Sex education is often overlooked within the curriculum. With the pressure of differing opinions and the need to accommodate all beliefs it is easy to brush it off as a private topic that can be taught outside of the classroom. In Jen Gilbert’s article “Getting dirty and coming clean: Sex education and the problem of expertise”, she discusses possible impacts of excluding sex education from the curriculum and how the lack of inclusivity regarding gender and sexuality can create unsafe situations for students both in and out of the classroom.
Jen Gilbert starts by discussing a case she provided an expert opinion on where a trangender grade six student was suing the government for replacing a new curriculum with a dated one that excluded any discussion about sexuality or gender. A conservative party came into office and removed the updated curriculum that was previously released, “replacing it with an antiquated 1998 curriculum” (Gilbert, 2021, p. 456). Sex education is a controversial topic but the well-being of the students is often overlooked and pressures from conservative and religious opinions become more important. Gilbert argues that curriculum needs to be inclusive and recognize that sexual activity will occur, we just need to teach the students how to be safe. Inclusive language should be a part of the curriculum from the start and students should feel safe and informed at an age-appropriate pace (2021, p. 457).
I plan to continue this assignment by reading more deeply into the topic of sex education in the curriculum. I will do this by finding more articles and resources and make note of the contrast and similarities between them. I may end up replacing this article as it loses relevance about my topic towards the end but I still believe it is a good starting place for this assignment.
References
Gilber, J. (2021). Getting dirty and coming clean: Sex education and the problem of expertise. Curriculum Inquiry, 51(4), p. 455-472, https://doi-org.libproxy.uregina.ca/10.1080/03626784.2021.1947732
This is an extremely well written summary of the article and the important points within, I am curious as to what teachers felt during this and their stance on the curriculum implemented. Very interesting read.
This is great. I also did this topic and I agree that it is tiptoed around needs to be spoken about more openly. I think maybe next time mention how this will effect students in the long run if they aren’t properly taught about sex Ed. I like how you kept it short and straight to the point and awsnered the questions throughly. Good job Jordan.
Hello Jordyn, I thoroughly enjoyed your blog post. As someone who also choose to discuss Jen Gilbert’s influence on sexual education in the curriculum. It was nice to see what other opinions were gained from her research and articles. As other examples stood out to me from research, differing from yours. Next time, to make your blog post stronger, choose to be more forward and confident in your ending statements. As a reader it almost felt like you lost a little momentum in the example you choose to discuss. Although I believe it was a great building block for your future paper!
This topic of sex education is one that is very interesting in todays day and age, society has changed so much and I do think it is right for a change to be made when it comes to sex education. I am curious what you think should be done when it comes to this topic. Overall this is an interesting post.
What an amazing article and fresh perspective, I agree with you in the thought of how governments should not be able to manipulate the curriculum in schools based on their own stance in a 4-year long power hold. How do you think as a society we change this ruling, based on the information provided by the article it is looking as though there us very little that individuals can do. I only ask because the governments especially in the USA right now or very opposed to one another and almost 50% of the population is extremely unhappy with every reelection. Seeing a young 6-year-old stand up for themselves and their peers against a government that is pressing her makes me believe that there is hope in this world, but I wonder for how long we can hold out.
Thank you!