Sexual Education

Sexual Education. Under this concept is usually understood the sum of organized pedagogical influences on the developing psyche for the purpose of forming conscious sexual behavior. As a definite system of educational moments, the sum of organized influences constitutes the subject of the so-called sexual pedagogy. This term should not be understood in isolation from general pedagogy or even in opposition to it. Moreover, we include in this concept the whole sum of influences that indirectly determine the sexual behavior of the growing organism, and thus sexual pedagogy is inseparable from the 'general system of upbringing.' The tasks of sexual education (sexual pedagogy) are to raise a sexually healthy young generation capable of subordinating its sexual behavior to the interests of its class and the needs of socialist construction. The problem of sexual education has a long history, which in essence is the history of the struggle for a free school, for healthy upbringing, a struggle against bourgeois hypocritical morality and hypocrisy. For centuries, up to the very recent time, it was considered reprehensible to inform children and adolescents about questions of sex. Natural childish curiosity remained unsatisfied and had to seek contraband paths or was directed along a false path of concealment, silence, and deception (the notorious tales about storks, etc.). Pedagogical literature of the last 30-40 years (in Russia up to the revolution) illustrates the fierce struggle that raged around this question. Progressive educators who were supporters of sexual education were counted in units, and even among them there was no complete agreement on the scope and methods of sexual education, nor a clear, consistent exposition of this system. In Soviet conditions, this problem must be considered fundamentally resolved and no longer causing doubts and objections regarding its very formulation, although in the part of practical implementation undoubtedly still little has been done. The first interest in the sexual appears in children quite early and is conditioned primarily by observations of the surroundings and everyday impressions. This position should by no means be understood in the spirit of Freud's theory of childhood hypersexuality, which of course distorts the character of child development, leading to the crudest methodological errors of the theory of pansexuality. Certain influences are found to be, as a rule, independent of the desires and intentions of the educating persons (parents, teachers, etc.) by the whole surrounding life, everyday childhood experience, childhood observations of parents, brothers, sisters, animals, etc. The life of animals (dogs, cats, chickens, etc.), conversations of adults, unfortunately not hesitating in the presence of children, sometimes even sexual intercourse in the presence of children, -- all this already in preschool age acts in a certain way on children, awakening in them a number of questions requiring their satisfaction. To characterize the conditions for obtaining the first information about sexual life, the following data can be cited: Age of receiving information in this process. Sex Age Men abs. Women abs. % According to Gurievich and Grosser Up to 10 years . . 10 » 11-12 years 13-14

» 15-16

» 17-18

» 19-20

» Later 20

» 12,2 8,0 17,5 20,6 22,6 12,5 4,4 1,6 According to GISS Up to 8 years . . 8-11 years 12-13 » 14-15 ь ' 16-17 » Later 18 » 6,0 29,8 27,6 23,8 11,3 1,4 10 35 45 45 47 18 6,5 7.2 15.0 18.2 21.6 19.2 9.6 2.7 5.0 17.5 23.0 22.0 24.0 8.5 Source of first information about sexual life: comrades and girlfriends in boys 71.7%, in girls 58.3%, parents- 5.9% and 6.6%, servants-5.9% and 10.3%, school- 32.8% and 16.0% (according to GISS data), and according to Gurievich and Grosser in the first case (comrades and girlfriends) we have 79.7% (for boys) and 61% (for girls), and received information from parents and teachers only 6% of boys and 10.8% of girls. By the object of application, one can outline, on the one hand, sexual education of preschoolers, schoolchildren, adolescents, the content of which is determined by age features of sexual development; by the place of application- sexual education in the family, at school and out-of-school forms (pioneer work, etc.). This determines the methods of work, which will be different depending on the object and place of work. Purely conventionally, one can distinguish sexual education and sexual enlightenment, implying the latter as the communication of information about sexual life. Of course, in no case should one oppose one concept to another, since the second is only a part of the first. The methods of work will be clearly visible in the further consideration of individual moments. One general prerequisite should be made- the accounting of psychological factors. Unfortunately, in school conditions, individualization of the approach seems difficult. Meanwhile, accounting for the features of a separate child, his home environment, existing representations, psychological make-up must have great importance. The main content of the work should be predominantly biological bases of sexual life. Therefore, children's acquaintance should begin with what is close and understandable to them, what they can observe in nature--the reproduction of plants and animals. It is precisely such a natural-scientific approach that allows one to build sexual education on the most healthy foundations, eliminating any deliberate and unhealthy specificity, which is often introduced when the sexual life of man is illuminated in isolation. For preschool age, the main rule of sexual education should be the following: never to run ahead and not to push the child in his interest in the sexual, but only to satisfy his curiosity, honestly answering his questions. However, this position on honesty should hardly be understood so as to tell the child the whole truth to the end, since for a preschool child knowledge of excessive details of sexual relations can play a reverse role, provoking sexual excitability. Therefore, children should be answered only what is necessary, without delving into excessive details, without which one can do. The amount of information communicated should be in strict correspondence with the general idea of the surrounding world. For the first stage of sexual education at school, it can in essence be reduced to the communication of basic biological data, leaving the social side of sexual education for the last groups of the second stage (7-8th year of study). In this case, in the first stage, information about sex should by no means be highlighted in any way, but should be communicated in the general complex of nature study. Along with the communication of information about sexual life, it is necessary to note the important role in Soviet school conditions of the collective and its organization in sexual-pedagogical terms. In contrast to the conditions of child development in the capitalist world with a sexually saturated literature, art, new way of life, the pioneer movement, joint upbringing, polytechnical school with its labor education, physical culture movement- all this is a powerful educational factor for switching sexual orientation into the channels of other interests. Great importance in the system of sexual education has the so-called sexual dietetics (the term proposed by Eilenburg), such as: healthy nutrition without excessive spices and other stimulating substances, clothing that does not cause mechanical irritation, etc. The question of conductors of sexual education appears as especially important. Each of the three possible forces here has its tasks. The main force should be educators. Only then will it be possible not to tear questions of sexual education out of the general complex of educational influences. However, this requires a certain special preparation of educators, which the majority of workers of the first stage do not possess. Therefore, it should be recognized as necessary, on the one hand, to illuminate the methodology and content of sexual education in pedagogical technical schools, on the other- special briefing of existing pedagogical personnel. And here, as well as in conducting work with parents, the role of doctors as persons possessing the necessary biological preparation appears. Regarding the independent work of doctors on sexual education in school (even if only OZDiP doctors), one should speak negatively, since classes with a stranger will create an undesirable wariness in children. The only thing that is possible is individual, quite intimate conversations with individual schoolchildren in connection with their requests or in cases requiring medical intervention, for example, when masturbation is detected. A large place should be allotted to parents. No one can replace the positive (and sometimes negative) influence of the family on the child in the matter of his sexual education. Only in the family environment is it possible to have an intimate educational influence on the child, based on the accounting of his individual features. Unfortunately, the family to this day is little occupied with this most important educational moment, which is conditioned by the illiteracy of parents in questions of sexual education. Hence the entire relevance, unfolded by the work of doctors with parents. Technical means of sexual education, which can be used in work, are reduced to visual aids- teaching tables on reproduction, a set of plants or their models, diapositives.