More ‘cake’, less pornography for sex education teachers
● For some conservative teachers, using the word “vagina” during life orientation lessons is “culturally inappropriate” and taboo — instead they call it “cake” or ikhekhe.
Some don’t show pupils how to use a condom because they believe it will encourage them to have sex.
These are some of the issues that surfaced during a study at six schools in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal to assess the impact of the department of basic education’s new scripted lesson plans (SLPs) on pupils.
The SLPs form part of the department’s sexuality education programme, aimed at addressing HIV/Aids, sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies.
Nolwazi Mkhwanazi of Wits University was the lead researcher of the project, which was conducted with researchers of the University of North Carolina in the US.
Teachers at one KZN school said they felt uncomfortable using certain words in front of pupils because culturally it was deemed inappropriate for adults to use those words with children.
“So, I have to try and work around those things. Sometimes, I don’t say things as they are in the scripts but rather find an alternative,” said one life orientation teacher.
Another said she avoided explaining some words by writing them and their definitions down on the board.
During training provided to teachers at schools where the SLPs are being piloted, teachers were advised against the selective teaching of the life orientation curriculum.
But one teacher told researchers that teaching pupils how to put on a condom was wrong, and it was not something he would even think about teaching his own children.
According to the research document, “the same respondent also considered certain sections of the LO [life orientation] book to be pornography”.
It added: “He said that learners get excited and there was pandemonium when the educator brings graphic LO textbooks to class.”
In contrast, an outspoken life orientation teacher said she did not feel uncomfortable about teaching sexuality education.
“I laugh a lot and whenever I teach, I laugh with them. Especially when we are about to approach the sexual part. I tell it as it is, especially when we are talking about the differences between a female and a male.”
One of the study’s recommendations was that training should discourage the practice of teachers shaming pupils who were pregnant or engaging in risky behaviour.
The researchers said separating male and female pupils during select lessons, or parts of them, could make female pupils especially feel more comfortable to participate.
Sex therapist Marlene Wasserman said she was “completely horrified” that teachers shy away from the correct terminology.
“Desensitising educators would enable them to use correct clinical terms — this is protective behaviour — having the correct universal language allows people to negotiate sexuality.”
Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney with Freedom of Religion SA, said the state had a duty to protect those teachers who had conscientious objections to teaching certain material.
Basic education spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said teachers were receiving ongoing training. “The SLPs also provide teachers with a resource to use to teach content in a uniform way and to address the comfort/discomfort some are experiencing when they have to cover certain topics.”