What's age appropriate sex ed for kindergartners?

The Obama camp seems to think they've gotten away with pointing the finger back at the McCain camp over accusing Obama of supporting a bill that would mandate teaching kids about sex before they learn to read. 

Not so fast.

National Review's Byron York has a great piece today on SB 99, the bill Barack keeps trying to say was only to protect kids from inappropriate touching and encouraging age-appropriate sex education.

This sex ed thing is a peculiarly touchy one in liberal circles (pardon the pun).  They're incredibly sensitive to this issue (pardon the pun again.) Just what is "age appropriate" sex ed?  Who determines what that is?

In Illinois circles, those groups promoting comprehensive sex ed often referred to the standards set up by SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States). SIECUS standards for comprehensive sex ed are available online here in the 2004 form.  The legislation and standards set the year before on SB 99 were the same as these.

This is what Barack Obama voted to promote among Illinois kindergartners (age 5) through 2nd grade (age 8)  with his support of SB 99:

Developmental Messages: Level 1 (ages 5-8)

• Each body part has a correct name and a specific function.
• A person’s genitals, reproductive organs, and genes determine whether the person is male or female.
• A boy/man has nipples, a penis, a scrotum, and testicles.
• A girl/woman has breasts, nipples, a vulva, a clitoris, a vagina, a uterus, and ovaries.
• Some sexual or reproductive organs, such as penises and vulvas, are external or on the outside of
the body while others, such as ovaries and testicles, are internal or inside the body.
• Both boys and girls have body parts that feel good when touched.

• Vaginal intercourse – when a penis is placed inside a vagina – is the most common way for a sperm and egg to join.
(Page 26)

Developmental Messages, Level 1 (ages 5-8)

• Most children are curious about their bodies.
• Bodies can feel good when touched.

(Page 51. Interesting language, "Most children are...."  Wouldn't be any peer pressure there, now would there?)

Topic 2:Masturbation
Subconcept: Masturbation is one way human beings express their sexuality.
Developmental Messages:
Level 1
• Touching and rubbing one’s own genitals to feel good is called masturbation.
• Some boys and girls masturbate and others do not.
• Masturbation should be done in a private place.
(Pages 51-52)

Topic 3:Shared Sexual Behavior
Subconcept: Individuals express their sexuality with a partner in diverse ways.
Developmental Messages:
Level 1
• People often kiss, hug, touch, and engage in other sexual behaviors with one another to show caring and to feel good.

(Page 52)

Topic 5:Human Sexual Response
Subconcept: Female and male bodies respond both similarly and differently to sexual stimulation.
Developmental Messages:
Level 1
• Both girls and boys may discover that their bodies feel good when touched.

(Page 54)

*********

Thanks to Wisconsin's Arlen Williams for helping us locate this info. . . more to come.

Comments

[spintreebob]

Masturbation should be done

Interesting use of the imperative "should"

[Informer]

Citing the involvement of the ACLU in promoting comprehensive sex ed, one can only wonder if this is an attempt to normalize their views on homosexuality with 5 year olds and other school-age children.

A sick and disgusting thought.

[Will NYC]

You forgetting the most important part..

every parent was permitted to have their child pulled from that class... it was optional.

duuuuuuuuuuuh

[Will NYC]

what ridiculous posts here.. no teaching children to go to the parents or a teacher if someone touches your no no parts... is bad!!

its not going to make children gay.
it not about the ACLU..

its about protecting children from pedophiles, silly people.

[Forked Tongue]

At that age, they should be taught what body parts they should not let anyone else touch, and to get immediate help from adults if someone does it or asks them about it. Period. Intercourse? Masterbation? Who cares if parents can opt out? It shouldn't be taught in school to 5-8 year olds.

Would these same liberals accept that "parents can opt out" as a retort to their objections over a handgun safety course to their 5 year olds? Gimme a break. You know darned well they scream and shout over how that shouldn't be taught in schools to 5-8 year olds to begin with. And they'd be right. Problem is, they can't admit when THEY are wrong.

[Will NYC]

Handguns? vs Pedophilia?? hmmmmm

[Arlen Williams]

NYC, I find it odd that someone would spend the time to comment, "it's about protecting children from pedophiles," when the information presented describes precisely how it is a Trojan Horse for provocative sex education (to 5-8 year olds).

Out of curiosity, why did you decide to bother?

Children can be taught from a very early she that their entire bodies are their own. When I did childcare in my home, I taught the children, ages 0-7, that if someone was touching them and they didn't want to be touched, they had a right to make it stop. It didn't matter to me where the child was being touched. If a child didn't want another child touching their foot,then I supported them in helping that touching to stop.

[Louis G Atsaves]

The language of the bill went beyond instructing the Big Bird crowd over what inappropriate touching and behavior is and included instruction about sexually transmitted diseases, conception and how to avoid conceiving children, including the use of condoms.

Sorry "will NYC." Go to the Illinois State Legislature website and download and read the proposed bill that Obama voted for in committee back then.

Obama of course conveniently forgets to mention the rest of the language of the bill when confronted with his vote.

The McCain ad was factually correct. The Obama denials are flat out fibs.

[Susan Ryan]

This bill reminds me of the drug abuse curriculum for kindergarteners. The teacher had to teach it and the wonderful one that I worked with had disturbing questions and comments coming back at her. This from 5 year olds and their orientation to school with the Drugs are Bad (unless you have to go to the school nurse to pop it into your mouth).
"My daddy smokes (cigarettes)?!"
"My parents drink beer and I need to tell them that's bad".

