For the past few years, with the changes of dietetical habit and social environment, teenagers become sexual maturation at a much earlier age. 11 or 12 years old pupils show the signal of sexual maturation as they are just in primary school. School education didn’t pay much attention on this aspect, so most of the students learn the sex education knowledge through adult internet or DVD, and some pornography without proper instructions of sex education.
Statistics of China Population Net shows that 10 million females aborted in 2006-with a quarter under 18. Maternity and Infant Healthy Institute of Guangzhou also distributed some data: from January to July this year, 300 females took abortion operations each month, which included 1/4 or 1/5 minors. (Data from Yangcheng Evening news)
As a matter of fact, teaching sex education in primary school or middle school is not news. But, being influenced by traditional view, teachers and parents of pupils always stand humming and hawing, and never clearly introduce it. Take myself as an example, when I was in high school, our sex education teacher never said a single clear word. After 45 minutes she usually escaped from our classroom as soon as she could. We were still very confused, though we have had this lecture for a whole semester. So the deep penetration sex education as the way No.4 Middle School did was rare.
It’s vastly different from many other countries, such as UK, France etc. Sex education usually begins at an early age, for example, at children’s primary school time. “Primary school-aged children need age-appropriate information about the biological processes of sex and reproduction”, which is said on The Better Health Channel (BHC), establishing in May 1999 by the Victorian (Australia) Government. As we know, in these countries, sex knowledge is not an embarrassing topic, and children can discuss with their parents freely. However, it’s really nerve-wracking to talk this kind of issue in china, because most Chinese are still conservative.
Children feel curious about sex, but nobody gives them a proper guidance. They will easily go to extremes. As far as I am concerned, it’s time for education organization to establish suitable sex education system in order to bridge this knowledge gap. Don’t be shy and without ambiguous. Appropriate teaching material including books and videos are all necessary. Also, sex education is different from chasteness and condom education. It must be a lecture which students can benefit knowledge of sexual psychophysiology as well as sexual morality and law from.
It is said that the Swede refers to sex education as a life-long course. Chinese still have a long way to go. But I firmly believe that it will be better and better before long.
