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Education - imparting knowledge - is a joint responsibility of parents,teachers and schools. It is more important in today's environment of ultra-fast electronic, radio, TV and other types of communications.
Sensitivity, with care and understanding towards parents who have a critical role in the process and who may wish to approach this topic in their own ways, is essential.
Sex education is essential and is an unavoidable subject. Children are exposed to sex from a very early age, therefore, providing correct information and dispelling common myths is necessary.
If we don't teach children, they might learn from strange or corrupt sources to the detriment of society as a whole.
Some of the suggestions made by the education ministry in Ontario are not well thought out, and need to be revised. The mental development of children is variable by age. The nitty-gritty of sexual orientations, birth control, anal intercourse, vaginal lubrication, personal issues to children in Grade 6 and 7 is not a well considered education.
The teaching of sex education certainly includes information on anatomy, physiology, and sociology; however, a key part of the equation that cannot be neglected is spirituality.
Morality, which is often drawn from our religious beliefs, plays a critical role in the forming of our attitudes towards sex. For example, in the Sikh faith, any sort of sexual activity outside marriage is strictly forbidden. Any sex education would be incomplete without this critical information.
Of course, the public school system is unable to impart that kind of education as our schools teach students from every part of the world and from every faith, who may have very different attitudes and beliefs regarding sex.
This creates a dilemma: how can sexual education be provided to students in the absence of religion-specific education on the issue of sexual morality? Clearly, parents must have a role in imparting that information to their children, and any curriculum in schools must be developed jointly by educators and parent groups.
Ajit Singh Sahota is a founding member of the Sikh National Archives of Canada; he was president of the World Sikh Organization of Canada from 2001 to 2005.
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