Then there were the ones who didn't say anything, but their parents were also in big trouble in their little ones' eyes. 5 year olds don't need to hear about drug abuse when they don't understand what they're supposedly being taught.
What they were taught right off the bat was that their parents were not good according to the school. They then proceed to spend huge amounts of their childhood with the same message reinforced again and again through various means.
The Urbana and Normal school districts are in the midst of multiple lawsuits because of a pedophile that was protected by the school systems. He's in prison because the secret finally came out. The other involved school employees are still employed despite not reporting per mandate. It's called Passing the Trash.
http://hiddenviolations.com/

I would think that bills like this would never come about until that horrific problem with a few school employees has been addressed and not passed off.
Bad touches indeed!

[spintreebob]

Susan,
You've got it right. Shifting responsiblity from adults to little kids is what it is about. If an adult touches the kid and the kid doesn't object (vociferously enough) then it is consensual and the adult has a defense.

Teaching sex ed to little kids is a teacher and priest protection act.

[Will from NYC]

Adults never have a defense regarding the molestation of children... this bill was intended to let children know when adults are being bad...

So you prefer little kids remain hapless victims???

so many red herrings being thrown against something thats actually at least trying...

cynics: put head in sand hope problem goes away.

[Informer]

The net take-away from public sex ed is that children are being given a subtle message that sex is Ok, and that their parents approve of them being taught this by strangers so they can go off and experiment.

I would add that the ACLU's involvement in promoting comprehensive sex ed seems designed to create ambiguity over the issue of human sexuality, and that homosexuality is just as "normal" as heterosexuality.
I also believe that they along with a few other groups at one point had been championing a bill in California that would have allowed for minors to engage in sex with adults; I believe that was mostly being championed by homosexual groups.

An additional problem that is being presented here is that children do not always make for reliable witnesses, have been known to embellish their stories, not to mention coaching from third parties.

Additionally, because many parents are under the impression that sex ed in public schools is the norm, they often fail to question it thoroughly.

I would also offer that DCFS has been known to show up at the doorstep when parents opt-out of sex ed under suspicion that they have something to hide.

Bottomline: We need to abolish sex ed and let the parents maintain their autonomy for deciding what they feel is appropriate to teach their kids, and when.

We also need strong messages to parents that THEY should be the ones doing this--not people at school. If they have problems with their kids' promiscuity, for example, after telling them about sex, or before, they should go to a third party like a child psychologist for a family intervention.

The notion that we should let government-sponsored entities such as public schools control this issue is bizarre and ought to be done away with for the good of our society.

Will NYC,

Recently, in a Chicago area school, parents were allowed to opt out of a controversial pro-homosexual, week long sex-ed program. The school sent home flyers about the program, and all the students had to do to opt out was return the form, signed by a parent.

Not suprisingly, many parents never found out about the class until it was over. The school made no other effort to notify the parents.

[Spense]

While 5 year olds need protected they don't need sex education. They are 5 for crying out loud... let them be kids for a while!

[spintreebob]

Maybe we have the wrong focus. Maybe the parents should be empowered, not to choose whether their kid gets sex ed or not.

Maybe parents should be empowered to choose what school their kid goes to.

[Will NYC]

oh secularization because of social issues...
hmmmm sounds UNAMERICAN.

[Susan Ryan]

Social issues?! Please. How 'bout each child's well being determined according to the parents and the individual family? The ones that these little ones come home to and who are cared for and nurtured by them.
What is a social issue? That little ones should hear from strangers how they were conceived rather than from their parents in their own time and their own way? Let's just throw the kids in a standardized sheep shed and let them turn into sheeple. They'll breed accordingly.

Don't assume that parents are idiots (or abusers) who need a bill/law/school so their children will learn ideas and notions that would never enter their innocent minds at the age of 5.

SIECUS Kindergarten curriculum is inappropriate and ludicrous when dropout/pushout rates are abysmal in the US. Don't schools have better things to do than worry about 5 year olds and sex?
Btw, child abuse is not sex. It's rape. I find it very unsettling to see that included within 'sex education', but it's all so twisted about that nothing surprises me with agendas not focused on the basics of a good education.
The defense of trying one more 'new thing' on our children is wrong. Our communities' little ones are not guinea pigs for these experiments.

[zuzu]

First you make the broad and unsupported claim that "those groups promoting comprehensive sex ed often referred to the standards set up by SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States)." Then you make a demonstrably false claim that SB 99 actually set "standards" that were the same as SIECUS standards. Of course the bill did no such thing.

[angie]

The Obama Campaign spokesman Bill Burton issued a document citing Sex-Education Curriculum for Kindergarteners from the SIECUS And Oregon Department Of Education. He issued a document showing that the Oregon Department of Education has guidelines for sex education for children in grades K-3 and that the Sexuality Information And Education Council of the United States [SIECUS] has curriculum for those in kindergarten." ("Obama And Sex Ed For Kids," NBC News' "First Read," firstread.msnbc.msn.com, Accessed 7/19/07)

[former conservative]

WOW So many uneducated comments about sex ed.....It's VERY sad to think that there are SO MANY close minded uneducated Americans. Those of you againist developmental age appropriate comprehensive sex education should do your research...... I would hypothesis that you are also against teaching children evolution in schools as well(creation supporter right?!). Like Nyc STATED "every parent was permitted to have their child pulled from that class". Maybe the parents who were unaware should be more involved with their childrens education!!!!!..... Please, pick up an academic sexuality journal and educate your self-broaded your mind. Don't worry I don't think you will become homosexual just by reading one but make use you wear latex gloves I hear homosexuality is a commutative disease;)