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Should relationships be on the national curriculum?

**helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
Here's a blog post that says yes...

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/stella-creasy-why-relationships-national-curriculum-230158297.html#y4ynLFg

Is the class room a good place?

If not, why not?

if yes, what would you like to/liked to have learned?

:)

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't understand why relationships aren't on the curriculum tbh. Even when I had sex ed, there was never anything about relationships.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    We had relationships in our PHSE lessons.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    We had PSHE; but I don't remember anything about relationships at all.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The thing about PHSE or equivalent is that the relationships side is so focused on sex, from age 11 upwards, which is giving young people the impression that sex is the foundation of any relationship, and that simply isn't true. Part of my role in a previous job was teaching Sex Ed and it was so sex top heavy. What isn't considered is the emotional aspects of a relationship, for example learning to trust someone fully as well as factors such as balancing your relationship with your own life, without risking your relationship being your life.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My first thought was no but actually now i think it would be a good idea. kids are taught about the workings of sex, puberty, contraception etc but not how to deal with these things, and how important a relationship is BEFORE sex.

    knowing how/when to trust people, how to support each other etc, and even things like self-esteem might actually result in alot less issues like teen pregnancy, broken families etc. a good idea i think
  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    Lexi99 wrote: »
    knowing how/when to trust people, how to support each other etc, and even things like self-esteem might actually result in alot less issues like teen pregnancy, broken families etc. a good idea i think
    Is this the kind of thing that can be taught in a school though? I'd think it's something people learn (or should learn) from experience. After all, there's no guideline about how to deal with people, other than the basic things.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They absolutely should.

    To be honest, I would just have liked to have been acknowledged at school. We talked about gay people only in the abstract terms of "issues" in RE and Govt. / Politics, and even then only in 6th form by which time most of the damage had been done. Health forms of relationship need to be taught.

    If a teacher isn't happy teaching about same-sex relationships they shouldn't have to, but they should get in a supply who will in those situations.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Is this the kind of thing that can be taught in a school though? I'd think it's something people learn (or should learn) from experience. After all, there's no guideline about how to deal with people, other than the basic things.

    This
  • littlemissylittlemissy Posts: 9,972 Supreme Poster
    It is on the curriculum, for y1-6. It is one of the SEAL themes. I teach it every year at school. This year I have covered different types of relationships, including gay / homosexual / transgendered / difference between friendship etc. in year 6 (which is where I currently teach) I cover it side by side sex ed.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Is this the kind of thing that can be taught in a school though? I'd think it's something people learn (or should learn) from experience. After all, there's no guideline about how to deal with people, other than the basic things.

    Not 100%, like most things you cant learn it until you actually experience it yourself, but i think introducing some things may help to give kids a different outlook before they go out there, getting pregnant with someone they think is 'the one' but doesnt really know how a relationship works

    interesting that this thread has been pulled up:
    http://vbulletin.thesite.org/showthread.php/135352-Naive-15-year-old-Finnish-girl-and-internet-creeps

    maybe being taught a bit more about relationhips may have stopped this girl being so naive?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In an ideal world, no, you would not learn these things at school, you'd learn them from your parents. But as a good proportion of parents won't bother themselves to teach their kids the basics about life, then yes, I think it should be on the curriculum.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Pretty much what Kaff said.

    I also think that a key aspect of relationships is self esteem. We need to somehow get the message across to kids that they as individuals matter, and don't need to look for validation from other people. You can be a happy, normal, healthy person without needing to have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Yes, relationships are important, but they're not the be all and end all. Can't help but think that if somehow could get individuals self esteem up then we could improve the stability of relationships.
  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    Kaff wrote: »
    In an ideal world, no, you would not learn these things at school, you'd learn them from your parents. But as a good proportion of parents won't bother themselves to teach their kids the basics about life, then yes, I think it should be on the curriculum.
    I wasn't wandering if they should be taught, only if they could.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I guess it depends on whether you're trying to teach people how to build relationships - or about relationships.

    Teaching the former is difficult, but probably not impossible. Teaching the latter could be pretty straightforward.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Pretty much what Kaff said.

    I also think that a key aspect of relationships is self esteem. We need to somehow get the message across to kids that they as individuals matter, and don't need to look for validation from other people. You can be a happy, normal, healthy person without needing to have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Yes, relationships are important, but they're not the be all and end all. Can't help but think that if somehow could get individuals self esteem up then we could improve the stability of relationships.

    :yes: I currently (by choice) am not with anyone and I find that some people don't understand how I can be happy without someone.

    As someone whose has a few relationship issues this year, I would have loved to have known how to deal with them before they got to the stage they did.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My view is generally the national curriculum should first and foremost cater to the 'core' essential things everyone needs to learn to have the best chance of a happy, successful and fulfilling life after education.

    I think relationships are a part of that. Probably money management and cooking too! - but that's another discussion I'm sure.

    Like I said, we definitely had relationships in our PHSE lessons. What expectations should be. How do you resolve conflict. It wasn't a huge focus, but PHSE lessons were 1 hour a week so there wasn't a huge amount of anything.

    I suppose if the question is: should school prepare you for every relationship eventuality? No. It can't. School's should give us the toolkit (teaching us to respect others, listen to others, even to take a time out and see things from another perspective) that we can go into a relationship and have the best chance of success.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah, a lot of being in a relationship is trial and error, but I think that the issues Melian and I are talking about (recognising different forms of relationship, etc.) are very easy to teach. Some schools do it well, some don't do it at all.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Pretty much what Kaff said.

    I also think that a key aspect of relationships is self esteem. We need to somehow get the message across to kids that they as individuals matter, and don't need to look for validation from other people. You can be a happy, normal, healthy person without needing to have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Yes, relationships are important, but they're not the be all and end all. Can't help but think that if somehow could get individuals self esteem up then we could improve the stability of relationships.

    Absolutely agree with the principal here. The amount of people i have known who jump from relationship to relationship and just don't seem capable of functioning by themselves is frightening.

    Kids should be given the skills they need to be happy, functioning INDIVIDUAL and that finding a bf/gf would be a nice bonus but it doesn't make you any less of a person if you don't have one.

    The problem is, you can try and drum this into a kid/teenager but society will always make them think the other way. These days if you get to 16 and haven't had sex/a bf/gf you are considered an outcast by other people your age....kids are given the impression from anywhere and everywhere that sex/relationships is all their is to life. Which is obviously wrong.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    No we don't, and we don't get proper mental health education. We tecniquly do have it, but this term we haven't got a single one. First because we got cover teachers, and stuff. And i think it should be on the national curriculum. Relationships are a very important part
  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    Madison1 wrote: »
    No we don't, and we don't get proper mental health education. We tecniquly do have it, but this term we haven't got a single one. First because we got cover teachers, and stuff. And i think it should be on the national curriculum. Relationships are a very important part

    Agreed! :) Do you think there's anything in particular about relationships that you think should be included in lessons?

    Have just been alerted to the fact that there's a similar discussion on TSR - some interesting replies:
    http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2384803
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