Teachers union suggests teaching kids as young as 10 about porn.
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A UK teachers union is suggesting that pornography should be part of the national curriculum, and be taught to children as young as ten, reports the Daily Mail.
The reasoning behind the National Association of Headteachers’ motivation is that primary schools should educate kids about porn, as children are exposed to porn on the internet, and this is where they are increasingly accessing ‘sex education’.
Updating sex-ed
In addition, they suggest that sex education guidelines are ‘out of date’, and that lessons would be age-appropriate.
Reactions to the possible-porn classes (where children would be educated about different kinds of porn (and presumably how to avoid it) have been predictably mixed, with some saying that introducing the concept of porn into the classroom is totally abhorrent, and will sexualise children rather than educate them, while others are responding positively, but with caution, and agreeing that it’s not suitable anymore to patronise kids and talk about ‘making a baby’.
Some parents say they’d welcome the support from schools, as they wouldn’t know what to do if they discovered their kids had been accessing porn at home, but others say they’ll either insist that their kids opt out of the classes or remove them from the school entirely.
There is a general agreement that teaching the basic biology of sex is totally appropriate (although even this is debated in terms of the ages of the kids being taught), however, the controversial ‘porn classes’ are unlikely to gain mass acceptance.
Sex education in SA?
This is in the UK, where the kids are exposed to different social challenges to South African kids, but at the heart of the debate are relevant points being made: Kids can (and do) access porn on their smart phones, and also pick up skewed ideas about sexuality from porn, often at a very young age.
Do you think educating kids about the risks of porn is appropriate?
By: Scott Dunlop