New DepEd draft curriculum: Teaching students the birds and the bees as early as Grade 4

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SEXUAL and reproductive rights will be introduced as early as Grade 4 to enhance the learner’s health literacy, a draft new curriculum of the Department of Education for Health and Physical Education showed.

Under the proposed 2022 basic education curriculum, the current separate subjects of Health and Physical Education will be merged to ensure better “practical application” of the learner’s knowledge of health, including lessons in sexuality, family health and prevention of substance abuse, among others.

The draft curriculum said the merging of physical education and health is becoming increasingly popular and that other countries have already merged the two such as Australia, Japan, Canada, China, Germany and the United Kingdom.

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“This is due to the recognition that these two subjects are interconnected and that a holistic approach to health education is necessary for students to develop healthy habits and lifestyles.

One of the features of the draft is the inclusion of “sexual reproductive and health rights and health care needs and rights” as early as Grade 4.

Under the present K to 12 curriculum, human sexuality concepts and gender are only introduced in Grade 8.

The goal of the lessons in sexual and reproductive rights, according to the draft curriculum, is that it would allow learners to exhibit “sound decision-making skills” on their health needs and rights even at an early age.

The proposed new curriculum that includes sexuality and reproductive health-related lessons will gradually progress in terms of scope and depth from Grades 4 to 10 in junior high school.

Grade 5 learners will learn about “pubertal changes management, body image, self-worth and their impact on mental health and well-being, communicating needs and respecting needs and boundaries in relationships as well as upholding family values and managing issues associated with relationships.”

When they reach Grade 6, health classes will deal with such lessons as respecting basic gender concepts and all sexual identities with the end goal of developing awareness and respect for diversity.

Grades 7 to 9 students will deal with various aspects of sexuality and reproductive health to “support adolescents as they undergo changes and sexual development.”

For Grade 10, learners will be taught about “parental roles and responsibilities,” including maternal and child care, responsible parenthood, prevention of teenage pregnancy and family planning programs.

The end goals, according to the draft, is to “develop physical and health literate 21st century learners, provide students with knowledge, skills, and attitudes to make informed decisions about their health, promote healthy and risk-preventive behaviors, empower students to take responsibility for their own health by teaching them how to access reliable health information and resources, and to advocate for healthy lifestyles and strive to positively influence others.”

The draft also expounds on environmental health, population education and even community organization.

The DepEd is currently reviewing the K to 12 curriculum as well as assessing the learning competencies from kindergarten to Grade 10.

 

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