Sex education in the classroom?
When Gaby Bär volunteers to teach sex education, her male colleagues are particularly pleased. The teacher teaches at a secondary school in the Zurich Unterland region.
According to the Federal Office of Public Health, sex education has long been «a school task that is described in the curriculum». At least in the old curriculum of the canton of Zurich, the topic of «sexuality, friendship and love» - located in the subject «religions, cultures, ethics» - was treated rather «stepmotherly», says Gaby Bär, who has been teaching sex education for ten years. The general rule is that the class teacher teaches sex education. However, this is not set in stone. «In the past, we always discussed things as a team and most people were happy when someone made themselves available,» says Gaby Bär.
«Men often have inhibitions and fear that they could be accused of something.»
Gaby Bär, teacher.
«Men in particular often have inhibitions and a certain fear that they could be accused of something.» Teachers can also call in external experts who have specialised training if they wish. This is common at secondary level 1. In French-speaking Switzerland, specialists even take over the entire sex education programme.
The new Curriculum 21 does not specify when and how often the lessons should take place. However, it does stipulate that it must take place from middle school onwards - even if there is still no separate school subject for it. The relevant topics are organised in no fewer than three subjects: «Nature, Man, Society» (NMG), «Nature and Technology» (NT) and «Ethics, Religions, Community (with Life Skills)» (ERG).
Imparting knowledge is the most important thing ...
In the subject NMG, the learning objectives are as follows: «Pupils can perceive and understand the growth and development of the human body» and «Pupils can cultivate and reflect on friendship and relationships.» It is about physical and psychological changes during growth and the connection between friendship, love and sexuality. The curriculum also states that pupils should have the opportunity to express questions and uncertainties about sexuality.
According to secondary school teacher Gaby Bär, this is the most important thing of all. «The children's level of knowledge is extremely varied. Many don't have the confidence to talk to their parents about sexuality - which I always encourage them to do.» And those who mainly look online in search of answers don't always find what they're looking for. «For example, a girl once asked why her penis gets hard at all,» says Gaby Bär. «If she had searched for this with the keywords on the internet, she would probably not only have found a real answer to her question, but also something completely different.»
The questions do not have to be asked in class. The teacher always has an open ear for her pupils, even after the lesson. They can also write their questions anonymously on slips of paper and receive an answer in class. She also takes the liberty of discussing questions and topics in another subject if the need arises. «A pupil once said in drawing class that he was having a one-night stand tonight,» she says with a laugh. «It turned out that he had mixed up the terms and actually meant a date.»
Have young people become more open and tolerant?
According to the «Nature and Technology» syllabus, pupils should «have an age-appropriate basic knowledge of human reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases and contraceptive options». So this is more about the technical part - which is still very important. «In fact, most of the questions I'm asked are about contraception, diseases or visits to the gynaecologist,» says Gaby Bär.
That leaves «Ethics, religions, community (with life skills)». The learning objective: «Pupils can reflect on relationships, love and sexuality and assess their responsibilities.» This is about sexual orientation and identity, knowing and respecting rights in dealing with sexuality and critically examining behaviour and its effects. Among other things, pornography, prostitution and sexting will also be discussed. Gaby Bär believes that this works well with «today's youth». «The way I see it, young people have become much more open and tolerant in the last ten years, for example towards other sexual orientations. And also more self-confident.»
What guidelines are given to teachers regarding sex education?
But how are these lessons actually taught? And what guidelines and instructions are given to teachers? «I have always offered my classes the opportunity to conduct individual gender-segregated lessons, but so far this has never been requested,» says Gaby Bär. She uses worksheets and some videos from the Zurich University of Teacher Education as working materials. «We always start with something playful to loosen things up,» says the secondary school teacher. «For example, I sometimes get the children to write a personal ad describing the advantages of another teenager.» This is followed by a theoretical part and, depending on the situation, a plenary discussion, group work or a game. «Sketches that they rehearse and perform go down very well, for example on the subject of buying condoms.»
Personal sexuality must not be an issue
She has never been embarrassed, says Gaby Bär. «I always make sure that neither my own nor the young people's personal sexuality is an issue,» she says. If she notices that someone is going too far in a conversation, she asks whether they would prefer to discuss it in private afterwards. And there's another thing you should always be aware of as a teacher: «It's not up to me to scrutinise backgrounds that the children bring with them from home - for example, cultural or religious backgrounds.» For example, if a girl tells her that she won't be allowed to choose her own husband one day, she doesn't criticise this as a teacher. «However, if this fact is a big problem for the girl and she turns to me about it, we have to try to find solutions together with the school social workers.»
Incidentally, she was most afraid of the parents' reactions at the beginning, admits Gaby Bär. Before each lesson, the pupils are asked to hand in an information letter at home and have it signed. Parents have the opportunity to comment. «I've been waiting anxiously for negative reactions,» says the teacher. «I've never had one so far!» On the contrary, she often hears from parents that they are happy that the issues are discussed at school so that they also have a reason to talk about them at home.
Is sex education compulsory for all children?
There is still the question of whether children can be exempted from lessons if they are dealing with sex education. There are no clear guidelines on this. But there is a clear judgement from the canton of Basel-Stadt, where two families took their request for a dispensation first to the Federal Court and finally even to the European Court of Human Rights. Last year, the Court confirmed the judgement of the Federal Court, dismissed the application and emphasised that sex education is an important part of school education.
Read more about sex education:
- How does enlightenment work today?
No generation is as enlightened as that of our children: all information is available day and night on the Internet. But what do children and young people really know about sex? What does age-appropriate sex education look like today? And what role do parents play in this?
- When and how do I talk to my child about sex? Should I wait until they ask or should I try to have the conversation myself? Practical tips for all ages.
- Five questions about love and sexuality
The first menstruation - or what do parents do when their daughter's boyfriend stays over for the first time? Questions and answers about love and sexuality from our big 100-question dossier.