Family Life

Another year of "Family Life" instruction is history. A sub in the building commented to me as I waited in the hall for the students to arrive for today's lesson that she felt sorry for me. She couldn't be more mistaken. Of all the things I am privileged to teach children, their first shot at sex education is the most sacred and important.

The lessons are done in 5 days and are coed for the first 4. Students participate only with parental permission in writing. Of the 119 fifth graders at my school only 2 did not receive permission. ALL materials are available for any parent to view or read for a month ahead of instruction and an ad hoc committee of parents chosen by the PTA and the teachers meet a month ahead of time to review the lesson plans and discuss any concerns. It's one of the most democratic and collaborative things we do in school.

The content includes the general characteristics of maturation from the onset of puberty thanks to the pituitary gland. Both male and female reproductive system parts are identified and their roles in the process are described. Changes in feelings and self-esteem are also important components of the instruction. The process of menstruation is also described as an event and by it's purpose in the reproduction process.

In recent years, a Family Values group has inserted itself into the process being no longer content to simply withhold their children from the lessons. So there is a growing list of words and phrases that I am not permitted to say; however, we are permitted to watch a wonderful video that covers most of the things that we are not allowed to say like "masturbation is an act that both boys and girls engage in and that it is normal and natural." News FLASH: most 11/12 years have figured this out already and it's a gift to have someone they respect present this little fact to them even in the format of a 20 year-old video.

I've been doing this since 1984 myself, and I would say this about today's kids. They ask questions that are 1,000 times more sophisticated, they rarely display embarrassment, they know how to spell "Masturbation". And when I addressed one question with the reminder that it was not a topic that I could respond to, a helpful classmate in all seriousness called out, "Google it".

Google It! ~ Made me almost feel obsolete. And woe betide any parent who thinks that their child doesn't already have this figured out. They're a fool.

My advice? Don't protect your children from the ocean, teach them how to swim.