Assigned:
1. How should we address sexuality in middle schools (puberty age)?
I believe it is important to have a program which consistently teaches sixth through eighth graders human sexuality issues. Initially, this program would cover from a biological perspective, topics such as the changes young people go through hormonally. It would, by seventh grade cover issues of human sexuality.
The program should be taught each year in the form of a health class. This serves two purposes: 1. It will ensure that every student is exposed to this important information; 2. It will become less tabu as the students become more familiar with the terms and topics in a school setting.
Some topics could be taught every year. I would say the purpose behind sex as being reproduction might be a good thing to point out every year. I say this because often times society, through movies, television and advertising, show sexuality as something that is recreational. While this is not untrue in todays world, sex can often lead to pregnancy. This should not be a surprise to anyone, after all that is its biological function. By seventh grade, topics such as safe sex should be covered. I would love to believe that an abstinence program could be successful (I will do some research on Elaine Bennett's program over my Fall break), at the same time, 900,000 teenagers become pregnant every year,so the topic must be covered.
The program should also include information about how these early hormonal changes may make a person think, at an early age, they could be homosexual. I believe some people are born as homosexuals and some become confused by experiences they have during their formative years. I think it would be a good idea to develop a way to convey this effectively, without passing judgement on whether it is good or bad to be either heterosexual or homosexual. I just would hate for a young person to miss out on the opportunity to have a family because of a misunderstanding of their adolescence.
As a side note, whether they are born with that inclination or not, by the time they are an adult, if that is how they are comfortable, I believe we should be supportive of their right to make choices for themselves.
2.What role do media, church, and shopping centers play in Gender Socialization?
I don't know which came first, the media or our desire to sit on the couch and be controlled by them, but the media certainly has an influence on most of our lives. From footbal on Mondays, Saturdays, and Sundays to weekly situational comedies, to the advertising in between, if one's not careful, these things could certainly take up enough of one's time to have a big effect on one's role in their family and opinions of how the world is.
I have heard it said that the church promotes women submitting to their husbands; however, it has been my experience, in the current state of society, this has changed in many church communities. The institution may preach from the pulpit that men should be the spiritual head of the household, and I believe that would be ideal, at the same time, I see something very different in my experience with faithful women.
Almost all of the women I know work and almost every single women I know, even if they don't work, is the leader when it comes to arranging volunteer work, going to mass, and nurturing the community around her and her family. I don't think it is the church that assigns men and women their roles. It seems to me we have instinctive characteristics which can't be denied. I don't mean to say that we are all prone to exactly the same roles according to gender. Of course there are exceptions and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Be yourself, I always say. At the same time, in my experience men and women, more often than not, tend to have distinct differences in their tendencies.
As for shopping centers, it is the advertising in the windows that certainly puts forth the image they think is ideal. This certainly effects what people, including the teens who explore the malls to pass the time and socialize, see as the ideal man, woman, or teen. As a parent, I have learned it is best to limit my daughter's exposure to the mall.
3. What is sexism? How can we address it in the classroom?
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on sex. One way to address sexism is to first make children aware of what it is. Then, have the children complete a project where each of them finds a man or woman in society, either one they know or one they find through research, that has a job which they thought was typically one done by the opposite gender. Another way to address sexism would be to have the students bring in an article, relating to sexism or how someone has overcome it, and give a brief oral or written summary of the piece to the class. This project was inspired by an interesting article I was reading the other day. It contained interviews of the 18 women who were Prime Minister or President of their country. It was fascinating.
4. How should sexual orientation be addressed in public schools? Private schools?
I need to do more research on this subject, however, I do believe it should be addressed. In public school they could certainly address it in the health class I proposed above. I think it is important to share the different factors that have been shown to cause this variation in a persons sexual orientation. While being mindful not to offend a person who feels it is their natural state to be oriented toward the same sex, I would want the instructor to address issues of sexual experimentation at a young age as being, possibly, just that experimentation, not necessarily their permanent preference. At the same time, being very clear that human nature is an interesting and complex issue and one should be thoughtful in their process of becoming their true self.
In some private schools parents are paying to have their religious beliefs promoted. In this case, I would expect them to address it in a somewhat different way. They could share their particular perspective, I would hope in a way that is respectful of any child having questions about their sexual orientation, and then still address the possible reasons a person may feel they are homosexual.
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