Newsworthy Sex - Vol 1: Sex education in the schools

We are bombarded by sex every day.  All we have to do is turn on the tv, listen to the radio, flip through a magazine ... you get the picture.  Unfortunately, most of the sex we see and hear about is unrealistic, scandalous, or even downright ridiculous.

So, I'm on the hunt for real, newsworthy sex.

Today, I am featuring a fascinating video clip from CBC Archives, entitled "Sex education in the schools".  This Canadian clip was aired on Oct. 23, 1969.  The clip is over 26 minutes long and very informative.

I find it fascinating that so many issues we're struggling with now - what to teach kids about sex in schools, how young is too young, whether this kind of education is appropriate, and whether to even teach sex ed in schools - are the issues discussed in this clip over 40 years ago.

This clip features teachers, parents and children, voicing a number of opinions about the concept of sex education in schools.  You can find the clip here - enjoy!

*Did you know?


• Sex education in the schools became a hot topic in Canada around 1967. According to the Globe and Mail, an Ontario legislative committee on youth that year recommended a curriculum consisting of "family living; planned parenthood; morals and sex in our culture; the sex act and the reproductive process; contraception; venereal diseases; the psychological and emotional implications of sex."

• Others in the education system were vehemently opposed to teaching about sex in the schools. In 1969, the Globe and Mail reported on a Toronto trustee who appeared at a school board meeting to denounce the concept as "a Communist plot."

Source: Sex education in the schools. The CBC Digital Archives Website.  Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.  Last updated: July 9, 2008.  http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/clips/15389/