It's+more+than+just+the+birds+and+the+bees

The importance of a culturally diverse approach to the delievery of Sexual education in Australian schools.

 * Cultural Artefact **

Image retrieved from Google images

The above artefact depicts a small boy in a classroom situation with his female teacher. The board states the correct statement; however a word in each line has been crossed out to infer a new meaning. The implied subject that is being taught is sexual education. The board states such lines as ‘ignorance is the best policy’, ‘knowledge is bad’ and ‘never be prepared’, suggesting the lesson of abstinence.
 * Description of Artefact **

** Central Public Health Issue **
Australia contains a population on 21 million people; of that, forty-three percent were born overseas making them of a different nationality. It is home to people who speak over 300 different languages, and proudly houses hundreds of different cultures in one nation. It is safe to say, Australia is widely multi-cultural. However while Australia’s population makes for a broad social and cultural profile; it involves many difficulties in making national policies and practices. The main public health issue that this artefact is concerned with is the importance of a culturally diverse approach to the topic of sexual education in Australian schools.

Bobby brown, Bird, 8-ball, candy and dime, are just a few things that face Australia’s youth of today. All known as code-words for drugs, these young people are experiencing the very mature issues of alcohol, cigarettes and sexual activities, in unsafe and unprotected ways. Modern society has drastically changed over the past decade, and it has undoubtedly shifted for the worst. Children once had the opportunity to be kids; now without notice they are thrown into a world of ugly and malicious things, having to face the problems of adulthood far too soon. Ten years ago, it was acceptable to say that children could be protected from the harsh messages of sexual health and safe sex until the maturity of high school. With this extreme transformation within our youth, this is no longer the case. These children are the adult’s of the future. It is the responsibilities of parents and schools to educate them now, so that the future of Australia is secure in their hands. Sexual education of some form is necessary in all schools and without it, children with seek information from uncreditable sources.

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More than half of young Australians are sexually active by the time they are sixteen (Stopes, 2009).With the current lack of education regarding sexual health, it has allowed for huge increases in the sexually transmitted infections (STI’s), teenage pregnancy and abortion rates (Stopes, 2009). The World health organisation (WHO) estimated in 1999 that 11 million Australian and New Zealand citizens were diagnosed with a curable STI. As no single organisation regularly collects statistics on STI’s, 1999 is the most recent data available //(Avert, 2011).// This major boost in STI’s has allowed for the previously decreasing disease of HIV/AIDs to become prevalent again in society. This is not only due to the fact that contracting an STI increases a person’s risk of HIV, but it is also because throughout the 70’s and 80’s safe sex and anti-HIV information streamed the media daily. Recently as rates of HIV/AIDS were going down, safety messages decreased and become obsolete for youth //(Avert, 2011).// In Australia, there is no comprehensive sex education syllabus. This means that while there are broad policy statements that set curriculum standards, individual schools are given a lot of freedom to teach whatever they feel is relevant. There is also no requirement for when, and at what age, sex education should begin (VIC Government, 2011).Studies conducted on the topic have shown that teachers all over Australia are feeling the pressure of having their lessons monitored by the government and the community. Some think that there is not enough time put aside to deal with such an important subject, and others seem relieved to sidestep the issue(VIC Government, 2011). Either way – there is no assurance that students will have sufficient sexual knowledge by the time they leave school. Many people argue that if sex education provides options other than abstinence and that more young people will become sexually active. Research has shown that assumption may not be as logical as it sounds. An journal article written by Gail Hawkes, discusses not only the issue of providing sexual education to children, but that children have to right to have sexual curiosity and the right to want to safely experiment. This article supports the movement further in that, it is natural to seek correct information on desires. It grounds the topic as this is an issue that cannot be ignored completely as it is the child’s wish to explain their urges and discuss in a safe environment the facts.=====

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Some Catholic schools do not believe in sexual education and therefore there are many students who aren’t becoming fully informed on risks associated. Similarly there are many other cultures, whose beliefs do not allow for children to be educated of such a topic. Taken from an article by Thomas Dolan, on the topic of Sex Education in catholic school he writes that “It is apparently assumed, by those who prepare these programs that young people are going to engage in premarital sexual activity. This attitude, in itself, is psychologically devastating. A Christian society should expect its young people to be moral, and a Catholic school should be particularly positive in expecting this, and positive in its teaching of virtue”. While this view is based on Catholic foundations, it is naive to believe that teaching teenager’s abstinence or not allowing them access to sex education will stop them from partaking in such acts. Modern society has drastically changed and it is the responsibility of parents and schools to improve information so that it is current and relevant. Due to Australia’s multiculturalism, it suggests that most schools will be faced with the issue of children of various races and religions to be present in classes. Therefore it is imperative that the information is culturally diverse and respectful for appropriate cultures. However, by no means should presence of different cultures be a reason to neglect this subject. While it is important to be culturally respectful of some aspects, despite religion, teenagers are always going to be curious. It is essential that all young people are presented with the simple facts such as safe sex in such a way that abides by cultural beliefs. A journal article discussing adolescent sexual health contains that “Becoming a sexually healthy adult is a key developmental task of adolescence. Achieving sexual health requires the integration of psychological, physical, societal, cultural, educational, economic, and spiritual factors.”(Monasterio, 2009). It continues to state the National commission on adolescent sexual health consensus statement of “Sexual health encompasses sexual development and reproductive health, as well as such characteristics as the ability to develop and maintain meaningful interpersonal relationships; appreciate one’s own body; interact with both genders in respectful and appropriate ways; and express affection, love, and intimacy in ways consistent with one’s own values.”(Monasterio, 2009).=====

