East TN schools and "family life" (Knoxville: condo, middle school)

[speedywriter]

For both Knoxville and Tri-Cities areas, if there's a difference:

Can anyone speak to the issue of how "family life" is presented to children? That's the tag given to sex education in my district here in California. I'd like to know whether your schools are different in this regard.

Here, they start in 4th grade, with a film being shown to kids in a co-ed group, followed by discussion and questions. Now in 5th grade, they've added the element of written assignments, where the children will be asked to describe changes and feelings. Parents are provided with the opportunity to opt out, which I have taken for my daughter. But, of course, she still hears a lot from the other kids, most of whom have not opted out.

[insanesmooch]

When I went to school (in Knoxville), we only had one day of someone giving us the birds and bees talk. It was in our health class and we had to have permission to be in it. There was just a talk, no written assignments. I was either in middle school or high school. I can't remember. This was in the 90's so it may have changed now.

[speedywriter]

Originally Posted by insanesmooch

When I went to school (in Knoxville), we only had one day of someone giving us the birds and bees talk. It was in our health class and we had to have permission to be in it. There was just a talk, no written assignments. I was either in middle school or high school. I can't remember. This was in the 90's so it may have changed now.

I appreciate your giving me these details. The situation sounds very different. Thank you!

[mandb76]

I'm a counselor in a Tri Cities school system. We have a representative from the local Health Department speak to our 5th grade students (separating boys and girls). They give a general overall talk about changes in their bodies (avoiding any "sex" talk). They do answer questions, but I usually brief the students beforehand about "appropriate" questions. I'm available for private conversations and questions after the talk. It's usually not discussed in a class after this one time and we wait until the middle of spring to invite the representative (students are more mature than the beginning of the year).

[speedywriter]

Originally Posted by mandb76

I'm a counselor in a Tri Cities school system. We have a representative from the local Health Department speak to our 5th grade students (separating boys and girls). They give a general overall talk about changes in their bodies (avoiding any "sex" talk). They do answer questions, but I usually brief the students beforehand about "appropriate" questions. I'm available for private conversations and questions after the talk. It's usually not discussed in a class after this one time and we wait until the middle of spring to invite the representative (students are more mature than the beginning of the year).

Thanks very much for your feedback, mandb76. What you describe sounds so much more sensitive to the feelings of the children than what's being offered for my daughter here. She already hears references to the subject made by her male teacher, of all people, and feels uncomfortable enough with that, so she dreads the idea of sitting through an all-out open discussion about it in mixed company.

[jabogitlu]

I was in the elementary system (which for me was K-8) in the '90s as well, so it may have changed a bit from what I describe. We had a so called "Sex Week" (hmm-- maybe that's what we kids dubbed it...) in grades 6, 7, and 8, where for about an hour a day the County's "Sex Ed" teacher would come speak with us. For a few subjects, like STDs, both sexes were lectured together, but the girls were seperated and shown a birthing video and the boys were shown a video of an erection. (Yeah, I guess we couldn't have figured that out on our own...)

There were other things, too, but I've forgotten them, mostly. I always thought it was a bit odd, because we all (boys & girls) got together and talked about it afterwards, anyway -- and truth be told, the county's education levels were way behind ours. In the 8th grade at least 20% of my peers were sexually active (one pregnant) and we were still being seperated by sex to teach about how to apply condoms. Something's missing here...


Tennessee is a red-state majorly. I doubt you'll find any problems as most adults, let alone children, in rural areas believe sex to be the workings of a grand evil scheme designed to corrupt civilization.

It was a grand failure for me, anyway, as I am gay, and sexual orientations deemed "deviant" weren't even mentioned, at all. I won't even launch into a diatribe as to how confusing it is as an 11 year old to feel completely unoriented to what is being presented the "normal way" of doing things...