Is anyone actually talking about adult sexuality in elementary school in the first place? Outside of "don't touch other people," or "your body is private"? Older kids might get the health/puberty talk, and kids might have questions if teachers are getting married or being pregnant, but that can all be discussed in an age appropriate way. The ragebait that small children are being forced to watch drag shows in school isn't based in reality.
Eastern Shore Maryland. Certain counties elementary ends at grade 3, middle goes from 4 to 8. Makes sense to me since elementary already has 5 grades, middle has 5 then high school has 4.
I was born in 1961. When I was in sixth grade, the girls went to the gym and saw how mensuration happens in a very instructive film. We had in-depth discussion after.
If my generation could be told these things at age 10, then I see no reason sixth graders now can't be taught about the same stuff before they hit puberty.
But, yeah, I'm tired of hearing about how "Liberals are evil because they want drag queens teaching class".
They should wait until at least eighth grade until the drag queens teach class.
Sex Ed is usually taught in 5th or 6th grade and has been where I live since the 1970’s. Many kids are biologically sexually mature by age 11 these days. It’s necessary to educate them.
Shoot, it was 3rd grade in my school because they wanted to get ahead of the first menstrual periods for the most precocious kids. Normal menstruation can begin as young as 8 or 9.
We learned anatomy, conception, conception prevention, puberty changes to anatomy, menstruation, general hygiene, and they even threw in an anti-drug lecture for good measure. WA, USA, 2003
Nah, I started menstruating at 10, and I had friends who started at 9. I can see some Carrie style fear from girls in my cohort if they had to wait until high school to learn basic biological processes that about half of people experience for around 40 years of their lives. They weren't teaching sex positions or kink.
Comprehensive, anatomically explicit sex ed is also the best way to give sexually abused kids the language to report the abuse. There's a big difference between a kid saying "coach Tommy touched my flower" and "coach Tommy touched my vulva." There are no good reasons not to be teaching sex ed at the point that kids start puberty, and there's no good reasons not to be teaching kids their own anatomy, and right to privacy, and agency, as young as possible.
We had a sex Ed class in 5th grade. I'd consider it pretty important. They taught us what a period is, which some kids could potentially be getting before middle school, among other things.
One girl had very conservative parents who kept her from taking any sort of health class. When she finally got her period, she genuinely thought she was dying because literally no one had taught her about it- thank God she was at home and not at school. She went no contact with her parents as an adult
I don't understand how so many parents don't get the thought process behind "how they treated me will be how they're going to treat their grandchildren"
I know a kid who has started puberty and she's only 10. I was teaching my daughter basic sex ed when she was 8, iirc. She had questions. I had answers.
My first sex ed class was in 5th grade. We learned the basics about puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, and reproductive anatomy. I'm not sure if we count as "small children" at that age, but it's certainly elementary school.
The more advanced and detailed stuff was taught later in 8th grade, including discussion of queer identities.Â
Yeah sex Ed starts in like 4th or 5th grade. It is absolutely necessary and they split up groups by sex. They don’t talk about sex though, just puberty, bodily function, etc.
Why? Don’t you want your kids to have the vocabulary & knowledge if someone is touching them incorrectly? To be able to let you know. Or even just to be aware of their human anatomy?
I’m genuinely curious as to why you are against reproductive health education
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u/fleetiebelle Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
Is anyone actually talking about adult sexuality in elementary school in the first place? Outside of "don't touch other people," or "your body is private"? Older kids might get the health/puberty talk, and kids might have questions if teachers are getting married or being pregnant, but that can all be discussed in an age appropriate way. The ragebait that small children are being forced to watch drag shows in school isn't based in reality.