If the Conservative Party’s name meant anything, its representatives would have spent years working to preserve the innocence of children. Instead, they have been the most significant pushers of sex education in schools, which is understood to have been designed by a Hungarian revolutionary in the early 20th century who hoped to bring about the “annihilation of the old values,” and which has provenly failed to prevent the spread of sexual diseases (which, in Britain, it is supposedly intended to have done).
Conservative councils have overseen the introduction of some of the most explicit sex ed programmes. It was a Conservative prime minister (Theresa May) who made sex ed compulsory across primary schools, rejecting parental concerns and instead describing the move in an article for LGBT media site PinkNews as a “historic step forward.” Even Margaret Thatcher supported the expansion of sex ed, prompting moralist groups to accuse her of spreading “amoral” material in the classroom.
Now, the Conservatives want us to believe that they are going to clamp down on subversive sex education. New proposals are clearly intended to soothe the concerns of parents who believe their children are being taught too much, too early—and who have, in some cases, been prevented even from viewing the teaching materials themselves.
But it is currently unclear what exactly the party intends to introduce. The Daily Mail claims that new guidance which says children should not be taught sex education before the age of nine will be statutory, meaning schools will have to comply with it by law. The Times, however, simply states that schools will be told (rather than forced) not to explicitly discuss “sexual acts,” including teaching on contraception, sexually transmitted infections, and abortion. A cabinet memo has also been seen by The Sun which says guidance will be “making clear that gender identity is a contested subject that should [“should,” not “must”] not be taught.
The truth is likely that not only do these newspapers not yet know what the government is about to introduce, but neither does… the government. Often, when such scant details are unveiled ahead of an actual policy release, ministers are simply testing the water—seeing which aspects of their pencilled-in plans go down well, and which go down badly before committing to a final programme.
The government’s ‘plan’ should be made more clear on Thursday. The details will be worth examining closely.
UK: Will the Conservatives Finally Take a Stand on Sex Education?
Photo: Carl Court / POOL / AFP
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If the Conservative Party’s name meant anything, its representatives would have spent years working to preserve the innocence of children. Instead, they have been the most significant pushers of sex education in schools, which is understood to have been designed by a Hungarian revolutionary in the early 20th century who hoped to bring about the “annihilation of the old values,” and which has provenly failed to prevent the spread of sexual diseases (which, in Britain, it is supposedly intended to have done).
Conservative councils have overseen the introduction of some of the most explicit sex ed programmes. It was a Conservative prime minister (Theresa May) who made sex ed compulsory across primary schools, rejecting parental concerns and instead describing the move in an article for LGBT media site PinkNews as a “historic step forward.” Even Margaret Thatcher supported the expansion of sex ed, prompting moralist groups to accuse her of spreading “amoral” material in the classroom.
Now, the Conservatives want us to believe that they are going to clamp down on subversive sex education. New proposals are clearly intended to soothe the concerns of parents who believe their children are being taught too much, too early—and who have, in some cases, been prevented even from viewing the teaching materials themselves.
But it is currently unclear what exactly the party intends to introduce. The Daily Mail claims that new guidance which says children should not be taught sex education before the age of nine will be statutory, meaning schools will have to comply with it by law. The Times, however, simply states that schools will be told (rather than forced) not to explicitly discuss “sexual acts,” including teaching on contraception, sexually transmitted infections, and abortion. A cabinet memo has also been seen by The Sun which says guidance will be “making clear that gender identity is a contested subject that should [“should,” not “must”] not be taught.
The truth is likely that not only do these newspapers not yet know what the government is about to introduce, but neither does… the government. Often, when such scant details are unveiled ahead of an actual policy release, ministers are simply testing the water—seeing which aspects of their pencilled-in plans go down well, and which go down badly before committing to a final programme.
The government’s ‘plan’ should be made more clear on Thursday. The details will be worth examining closely.
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