SEX EDUCATION AT SCHOOL

Today we have talked about sexual education at schools and within the family.

It is a fact that children receive a lot of the sexual information from internet but most of the times it is  pornographic and biaised and what is worse, there is a great danger of finding sexual predators.

In Great Britain, the government has been trying to put into place some kind of compulsory sexual  education but so far there are only some recommendations for the primary and  secondary school which are only timid approaches to the real needs of our children.

For instance,  more contraception information is crucial to avoid unwanted pregnancies. And we  can't forget the importance of consent in a sexual relationship; a clear case of no valid consent is if the girl is drunk; another one is not to mix up a woman dressing in a "provocative" manner and giving consent.

So, the first problem we encounter is that some parents are against sexual education because of their religion or their traditional way of thinking. Catholic or Muslim families, old generations and rich tend to be more conservative and traditionalist. At school they can ask for their children of being "excused" from attending these sexual lessons.

The second one is related to what to teach. In Spain, for instance, the anatomy and fonction of  the  sexual organs and reproduction are studied in the subject of biology but there is no specification about sexual health and contraception. However, sexual education is more than that with more embarring topics such as sexual pleasure, free consent in sexual encounters, musturbation, how to use a condom, heterosexuality versus homosexuality or abortion.

In Spain, from time to time an expert is invited to give a session about practical sexual issues in the secondary school.

The third issue is if we would be embarrassed if we had to give sexual education to our students, if we would be well prepared to do so and if we would be unbiaised enough and not let our beliefs to  interfere with this task.

In the Scandinavian countries, sometimes a prostitute is engaged to give this kind of courses since  these people are in fact "experts of sex". How would Spanish people react if we did the same thing in Spain?

As you can see, sexual education is a complex topic and I firmly believe that we need more information and strategies of how to tackle this topic in class.

IS HOMOSEXUALITY A LEARNED BEHAVIOUR ?

Let's watch the video first.

The sexual orientation of the parents does not have any relation with the balance and sexual  orientation of their child.

HOW LGTB STUDENTS FEEL AT SCHOOL

       Some words:

• It's scary
• School  is hard
• Harassment
• I dread school
• To be bullied
• Others complain
• to be different
• To have faith in 
• to speak my mind
• Gay-straight alliance

         Nowadays, LGTB students are more and more accepted  in our schools. However there are still some groups of students that bully this sort of students. I believe that it is our duty to identify these groups in  order to neutralise them  and to teach them other positive visions about LGTB people.

• To feel alone
• to live in a lie
• To be honest with oneself
• Not to have the support of one's family
• To build the resiliency

TRANSGENDER AND BATHROOMS AT SCHOOL

The problem is that this boy is not allowed to use the boys washroom. The issue could be easily  resolved if there were unisex washrooms, don't you agree?

ABOUT AUTISM

I strongly recommend you this site to learn more in a funny way about how to deal with autist children

https://suburpcomix.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/breathe-deeply-and-count-to-10/

STAGES TO IDENTIFY STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISORDERS AND SPECIAL NEEDS

In  England  there are four stages:

1. Assesment.
1. You are put in a waiting list.
2. A team of specialists will assess the child in order to find out what is the problem and to  make a correct diagnosis.
2. A plan
1.  A specific plan is made for the child
2. Which are their needs, and supports in the class. 
1. It must be decided if it is preferable to attend to a special school or  to attend  an  ordinary school with some extra supports such a speech therapist or a support teacher, a special computer, a braille machine or a microphone.
3. Determine which contents are more suitable for this person.
1. For example, if there is a person with a Down syndrome, there are some contents which must be prioritised such as to increase independent skills such as to take the bus or to dealing with money in a shop.
3. To carry out the plan
4. To  review the results

SENCO  means Special Educational Needs Coordinator.

In Spain, the process is similar. There is a first assessment before starting in a primary school. Sometimes the recommendation is to attend a special school but most of the time the preferable option is the choice of an ordinary school in order to facilitate social inclusion.

Then there is a counselor in primary and secondary schools who coordinates all the needs of these children. Most of the time these chilcren are in the classroom with their classmates, but sometimes  they attend special lessons with a support teacher in small groups.

But, talking about inclusion, the question which apears over and over again is: 

• Is a French or mathematics teacher, por instance, prepared to really teach these students?
• And even in this case, have they really the time to take care of them in a proper way without neglecting the rest of the class?

To end this post, click  here  to watch a little comic.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AUTISM AND VACCINS

     Some people believe that some vaccins, such as  the MMR,  thatt is to say, measles, mups and  rubela, can produce autism. However, there are not cientific studies which can prove this statement.

      There is a sort of trend to be against vaccins in general and this has generated a great controversy in our society. It is argued that mass vaccination increases immunulogic problems such as allergies and asthma because the body isn't using its immune system properly since there are no infections to  fight against and as a consequence, this immune system attacks our  body instead. In any case, thanksto vaccins, a  lot of human lifes have been saved and some dangerous diseases, such as smallpox  have been  wiped out.