Guidelines on Relationships and Sexuality Education

Transcription

1 Guidlins on Rlationships and Sxuality Education Rpublic of Irland

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3 Guidlins on Rlationships and Sxuality Education Th Primary School Curriculum was publishd by th Dpartmnt of Education and Scinc in 1999 and on of th six aras of larning in th curriculum is Social, Prsonal and Halth Education (SPHE). An intgral part of th SPHE curriculum is th provision of Rlationships and Sxuality Education (RSE). This currnt publication, which updats Rlationships and Sxuality Education in Catholic Schools (1997), outlins th contxt within which RSE taks plac in a Catholic primary school. Th Rligious Education (RE) programm in th Catholic primary school sks to hlp th childrn to grow and dvlop into halthy, matur adults, capabl of ralising thir full potntial as human bings cratd in th imag and liknss of God. On aspct of that growth is th dvlopmnt of th childrn s capacity to rlat to othrs and to hav a prsonal apprciation of thir own sxuality. This is not sn as a sparat lmnt within th RE programm but is intgratd throughout. This booklt includs matrial which outlins clarly whr th RE programm in a Catholic primary school dals xplicitly with th topics outlind in th Dpartmnt of Education s guidlins for RSE. Th topics covrd in th RE programm, both in th tim dvotd and in many rspcts in th matrial covrd, ar what is suggstd in th RSE curriculum. Th thos of a Catholic school is ntirly concrnd with fostring th dvlopmnt of rlationships th lov of God and th lov of vry human bing. Ths ar th gratst commandmnts, On ths two commandmnts hang th whol law, and th Prophts too (Mt 22:40). In Vision 08: A Vision for Catholic Education in Irland, th Irish Catholic Bishops Confrnc summarisd Catholic ducation as follows: Catholic ducation is inspird by Jsus Christ. It is prson-cntrd, sking to dvlop th full potntial of ach prson. Catholic ducation proposs a sacramntal viw of rality, hlping pupils to s God in th light of th Gospl and of human xprinc (Gaudium t Sps, par. 46). Catholic ducation taks plac in opn, happy, stimulating and mutually rspctful communitis. 3

4 Catholic ducation valus intllctual and practical rason, promoting dialogu and undrstanding btwn faith, tradition, cultur and hritag. Catholic ducation valus tolranc and inclusivnss. Catholic schools wlcom pupils of othr traditions, faiths and non, sing divrsity as offring opportunitis for dpr undrstanding among popl holding divrs convictions. Catholic ducation sks to nabl pupils to act with intgrity and justic, in pursuit of th common good in an imprfct world, and to act as stwards of cration. Excutiv Summary Th vision, th valus, th human and Christian virtus, th rvald truths and th livd tradition which go to mak up th Christian undrstanding of lif cannot b taught without rfrnc to sxuality and procration, and to th rsponsibl, rspctful and loving us of ths gifts of God. It is th rsponsibility of th Board of Managmnt to initiat th procss of dvloping an RSE policy for th school. In practic, a policy committ, consisting of rprsntativs of parnts, tachrs and th Board of Managmnt undrtaks this task. Catholic primary schools ar strongly advisd to hav an RSE policy prior to dlivring an RSE programm. Th policy should giv guidanc to tachrs on how to approach moral and thical issus rlvant to RSE whil taking th thos of th school and th RE programm into account. Evryon who is involvd in th task of Rlationships and Sxuality Education in a Catholic school should b guidd by a numbr of basic principls. t t t 1Th school should sk to communicat th Christian vision of human lif and human rlationships. This constituts an ducation for lov or as th Irish Bishops Pastoral, Lov is for Lif, stats It would b bttr to spak of ducation for lov, sinc th whol aim of a Christian and halthy sxuality is to put lov, in its full and gnuin maning, into sxual rlationships. Proprly impartd, this knowldg 4

