1. What is the goal of Sexuality in Education (most obviously found in Health Ed but also many other subject areas)?
2. Have you ever seriously thought about these goals?
3. Stop and go back to question two. Have you ever seriously thought through what you see as being the goals of Sex Education/Sexuality in Education?
4. If you haven’t – will you commit to doing so? Putting foundational thought into this question will determine the quality of efforts and outcomes – whether parent, teacher or youth leader.
If you Google search the words “the goal of sex education” you will come up with a range of opinion from all over the world representative of every faith base and worldview. I found this a very helpful exercise – pointing out the differences in agenda (we tend to assume when hearing a common phrase that the goals are common to the other as to ourselves) and helping me think through what I agreed with and not – and more importantly, what God agrees with and not.
Having mused on this question over a number of years, we are still not finished thinking this through! The following is our current best effort at stating what Purity Paradigm believes to be the goal of Sex Education.
“8 Equipping to 7 Learn and 6 Live 5 God’s standards for sexuality as a part of the whole 4 Life Process, within 3 purity, within 2 holiness, within the scope and implications of 1 eternity”
That was a lofty sounding mouthful wasn’t it!!! (Remember it is a work in progress!).
To illustrate (working point by point in reverse) - here are some more questions…
1. Eternity
Can you separate sexuality from eternity when it holds such eternal ramifications as the conception potential for eternal beings - or the possible separation from God through sin?
2. Holiness
Sexuality expressed in holiness demonstrates every kind of God ordained love. (Agape, Eros, Phileo and Storge) Does sexuality expressed outside of holiness demonstrate any more than selfish ambition?
3. Purity
Can sexuality expressed in holiness be anything but pure? What is pure? Is purity absolute or not? What does purity look like – and is it still attainable – in our current cultural climate? What about restoration to purity?
4. Life Process
Sexuality and its expression is a part of the whole Life Process. What part does it appropriately, constructively and meaningfully play?
This is the area of our goal which includes physical development, facts and preparation, but what facts do children need? When do they need it? What are children and young people to be prepared for? Will the method match the message? What are the optimal conditions for value acceptance?
5. God’s standard
God’s standard is high. What are God’s standards for the governance of sexuality? In a time where so many have so little moral foundation are we actually conveying His heart (not just His rules) in these matters?
6. Live
Never has the pressure to live outside God’s standards been so obtrusive and persistent. How do we live pure in such a culture and time?
7. Learn
What structure can we activate to ensure that those in our care have opportunity to hear and learn God’s standards?
8. Equip
What might optimise this learning?
The benefits of defining a goal are obvious – goals keep us focussed on the task. There needs to be an overarching goal governing such a learning area, but there are also many shorter term and more measurable goals worthy of clarification. Each of these then needs to line up under the overarching goal so as to remain consistent. Inconsistent goals can only produce the fruits of double-mindedness.
For example – if the Department of Education and Training W.A. (DETWA) (or equivalent in your area) requirement for girls is to understand contraceptive and safer-sex methods, what is the underlying message of a lesson with 45 minutes on contraception and 5 minutes of what God say’s about sex outside of marriage? How could the outcome be achieved without presenting as double-minded? Off the top of my head I can think of four alternative approaches. (See point 27 “DETWA Outcomes” to follow).
…he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. JAS 1:8
As with any interpretation of Scripture, the goals and principles governing Sex Education are to be layered one over the other to give a complete picture. I like to imagine each of God’s precepts governing sexuality as represented by a different colour – a whole myriad of colours. These colours when separated give us every shade of the rainbow. Beautiful – and all necessary to the rainbow. When combined, these colours give us white light. God is Light. Let us aim for His Light in all matters sexual and no longer settle for portions of the spectrum.
Finally the goals of Sex Education are NOT synonymous with DETWA outcomes. While they may (or may not!) need to be factored into a school’s approach, consider please: how could a secular department represent God’s heart on these issues?
Moving on… What we cannot do:
Force or hurry growth
Guarantee a particular outcome
Have control over another person’s will
Protect or prepare for every possibility
There IS NO substitute for relationship. We cannot “Formula-ize” relationship with others, God or self - self relationship including retrospection and introspective growth. Repentance and the process of sanctification; the continual giving over of one’s life to God’s ways and will.
However there is MUCH we CAN do to provide optimal conditions in which to grow.
REVISITING GOALS
Here are a few results that I found when I did the a web search on goals…
The goal of sex education is to educate and therefore protect one's self from high-risk sexual behaviors
The goal of sex education to provide youngsters with well-rounded information and proper values based on gender respect
The goal of sex education as “helping young people to become comfortable with their sexuality.”
The goal of sex education in Germany is preventive health care and the avoidance or resolution of. conflicts caused by pregnancy
Interesting, eh?
Slightly simplified… what Purity Paradigm believes to be the goal of Sex Education…
