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Tasks: Sex Education

A teacher is standing in front of a class. All the kids have their hand up. A heart radiates from the teacher around the pupils. Illustration.
Can sex-education in schools be improved? Bilete: Nick Shepherd / CC BY-NC 4.0

Discuss:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? How would you respond to these statements?

  1. Young people today learn about love from romantic comedies and sex from porn – no wonder so many of them are unhappy and confused.

  2. So many young people go around worrying that they are not normal. That who they are attracted to is somehow wrong. That their bodies are wrong in some way. So much pain, confusion, and hurt could be cured if we dared to provide proper sex-education in schools. Why is sex such a taboo when it is such a significant part of people's lives?

  3. Attraction is fluid: some believe that you are either homosexual or heterosexual from birth, but the reality for most people is that they can be attracted to either gender.

  4. Some of us will never feel sexual attraction. That is every bit as OK as any other sexual orientation. If that's who you are and you are happy, don't try to change to fit in with what people tell you is normal.

  5. People seem to think that finding the perfect person means finding someone who is beautiful, smart, funny, and wealthy. In reality, all you really need is someone who loves you, who will be on your side through all the battles that life throws at you, someone who treats you kindly, who makes you laugh.

  6. The internet provides us with brand new opportunities to get to know people. We have apps like Tinder and Grindr for romance, and you can make friends when playing multi-player video games online, and sometimes even meet the person you are supposed to be with. We are not limited to a set geographical place anymore, like our parents and grandparents were. This makes finding love easier.

  7. Sex-education should start in kindergarten and be a natural part of education until you graduate high school.

  8. I can condense all sex-education into just one sentence: 'It is your body, you have complete autonomy over it, no one is allowed to touch it without your explicit permission.'

  9. If your religion forbids sex before marriage, you should be exempt from sex-education in school.

  10. Whenever we approach another human being there is always the possibility of rejection. Today it is easier than ever to shy away from real human contact, because social media makes it seem like we are making connections. People become more and more isolated, depressed, and angry, because technology makes it easier to give in to the natural human fear of rejection.

  11. You should never have sex with someone without first agreeing that you both want to, and talking about what you are comfortable with.

  12. Over the past fifty years, attitudes to gender and sexuality have changed a great deal. This is in no small part thanks to popular culture: films, TV, music, and celebrities.

Research:

Choose an English speaking country. Are children taught about sex in schools in this country? What does the sex education focus on?

Below, we have suggested some countries to explore. Information about sex education in these countries is easy to find online. You can also choose other English-speaking countries if you want to.

Share your findings with the class, and discuss whether the country's sex-education programme seems better, worse, or equal to the one you have participated in.

  • South Africa

  • Ireland

  • the United States

  • the United Kingdom

  • Australia

  • New Zealand

  • India

Write:

Choose one of the tasks.

  1. Write a persuasive text about the importance of improving sex-education in Norway.

  2. What should sex education focus on? Should it focus on how to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, or should it focus on how to have a healthy sex-life? Write a text where you discuss these questions.

  3. Present how sex is taught in an English speaking country, and discuss whether we have something to learn from that country, or if that country would benefit from improving its sex-education.

  4. Write a humorous text about sex-education.

You may draw inspiration for your text by watching this clip from the TV show Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. Link to segment about sex-education from the TV show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Watch:

Watch the Ted Talk 'We Need a new Metaphor for Sex' by Al Vernacchio. Write a short text where you explain the theme and message of the talk.

Link to Ted Talk by Al Vernacchio.