taught best practices in caring for your body.