A drawing by Grade 3 student Wu Yajing shows her understanding of puberty. (Photo/Courtesy of Han Xuemei)
Zhang Xiaojie, an undergraduate at Beijing Foreign Studies University, served as a voluntary teacher in a migrant school earlier this year. She explained that the sex education the project provides does not exclusively deal with reproduction and adolescent health. It involves a variety of aspects.
"We strive to offer multiple sex-ed courses for students, not just focusing on sexual behavior and reproductive health like contraception, but infusing children with correct attitudes, concepts and values about sex, such as the difference between a friendship and a sexual relationship, sexual orientation, gender equality and the proper attitude toward marriage," Han said.
She added that sex-ed classes should avoid spoon-feeding students as it will bore them. She encourages teachers to adopt participatory teaching methods, such as organizing various activities around sex like discussions and drama performances and encouraging students to share their viewpoints on sexual issues and put what they have learnt into practice.
"When it comes to some topics like gender equality, we will hold discussions and students are given opportunities to express their ideas and opinions. We ask them questions like 'Do you agree with gender equality?' 'What do your parents and grandparents think of gender equality?' As for how to refuse sex, we will organize some drama performances for students to judge whether they have learned the correct ways in this regard," said Han.
Zhang, also a voluntary teacher with the XX XY School project, said she likes to arrange her teaching content by telling stories in a vivid way, and one of her friends from Tsinghua University sings a different song for students in every class, to stimulate student's minds, catch their attention and keep their focus on teachers.
According to Han, all their teachers - volunteers and professionals alike - have to take regular training to ensure they can provide high-quality education to students.
Apart from teaching, the XX XY School project runs a public WeChat account which publishes articles for migrant parents about how to educate their children, as a way to provide scientific information on sex and dispel their misconceptions.
Han noted most of the migrant children like the sex-ed classes. One student told her that he was quite interested in the sex-ed courses as what he learned was closely related to himself and helped him understand the physical and psychological changes he was experiencing.
But Zhang mentioned that students take a long time to internalize what they learn. She said that every semester students need to write some feedback on the classes. From this, she found some students absorbed little of what she taught in class. Even simple concepts like "wash your hands before a meal or after going to the restroom" took some Grade 1 students around three weeks to internalize.
Challenges still exist
Despite the potential benefits that it can bring to migrant students, Han said the XX XY School project is still facing resistance from some parents and school authorities.
"Some parents doubt the necessity of sex education because they argue they have succeeded in tackling any problems related to sex on their own and leading a good life. Therefore, they reckon sex education for their children is a waste of time," Han told the Global Times.
She added that a few parents are against sex education because they just catch a glimpse of teaching materials, like diagrams of male or female genitals and jump to the conclusion that what the teacher taught is somehow inappropriate.
Shen, headmaster of Xingzhi Primary School, a private school for the children of migrant workers in the capital's Daxing district, said the school's resources for its basic curriculum are lacking, let alone material for sex education.
She said that her attempts to teach students about sex received protest at the beginning.
"A parent asked me face-to-face why I allowed the curriculum, as they believed it was bad and would teach their children to have sex at an early age," Shen told the Global Times, adding that she was eventually able to persuade parents that the course would help, rather than harm, their children.
Teachers and school administrators also have mixed feelings toward sex and find it hard to carry out sex education themselves. Zhang noted despite the fact that some migrant schools have already started holding sex-ed lectures for adolescents, they only give a brief introduction to the ideas of health or resisting sexual harassment. But what they teach is just the tip of the iceberg.
"Some school heads embrace our cooperation with them in running sex-ed classes, but reaching a consensus on teaching methods and course content is a tough task," Han said. "School authorities have to take advice from parents and teachers into consideration, to avoid a flood of opposition from parents and the general public if they talk about sex too much."
As for the further development of sex education in China's migrant schools, Han hopes the XX XY School project will gradually cover more schools inside and outside Beijing, and join hands with local educational authorities in other provinces.
"We want our project to be recognized by more people, so we can raise more funds to continue this project. In addition, as sex education remains sensitive in some migrant schools outside Beijing, we need more cooperative partners, especially local administrators. So we can gain trust from school heads and promote this project without much resistance." Han told the Global Times.
Zhang said besides efforts made by NGOs, migrant schools should try their best to train qualified teachers to provide sex education. The government officials need to provide financial support, she added.
Only if families, schools and governments work together can all of China's adolescents receive adequate sex education, she noted.