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With sexual health becoming such a widespread and risky issue, school-based education may be the only way to ensure that sexual education is covering all the essential issues. The only limitation encountered with the above methodologies is the necessity for cultural awareness for children of different backgrounds within schools. However the information can be adjusted to include all essential information, without breaking religious and cultural beliefs. While it is of great importance to be respectful, the health and well-being of Australia’s youth is more significant. In the end, the embarrassment of speaking about the birds and the bees in classrooms could mean that the youth of Australian stay sexually safe, informed and healthy.=====

This population health issue is of major concern to society. It is crucial to consider the culture of society in addressing this health issue, in order to resolve the problem in the best fashion for the whole nation. The philosopher, social scientist, historian and revolutionary, Karl Marx, is without a doubt the most influential socialist thinker to emerge in the 19th century. After his death in 1883, his social, political and economic theories gained great acceptance in the socialist movement. One of his greatest theories discusses Marx’s believe that society was made up of different classes. He deemed that certain groups sought to dominate and exploit others for their own means. He went on to write about the divisions between class, gender, race, and ethnicity and believed that we needed a revolution to overthrow the capitalism and get rid of these gross inequalities. This theory of class’s can be applied to the population health issue of inadequate sexual health education for children. Based on the fact of a child’s race or ethnicity, they are being denied the basic human rights of education on sexual health. While it is important to be respectful of different cultures, there is a point where necessity outweighs beliefs. There is gross inequalities in the fact that most Australian schools should be providing basic information about safe sexual experiences, but are not due to race and religious belief, in the hope that if children don’t know about it, they won’t experiment. In a more abstract context, Marx’s theory can be applied to the point that the higher classes, the parents and elders, are exploiting the lower classes, the children, with scare tactics and false information, in an attempt to decrease sexual activity. Ethically, as Marx spoke about, this has a devastating effect on society’s sexual health and comparatively on the relationship with children and parents. The affects carry onto further problems in that, just like in Marx’s time, the lower class or children eventually rebel and fight against the ruling classes in order to seek what they want. Health experts need to focus on this issue not only within Australia but worldwide as youth will always be curious and ultimately will seek the facts they require. As discussed above the long-term effects of neglect of this topic are disastrous, creating a generation of tomorrow who is unprepared. Disregard to this major population health problem will ultimately result in higher STD rates, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and even alter the social and economic status of Australia.

In relation to my chosen artefact, this is a representation of out-dated thinking. It can be applied to modern day schools, in that due to the diverse society and not wanting to go against beliefs, it is better to be ignorant than knowledgeable on the issue. The picture states a line that is being used for schools Australia wide “Never be prepared”. This personally appealed to me as it shows that adults and parents are going for the naïve approach that if they don’t inform teenagers, that they won’t seek the facts or part-take in sexual activities. This piece of assessment has allowed me to take a picture that evoked emotion within me and apply it to an abstract way of thinking. I was able to take the theory and put it into a real, everyday context. I believe it will affect my future learning, as now I have to ability to take what I have learnt in the lectures and tutes and put in into practice.

** Reference List ** Avert, (2011). STD Statistics Worldwide, Retrieved from [] Dolan. T.(1994). Sex Education and Catholic schools, Retrieved from [] Egan, R, Danielle, RD, and Hawkes, G (2007) Producing the Prurient through the Pedagogy of Purity: Childhood Sexuality and the Social Purity. Movement Journal of Historical Sociology 20 (4), 443–461 Hawkes,G. (2009) . Developing the sexual child, Journal of historical sociology //21:4, 443-465. doi// 10.1111/j.1467-6443.2008.00345.x Mandel. E, (1995). The basic theories of Karl Marx, Ernest Mandel’s Archive’s. retrieved from [] Stopes, M.(2009). Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, Retrieved from [] Victoria government.(2011). Sexual Education for primary school children, Retrieved from [],
 * Pardini.P** **//, //**Rethinking schools. (2011). Federal Law Mandates Abstince Only Sex-education. Retrieved from [|http://www.rethinkingschools.org/sex/sexmain.shtml\]