Sex Education in the Philippines

Almost everyone has heard. Have you? The Department of Education (DepEd) started the instruction of Sex Education, through Memorandum no. 26, as part of the Basic Education Curriculum starting from Grade 5 and Grade 6. There have been much heated arguments about the issue, with the Catholic Church on one side of the fence and the Government on the other. Cabral, the DepEd secretary then, originally proposed that sex education must be taught as early as KINDERGARTEN. Naturally, the idea was not received well. The proposal caused such an outrage that they had to re-think their plan and proceed with a new course of action, thus settling for a Grade 5 starting point. Cabral pointed out that “it’s not right that when one gets pregnant, that would be the only time when she would know how she got pregnant.” The statement may seem harmless but if you analyze it, there’s such a demeaning message that she is addressing to all Filipinos. It is an insult to all of us. Filipinos are not that stupid nor are we totally ignorant about reproduction. Is it really just about informing the youth about sex in the general context? Because it seems as if they are pushing us towards something – whether we need it or not. First of all, children have different developmental stages. Some may be emotionally mature for their age while others may be the opposite. To dump on them a subject such as sex, with no regard to their maturity level is unhealthy for the emotional state of these children. Does this mean that they are ready to expose children to this topic whether or not they’re ready for it?
Second, we can not ignore the fact for it is right in front of us, sex is a sensitive subject. It is a subject that is ought to be breached within the context of a family setting, not within the classroom. A subject as delicate and sensitive as sex should not be dealt with pop quizzes or oral recitations but with wholesome understanding of the child, thus, it should be taught BY the parents who understand the child more than any teacher can. Opening about sex to a person whom you’re not related to in any way would seem awkward and it would inhibit the child from freely expressing what they think about the subject.
On the other hand, some argue that sometimes, the parents themselves lack the technical knowledge to teach their children what is needed to be taught. Still, sex education in school is not the answer. Yes, go ahead and teach sex education, but don’t teach it to the children, TEACH IT TO THE PARENTS. With the right amount of knowledge, the parents would be much more qualified to teach about reproduction to their kids than trained teachers. At least the parents know how to handle their child and gradually open their young minds to the concept of sex and ease them into it based on the child’s own level of understanding. Unlike in the schools, if they teach sex in schools, there would probably be one speed of teaching and since a curriculum is followed, it is the child who must adjust to the speed. But sex is a very sensitive subject and to expect a child to follow suit would only result into more confusion on the child’s part, entirely defeating the purpose of the whole program in the first place.
So, are we willing to expose the youth to such topics behind the guidance of the parents? Not likely.