Beijing (CNS) -- The capital's first go at sex education will be carried out at selected schools this September, leaving some parents flustered about "porn" content in textbooks.
Beijing recently released the pilot sex textbook Growing Steps, which includes three phases for students from 6 to 12 years old.
The textbook has broken through the traditional limitations of Chinese textbooks; in one lesson called "Where Did I Come From," the concept of coitus is illustrated with pictures.
Experts agree that sex education is necessary at an early age. Even so, some parents expressed strong objections after seeing the pictures in the book – they worry that their children might try to recreate the images.
Feedback from parents has not been all bad though. Some hold the view that correct education and proper guidance are the right way to avoid mishaps, citing the education systems of America and Japan.
Sex education is unprecedented in China and faces huge obstacles, said Zhang Meimei, vice chairman at the Beijing Sex Education Institute and director at the Sex Education Study Center of Capital Normal University.
However, if the curiosity of children isn't answered in the right way, they might turn to real porn or the Internet and be misled, she added.
The textbook has borrowed inspiration from foreign sources while maintaining the characteristics of Chinese traditional culture.
So far, a Framework for Beijing Municipality Primary and Middle School Sex Education has been drafted; 30 middle schools and 18 primary schools are to pilot the program.
The schools won't be required to offer sex courses, but are encouraged to combine the instruction with other subjects. After the first period of implementation and adjustment, Growing Steps would be extended to the whole municipality.
Beijing Dingfuzhuang No.2 Primary School is among the experiment's participants, where 80% of the textbook's contents will be taught in typical classes. Because this is a first trial, the book's drafters will listen to suggestions from parents and make necessary changes, said Tian Xiaoxian, who is in charge of the school's virtue education.
Tian said a lot of younger students had become curious about where they came from, but that curiosity was usually met with ambiguous replies from teachers or parents.
Netizens seem to be overwhelmingly in favor of the trial, however. In their opinion, the textbook presents biological knowledge harmlessly through funny cartoons.
