Sex education for parents

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33516, 23 April 1974, Page 2

Sex education for parents

New Zealand Press Association W ELLINGTON. April 22. Give sex education to parents before you give it to their children, a British educationist advised in Wellington today.

Mr Joslyn Owen, the chief education officer for Devon, will speak to Educational Development Conference seminars during the next fortnight.

He is an expert on cur[ricuium reform and teacher education. Mr Owen said it was essential to have parents’ support for any changes in education. “DIRTY WORD ’

“Progressive is a dirty word in education.

“We praise doctors for their advances in medicine, but we feel there’s nothing wrong with teaching children what their parents learnt —in fact it’s probably a good thing. “It’s generally recognised there' is a time lag of about 70 years between when a new educational idea is initiated and when it is accepted in practice,’’ said Mr Owen,

It was even more difficult to admit to being progressive about education in values and morals because in this lay the biggest gap between “progressive” teachers and "good" parents.

“In the old days schools just reinforced what everyone accepted as moral. Now they have to search to find something which is generally accepted. “So before you introduce sex education —we still disguise it as health education in Britain—teach it to the parents first." POLITICS, CULTURE

Mr Owen criticised the Educational Development Conference reports for not giving enough thought to what moral education entailed. For instance they did not mention political education.

“In an increasingly political and complex society children should be taught how to handle the political and organisation machines,” said Mr Owen.

The reports could have looked more closely at the' kind of culture New Zealand was developing, and at how the education system could encourage this. “Given time you could develop a unique education system to fit your society,”; he said. However, he was | impressed by the risks the' New Zealand Government had taken by asking for the; people’s views on education.

“You can afford to do this] because your society is, young and fairly uniform.

“It couldn’t be done in an old and divided society like Britain; no-one would hear the voice of the people. Education would simply become a battleground for the pressure groups," said Mr Owen.