5 can gratly hlp young popl towards a matur and balancd and Christian undrstanding of sx. 1 This would includ such fundamntal idas as th following: 2 Th human body is sacrd th visibl imag of God. Th human body shows us that w ar mortal and limitd dpndnt on God who givs and sustains our lif. Through our bodily natur w rlat to othr popl in a physical world which w shar. From this it follows that w ar calld to rspct on anothr and to rcognis in on anothr, bon of our bons and flsh of our flsh (Gn 2:23). Sinc it is sxual, th human body xprsss th call of mn and womn to rciprocal lov which is a mutual gift of slf: In a socity that tnds mor and mor to rlativis and trivialis th vry xprinc of lov and sxuality, xalting its flting aspcts and obscuring its fundamntal valus, it is mor urgnt than vr to proclaim and bar witnss that th truth of conjugal lov and sxuality xist whr thr is a full and total gift of prsons, with th charactristics of unity and fidlity. 3 Lov and fruitfulnss includ and call for on anothr. In particular, marrid lov th only contxt which aims at a dply prsonal unity, a unity that, byond union in on flsh, lads to forming on hart and soul 4 is ssntially orintd both to th loving unity of th coupl and to coopration with God in bringing nw human lif into th world. Th valus of lov and lif ar sn most fully in th contxt of marriag and th family. 5 1 Lov is for Lif, Sction Cf. Congrgation for Catholic Education, Educational Guidanc in Human Lov (1983), Cf. Pontifical Council for Justic and Pac, Compndium of th Social Doctrin of th Church (2005), John Paul II, Catchism of th Catholic Church (1994), Compndium of th Catchism of th Catholic Church (337) God who is lov and who cratd man and woman for lov has calld thm to lov. By crating man and woman h calld thm to an intimat communion of lif and of lov in marriag: So that thy ar no longr two, but on flsh (Mt 19:6). God said to thm in blssing B fruitful and multiply (Gn 1:28). 5

6 In Christian marriag, sxual union rflcts th grat mystry of th union of Christ and th Church. It bcoms an imag of th absolut and unfailing lov with which God lovs us. 6 Sxuality touchs th sourcs of human lif. It concrns th family, th basic cll of th human community and th foundation of a stabl socity. Sx is not just a prsonal and privat mattr. It has a social and community aspct too. 7 Th prsnc of sin in ourslvs and in th world maks ths truths lss asy to discrn. Any attmpt to communicat th facts of lif as mr facts without rfrnc to th rligious and moral dimnsions of human sxuality and without rfrnc to th pupil s nd to grow in maturity would b a distortion. Scintific facts ar not th whol truth about human sxuality and rproduction. To allow childrn to bcom awar of th mr facts without bing hlpd to s thm in thir rich human maning would b to dpriv thm of th truth. Quit apart from information about th facts of lif, childrn should b taught from th bginning to rcognis, at thir own lvl, 6 Irish Episcopal Confrnc, Shar th Good Nws (2010), Lov is for Lif, No. 7. 6

7 that sxuality is a gift of God. Thy should larn to apprciat that bing a girl or bing a boy is somthing for which thy should b thankful to God. Thy should larn that human bings ar cratd mal and fmal in th imag of God; sxual diffrnc and complmntarity ar part of th varity of God s gifts. 2Th school must rcognis that, in this ara abov all, its rol is subsidiary to that of th parnts. Th 1996 Vatican documnt, Th Truth and Maning of Human Sxuality, strsss th primacy of th rol of th parnts in th ducation of thir childrn: any ducativ activity, rlatd to ducation for lov and carrid out by prsons outsid th family, must b subjct to th parnts accptanc of it and must b sn not as a substitut but as a support for thir work. 8 This is acknowldgd in th opning words of th Dpartmnt of Education s booklt, Rlationships and Sxuality Education, Going Forward Togthr, An Introduction to Rlationships and Sxuality Education for Parnts (1997): As a parnt, you ar th first tachr of your child. You hand on valus and attituds to ach nw gnration of childrn. Your child s school aims to work togthr with you in this important job. To put this principl into practic a numbr of principls nd to b clarly statd: t t t Bcaus RSE is an intgral part of both th RE curriculum in a Catholic primary school and of th SPHE curriculum, schools ar not rquird to ask parnts to sign a prmission slip to allow thir child to attnd lssons on th snsitiv issus in RSE. Howvr, th Primary Profssional Dvlopmnt Srvic stats in thir Rsourc Pack for Rlationships and Sxuality Education in Primary Schools that whr parnts wish to tak thir child out of th lssons on th snsitiv issus, a school can ask thm to put this in writing. A school is advisd to consult with parnts on how to manag th opting out procss in th bst intrsts of th child. 9 8 Educational Guidanc in Human Lov,

