Although lots of awkwardness may have arisen when you were introduced to the puberty video in younger grades or when talking about the best ways to prevent teen pregnancy, sex education is a critical standard in the health curriculum. Students need to learn about sex education in school because it presents a safe space for students to ask questions from a trusted adult and get the proper knowledge and skills for their safety in life.
The Department of aElementary and Secondary Education (DESE) recently passed the state’s first health education guideline changes since 1999. This 24-year period of health guidelines through the state of Massachusetts leaves out an abundance of information regarding a rapid change in time for students. With the unchanging guidelines in 24 years, a lot of heavily relevant information regarding various topics, such as vaping and technology use, has been left out. As the guidelines have changed, one very important topic taught through Massachusetts public education that has been revised is sex education.
Through the sex education standards, students in Massachusetts can learn comprehensive sexual education that will allow them to have more knowledge regarding relationships and oneself, furthermore promoting healthier sexual behaviors. Although the new updates are framed around sex education, the new guidelines don’t limit updates solely to sexual intercourse. With the updated guidelines through DESE, new updates include information about increased LGBTQ+ language and inclusiveness, updated sexual health and consent standards, a modern understanding of mental and emotional health, new substance devices such as vaping, and the impacts of social media on students’ well-being and relationships.
We interviewed SHS senior Sarah Gillis to get her perspective on the importance of health classes. Gillis said health class is important because it educates students on crucial life skills, such as CPR and human relationships. It provides insight into meaningful life lessons. Gillis believes that the updates in the health standards will improve health classes.
To dive deeper into this topic, we interviewed Greg Ranieri, the department chair of health education at Scituate Public Schools. Ranieri explained that it’s important for the standards to be updated due to evolved concepts. According to Ranieri, the needs of students weren’t always reflected in the DESE standards. Community health standards, such as substance abuse, fitness, nutrition, growth, and development, experienced changes in addition to sexual education. He explained that factors such as the internet, vaping, and the legalization of marijuana have impacted society. Ranieri said these changes impact education. In addition, he explained that the health department has partnered with the school’s physician, Dr. McBrien, who has individual conversations with many students at Scituate to determine standards that need to be met–including standards regarding sexual education. Rainieri said the standards are still being unpacked this year, and Scituate won’t experience significant changes in the curriculum–even due to the changes in these standards.
SHS health teacher Allison Mulvaney has taught health at the middle and high school levels for the past seven years. She believes that instead of going online and getting potentially false information, students should have a place to ask questions and get reliable and accurate answers regarding sexual education. In addition, Mulvaney has learned that not all families have discussions regarding sexual education, so she believes it’s important for students to have a trusted adult to ask any questions.
Mulvaney explained that the curriculum doesn’t address recent topics such as vaping, even though vaping is popular among high school students today. Although Mulvaney has adapted to the changing times, she thinks it is important for the standards to be updated in order to support the curriculum. She believes the updates in LGBTQ+ inclusivity, social and emotional health, and substance misuse are very important for keeping students educated. In addition, with these updated standards, families can understand exactly what their students are learning through the updated curriculum. In addition, Mulvaney said it’s important for students to know what is happening with their bodies and ways to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Therefore, Mulvaney is happy Massachusetts supports a well-rounded curriculum with updated standards to help keep students educated.