Sex Ed: 5th Grade Edition 4

I got the chance to talk to an awesome 5^th grader about his experience in his first Sex Ed class. I wanted to see what they talked about to 5^th graders and some of his experiences and expectations. I will respect his privacy and his name, along with his parents’ names, will remain anonymous. Look out for more interviews from other students varying in grades and genders.

Was this your first Sex Ed class? What did you learn?

This was my first class and it was about a lot of things that we learned from books that our parents bought us. It was kind of weird.

Why was it weird?

We talked about your body parts and what it does when you grow up. They talked about wet dreams and hormones during puberty.

What did you think you were going to be taught that day? What was really taught to you?

I thought they were going to talk about how babies are made. Most of the topic was about hormones.

Did they talk about how babies are made?

Not really.

Do you know how they are made?

Yes but I don’t want to say it.

[giggles] 🙂

What do you remember most about the class?

Probably…the videos. They showed videos about the changes in emotions at random times. They talked about the changes in the body.

What did you see in the videos?

They showed us about how you grow, how big your body parts grow and what you start to look like when you get older.

Did the videos freak you out?

The second one did. The one about the changes in your body parts.

Why?

It just made me uncomfortable.

If it was one-on-one, would you be more comfortable?

Yes.

Did your classmates take it seriously?

A lot of people laughed during the video but I didn’t laugh because the teacher said he would kick us out the room.

Do you feel Sex Ed is important? Why or why not?

I feel that it is important so that people will know so that they are not alarmed when things happen randomly. Puberty happens randomly.

Do you feel that you are too young to learn about it or should you have learned more at a younger age?

I should have learned it at a younger age since most start puberty at 11 or 12 and we need to learn before it happens not when it’s happening.

Well, it starts at various ages, where did you learn that puberty starts at 11 or 12?

The video.

That’s interesting. Well, what were the best parts and the worst parts about the class?

Best part – we didn’t have to sit there and have a conversation with a girl teacher about this.

So you were separated?

Yes. The girls and boys were in different classrooms.

How would you feel if the boys and girls were in the same room?

If we learned together I would probably be embarrassed.

Why would you be embarrassed?

Since our teacher made us write questions and he read them out loud, it would be embarrassing in front of the girls.

Ok, makes sense. So what was the worst part?

The videos. They showed all of our parts and what they do when we get older.

What questions did you have that may not have been answered?

I didn’t have any questions after that, I was kind of done. I felt like I learned too much.

[Much laughter from us both] 🙂

What do you learn from your friends about your body?

Nothing. We only talked about it during the class and not outside the class.

Do your parents talk to you about your body?

Yes.

Do you feel comfortable with them?

Sometimes.

Who are you the least comfortable with?

My mom but my dad doesn’t listen.

What are ways to make your dad listen?

Trick him with a normal conversation and then out of nowhere just ask him [laughs].

I did get to talk to both his parents about what he was taught and how they help him learn more about his body changing. His dad does talk to him about how his son’s body is changing but according to his mom, his dad is a bit more conservative. His mom stated she is more open and may give him more information than what he may need but that his dad is really helpful with “guy advice”.

I think it is fantastic that his parents are involved and they even got him a book to help him out with other questions that he may have. His mom did mention that she was surprised that his Sex Ed class did not talk about how babies are made but she has definitely talked to her son about it.

So what I took from this is that we need to start educating our youth at a younger age. He makes a good point in that we need to start before puberty happens to better prepare them. I believe the same theory applies to talking about sex and conversations at home and at school should happen sooner. Believe it or not, youth are more equipped and ready to handle “the talk” than many people think.