8 Many parnts/guardians nd ncouragmnt and hlp in introducing snsitiv topics to thir sons and daughtrs at hom. Th school can play an important rol in providing that hlp and ncouragmnt through including parnts fully in policy dvlopmnt, making nw parnts awar of th RSE policy, organising information vnings, snding hom th hom/school links pags at th nd of ach RSE lsson, making copis of th parnt information booklt, RSE Going Forward Togthr, availabl to parnts, or informing parnts that thy can look at copis of th RSE rsourc matrials in th school. 10 Copis of this publication might also b mad availabl to parnts. Th prsumption should b that th child is not haring th nams of sxual organs and information about human rproduction for th first tim in th school. Prior discussion with th parnts should aim at raching a consnsus about whn th school may rasonably prsum that such information will hav bn communicatd to th child at hom. Parnts who ar proprly fulfilling thir rsponsibility with rgard to th sxual ducation of thir child should not find that th school has anticipatd matrial which thy had plannd to communicat at a latr dat. Som parnts may dcid that thy would prfr to dlgat, in whol or in part, th rsponsibility for daling with ths issus to thir child s tachrs. Thy should nvrthlss inform thmslvs about what is bing taught in school in ordr that thy can cooprat with what th tachrs ar doing. In assssing th motional and intllctual maturity of th pupils it must b born in mind that vry considrabl diffrncs xist vn within th sam class. Nothing should b dalt with in class unlss th tachr is satisfid that vry child in th class is rady for it. This raiss particular difficultis in a school whr tachrs ar taching mor than on class. In a two-tachr school, for instanc, topics should not b raisd with sixth class pupils whil thr ar third class pupils in th sam room for whom th lsson would not b suitabl. Th kind of maturity which a child rquirs in ordr to discuss intimat mattrs in th contxt of a loving rlationship with his or

9 hr parnts is on thing. A diffrnt and much highr lvl of maturity may b rquird bfor a child is rady for th discussion of such mattrs in th mor public contxt of a classroom. Thr may b situations in which a tachr judgs that som or all of th childrn ar not rady for a classroom tratmnt of som issus. In such a cas th tachr should not b afraid to st boundaris and to rfr such issus to th parnts. t t t 3Th Catholic school, in th formulation of its policy, should rflct Catholic moral taching on sxual mattrs. Evn mor fundamntally, it nds to b spcific in xcluding approachs which ar inconsistnt with th vry foundations and formulations of Catholic moral thought. 9

10 Moral truth is not arrivd at by consnsus. It is not th product of flings or instinct. It is not arrivd at simply by wighing up th likly consquncs of various lins of action. It is not som arbitrary or lgalistic imposition. It is not just a mattr of bing sincr, so that what is right for on prson may b wrong for anothr. All of ths approachs can radily b idntifid in contmporary dbats. In th first plac th Catholic school will think in trms of moral truth. Sxual morality is about th maning of human lov. It is about how human rlationships may b tru to th full maning and potntial which thy hav bn givn by th Crator. Th truth cannot b rachd by mans of flings or instincts; it rquirs srious rflction about th maning of human lif and th dignity of th human prson. It is vidnt that, in daling with profound human rlationships, it is not nough to say that what is tru for m may b fals for you. Rlationships ar foundd on communication. If what lov, fidlity and rspct man to on prson is not what thy man to anothr, any rlationship btwn thm will soon foundr. Sxual intimacy would b a li if it wr not th sign and fruit of a total prsonal slf-giving 11 Sxuality is a languag and th maning of that languag is not somthing that w can invnt or chang. By sxual union, a man and woman say to ach othr: I lov you. Thr is nobody ls in all th world I lov in th way I lov you. I lov you just for bing you. I want you to bcom vn mor wondrful than you ar. I want to shar my lif and my world with you. I want you to shar your lif and your world with m. I want us to build a nw lif togthr, a futur togthr, which will b our futur I will b faithful to you not just now but always. I will nvr lt you down or walk out on you. 12 In ordr to b faithful to th vision and thos of a Catholic school, it is ncssary that th following points should b born in mind: Th tachr will not attmpt to build rspct for th viws of othrs on th fals and fragil bas of thinking that it dos not much mattr what on s viw is, so long as it is sincr. Whr fundamntal disagrmnts hav mrgd about th right way to bhav in particular situations, th discussion should not b 11 John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio (1981), Irish Episcopal Confrnc, Lov is for Lif (1985), 9. 10

