[Mannosuke]

Did your school teach sex education? If so, what year.
If not, did you learn it anywhere else?

In general, do you think sex education is an important part of the curriculum?

[Starian]

I've been out of school for about 5 years...gotta go way back...

I think we learned about basic conception, abstinence, and a condom demonstration on a cucumber in 7th grade(1997).
I do think it is an important part of the school curriculum, but it should not be.

Sex education is the responsibility of parents, not the school. I think it's unfortunate that parents these days are so squeamish about teaching their children about reproduction. It's natural, nothing to be ashamed of. You need to teach children more than "don't do it."

Even sex education classes are lacking...there is always outcry from parents about teaching them too much.

When you understand something you're more likely to make informed choices about it.

[kansaieito]

back when i was in school we had it. 8th grade if i remember correctly. I think they're offering it sooner now though since lots of middle school chicks are having babies. 0___0

i still think its more important that parents have these talks before their kids start middle school and let the school curriculum supplement what the parents teach at home.

[eternal_bliss]

Even sex education classes are lacking...there is always outcry from parents about teaching them too much.

I agree. It seems like the teachers are wary of teaching too much in case there's a backlash from the parents. Like when a someone young ends up pregnant, parents use public education as a scapegoat.

My memory is a bit fuzzy on exactly when I had sex ed but I do remember it was pretty inadequate. I don't remember anything about condoms or really any other form of contraption. It was more on puberty, peer pressure, and the effects of pregnancy and even those topics were brief. It was only for like two days, after school and parents could choose to opt-out. I'm pretty sure that happened at the end of fifth grade. The topic of conception was incorporated into health classes in middle school and STDs were talked about in high school. (Which is honestly too late since some seventh/eighth graders were already sexually active.) The funny thing is that not once did we actually discuss the act of sexual intercourse itself until it was way too late. Most of us either got it from our parents or somehow figured it out, whether through friends or something else. In hindsight, I feel it was very incomplete and I didn't benefit much.

My parents never taught me about sex or gave me the 'sex talk'. No birds and the bees or anything. Nothing about puberty either. I don't think that they were scared of teaching me but rather, they didn't care much for the topic. Maybe it was not important to them. So it wasn't mentioned. I discovered what sex was when I somehow discovered cosmo when I was 7/8 (?). Lots of sexually explicit stuff. And of course, I got curious. The dictionary can be a great help in that aspect. The definitions and pictures I've seen eventually led me to piece everything together. And that knowledge made me very uncomfortable since I didn't know if it was 'okay' to know. I had questions and I was confused.

I think sex ed in general is a very important thing to learn, not just in school but at home too. Being informed beforehand is not necessarily a cure-all but it's better than trial and error. Ignoring these issues will not make them go away. Parents need to teach their kids how to be responsible for themselves. They should be the primary provider of information in addition with what's taught in schools. I think it would have been better if my parents talked to me about it. Explained to me about puberty before the school talked about it. Talked to me about sex, etc. Because to this day, I don't feel comfortable turning to my parents on anything sex-related (especially when they put me on the pill) and never have I actually talked to them about puberty.

Woah, I typed a lot.

[duckgoquack]

i think i might've gotten some semblance of a sex ed class in seventh or eighth grade, but the teachers just kind of danced around the topic instead of just saying anything useful. in junior year of high school, a really spirited seventy year-old-woman came from planned parenthood to talk about not abstinence but practicing safe sex, which i think is the best way to go about it. she mentioned types of contraceptives, STDs, where to go for checkups, etc. but i think eleventh grade is pretty late to have that kind of talk, so the school system is kind of lacking in this area. but i also agree with the others that this really shouldn't be the school's job, though parents seem to fail in a lot of their duties.

[kwalkinz]

Nope. Not at all. My parents never brought up puberty or sex either. We were suppose to learn about it last year in health class but we never did. I think we'll learn about it this year (in high school) though. But its kinda late because more than half the kids in my grade lost their virginity in 7th or 8th grade.