11 ndd by saying, what is right for on prson may b wrong for anothr, so lt s agr to diffr. What is right and wrong is not a mr mattr of opinion. Pupils will b ncouragd to look mor dply at an issu than simply to ask whthr thy fl good about it. What is right and what is wrong dos not dpnd on how on fls. Studnts will b hlpd to undrstand human dignity in th light of Christ and to grasp th implications of that undrstanding for th way that popl should rlat to on anothr. To prsnt morality as if it wr just a mattr of opinion or of flings or of causing th last possibl discomfort would b to tach an approach to morality which is incompatibl with th Catholic moral tradition and which is corrosiv of gnuin rlationships. Moral judgmnt is a mattr of rason. It rflcts th kind of bings w ar, how w should bhav in th light of our own dignity and th qual dignity of vry othr human bing. No mattr how on fls about it, no mattr what othr popl tll us, no mattr what good consquncs may follow, if my action is unrasonabl thn it is immoral. Th Catholic school will b carful to giv a positiv attitud towards th gift of sxuality by showing its important plac in God s plan for human happinss. In Christian marriag, th physical intimacy of husband and wif bcoms a sign and pldg of spiritual communion. That sxual union is, and is intndd by God to b, a sourc of joy and plasur. 13 Th Catholic school will tach an apprciation of th sacramnt of marriag as a mmorial of th grat works of God in history. Christian marriag rflcts th Nw Covnant btwn Christ and th Church, th Brid for whom h gav his lif. As a commitmnt to lov and to lif, Christian marriag, blssd by God, builds up th cclsial community and is dsrving of its full support. Christian marriag is a tru sacramnt, signifying and communicating grac, choing th faithful lov of God Catchism of th Catholic Church, 2360, Shar th Good Nws,

12 4Th dignity, privacy and modsty of ach individual child must always b rspctd. Car is ncssary in rlation to what is taught and whn. It is also most important that th mthods usd should b appropriat. Th pupil should nvr fl prssurd to rval or discuss privat mattrs, nor to tak part in forms of rol-play or drama about which h or sh fls a distast or mbarrassmnt. This is vital for two rasons: 1. It is not possibl to tach th fundamntal rspct which is at th basis of vry gnuin rlationship by mthods which lack rspct for on or mor of th participants. Th mthods as wll as th contnt must show th importanc of snsitivity to th flings of othrs, of courtsy, of slf-rstraint and of rspct for th dignity and th privacy of othr popl. Th principl of fidlity to God and fidlity to man lads to an avoidanc of any opposition or artificial 12

13 sparation or prsumd nutrality btwn mthod and contnt. It affirms, rathr, thir ncssary corrlation and intraction It would risk bing ntirly countr-productiv by gnrating ngativ attituds and a distast towards th gift and mystry of sxuality and might damag th pupil s capacity and willingnss to discuss ths issus frly and opnly. On must thrfor b awar of a numbr of points: Childrn com from widly varying hom and cultural backgrounds and hav had vry diffring xprincs. Tachrs ar wll awar of th dlicacy that is ndd in daling snsitivly with issus that may b difficult for particular childrn. This snsitivity is obviously rquird, spcially in daling with qustions about rlationships. A dynamic may aris in a group discussion which can plac impropr prssur on thos involvd who do not wish to mak disclosurs: I hav told you my worris and qustions, why won t you tll m yours? A child may asily b disturbd by bing askd to participat in a discussion, rol-play, or drama which h or sh finds mbarrassing or which prsums a lvl of maturity which th child dos not yt possss. Th matrials usd should not b such as to caus unasinss to any of th pupils. It should b rmmbrd that books and picturs which would b prfctly accptabl in th cas of a child talking to a parnt may b too xplicit for classroom us. In our tim, childrn grow up in a world which no longr communicats rspct for fundamntal valus in th ara of sxuality. Nor do thy find around thm a consistnt and positiv undrstanding of human dignity. A fatur of modrn lif can somtims b th sxualisation of young popl at an arly ag. 16 In this contxt thr is nd to b particularly attntiv to th popularity of social ntworks, which offr dialogu and 15 Congrgation for th Clrgy, Gnral Dirctory for Catchsis (1998), Also troubling is th ncouragmnt of fashion and slf-consciousnss about body-imag vn in young childrn (Catholic Bishops Confrnc of England and Wals, Chrishing Lif, par. 12) 13

14 intractiv forms of communication and rlationships. Pop Bndict XVI, addrssing young popl for th twnty-ighth World Youth Day 2013, said thy must us ths mdia wisly. H continud, B awar of th hiddn dangrs thy contain, spcially th risk of addiction, of confusing th ral world with th virtual, and of rplacing dirct and prsonal ncountrs and dialogu with intrnt contacts. 17 Of spcial consqunc ar th following risks to th young in th us of th intrnt: inappropriat contnt, cybr bullying and prdators. It is, thrfor, ncssary to hlp Catholic young popl to a dpr Christian undrstanding of what it mans to b human and of th maning of human rlationships. It is a ncssary part of th vocation of thir parnts to shar with thm th Good Nws of human worth and dignity in th light of th Incarnation and of our rdmption in Christ. 18 That sharing of th Good Nws with th rising gnration is also part of th calling of vry Christian, of th whol community of Christ s followrs. What w sk to communicat to young popl is good nws. It is not primarily about far or warnings about th dangrs that await thm but about rvrnc and wondr. W hav to try to tach thm that sxual intimacy is not somthing shallow and passing; it is not mrly about slf-fulfilmnt; it is about full, faithful, prmannt slf-giving. It is no accidnt that whn th family disintgrats through unbarabl social prssurs, or whn its privilgd status is diminishd, thn a mov towards unaccptabl individualism is invitabl, with incrasd fragmntation and an accompanying loss of social cohsion. Th hom is whr w larn how to liv with othrs, how to cop with divrsity, how to limit our individual dsirs in th light of othr popl s nds. It is whr w first larn th haling powr of lov and accptanc, how to cop with loss and hurt, whr w larn th maning of lif and who w ar. It is th first school of faith, th domstic Church, th imprint of divin lov, th plac whr you can go whn no-on ls will tak you in. For all ths rasons th family has a vry valuabl and irrplacabl rol in Irish socity Mssag of His Holinss Bndict XVI for th twnty-ighth World Youth Day 2013, No Shar th Good Nws,

15 Critria Applying to Visitors to Primary Schools Involvd in RSE Whn schools invit visitors into th school to nhanc or supplmnt th SPHE curriculum, prcis critria must apply: 20 Such xtrnal facilitators/tutors must b approvd in advanc by th principal and th Board of Managmnt. Thy must work undr th guidanc and suprvision of th classroom tachr. All matrials proposd for us must b approvd in advanc by th principal and th Board of Managmnt, b ag and stag appropriat for pupils and b in lin with th thos of th Catholic school, and th principls of th SPHE curriculum. Thr is nd also to tak account of all rlvant school policis and procdurs including th school s child protction policy. It is strongly rcommndd that parnts ar consultd and mad awar of any visitor and agncy proposing to ngag with pupils. 20 S Dpartmnt of Education and Skills Circular 0022/2010, pag 2. 15

16 RSE and Rligious Education Rligious Education in Catholic primary schools sks to hlp childrn to grow and dvlop into halthy matur adults, capabl of ralising thir full potntial as human bings cratd in th imag and liknss of God. On aspct of that growth is th dvlopmnt of th childrn s ability to rlat to othrs and to hav a positiv undrstanding of thir own sxuality. Concpts rlatd to RSE in a Christian contxt ar to b found in th Rligious Education curriculum for Catholic pr-schools and primary schools. Such concpts ar intgratd throughout th childrn s xprinc of Rligious Education in th primary school. 16