[MythnoonA]

but i think eleventh grade is pretty late to have that kind of talk, so the school system is kind of lacking in this area. but i also agree with the others that this really shouldn't be the school's job, though parents seem to fail in a lot of their duties.

that's one of the problems--some parents don't want to talk about it, or they don't think it's necessary---or they think talking about it will make their kids more likely to do stuff they shouldn't. We learned about periods and what our bodies would go through in 5th grade--they got all the 5th yr (11/12 yr olds) in the library, and covered the windows so the boys couldn't see, It was 10th grade where we learned the other stuff (we got the talk and a book when I was 5 or 6)-- I remember during one class they showed video of a birth, and one of the girls fainted and slid off her chair. >< I think 10th grade was late at that time--I agree that they should start earlier. Maybe even 6th grade with basic stuff, because things are happening even earlier than 7th grade these days--and with a lot of kids, that still might be too late. ><

[Humilious]

5th-7th grade we had sex ed. we never learned about condoms or abstinence or anything. just the anatomy and functions of the reproductive systems. plus menstrual cycles and such. but that was about it.

[Meenuh]

I took sex ed sometime in elementary. I think around 5th grade.. i'm not sure. All they covered was the basics about what changes to expect and they had it seperately for boys and girls.

Then in highschool (or maybe jr. high.. since my school was jr high & highschool in one so it's hard to tell) I had sex ed again. Not sure what grade but that is when they went into specifics. STDs, birth control, condoms, and things like the morning after pill. It wasn't just about sex though. It was about life in general like quality of life and what not. It's been a long time so I can't really quite remember.

We even watched videos of births.. that was.. not cool. Right before lunch too. Lol.

[cocainerror]

I learned about it first time ever 6th grade. Sex education started when I was a freshmen in high school. Now I'm starting my first year in college.

Nowadays kids know such things as early as 5th grade while I didn't realize what sex was till high school. Hahhaa. Even though I learned about these things in 6th grade, I didn't think I'd grow up ever.

[adiavoy]

I learned in uh.. 5th and 7th grade? In 5th they never actually explained what sex was or what the consequences of having it. They just.. taught the body parts and how puberty was going to hit us. I remember the teacher putting up cartoons of nude people too o___o yeah like that was going to teach us anything. In 7th grade they just put on a video of STD's and the facts about each STD... yeah.. never learned much from that. In 9th grade they're teaching us.. nothing about safe sex, only teaching us about abstinence and emphasizing it on every page. My parents never taught me jack about sex or puberty... I kind of.. learned from Glamour magazine hahaha.

[lidolaydeej]

I learned it in school, I think starting in grade 6?
Personally, Im glad I learned it from school than from my dad, that would've been very awkward for me. But either way its important to be educated about this stuff. The more information they know the better. Than they can make the decision if they want to have sex or not, knowing everything they need to know.

[rawr! :3]

we learned about this in 8th grade then in highschool, one semester of health within the whole 4 years of highschool..
my parents just said to use protection, be careful, and try to stay pure as long as you can lol

[twix0rz]

I learned it in 6th grade. Right after we finished the sex ed classes i got my period so i am glad i learned the stuff. We only learned about how the body goes through puberty and body anatomy. We never learned anything about sex itself, birth control, condoms, and etc. I didn't have any class about this topic after 6th grade. So the other stuff i just read in books or from older friends etc.

I am glad they teach it. It is a helpful course.

[choppsueyy!]

to be honest, i think sex ed is unecessary.
and i also think it's ironic that even with all this sex ed, the percentage of pregnant teens has increased and there has been an outbreak of stds among teenagers.

Sex education is the responsibility of parents, not the school. I think it's unfortunate that parents these days are so squeamish about teaching their children about reproduction. It's natural, nothing to be ashamed of. You need to teach children more than "don't do it."

exactly.
learning about the human body and it's functions is one thing, but i think that whole sex part is just crap.

[Mannosuke]

to be honest, i think sex ed is unecessary.
and i also think it's ironic that even with all this sex ed, the percentage of pregnant teens has increased and there has been an outbreak of stds among teenagers.

I don't think that has anything to do with sex ed really.

[emma007]

Sex Ed should not be the schools responsibility. Parents need to step it up, be parents, and teach their children about it! Simples as that!

[Bill Mayor]

If I can remember right, we never have sex education subject. But we do have subject that teaches the anatomy of human body both male and female. In that subject includes how a baby is being developed, but never the real sex act. I know by myself that sex is for married people, not for teenager or grown up who are not married yet.

[es623]

first in primary school in yr 6. then again at high school in yr 7. then about contraception and consequences in yr 10.
the kids need to feel normal about their changing bodies and be able to discuss and ask questions openly to a professional.

[Everlasting Melody;]

I learned it in 8th and 9th grade =___=
Why must I learn it two times??