Hellobee Boards

Type of schooling: public
Location: TX

Grade level/schedule/length: We had a video in 5th grade, a one day course in 7th, and then a health class every day for 9 weeks in 9th.

Topics you remembered covered;
5th - basic puberty topics like periods, body odor, erections, etc. and anatomy
7th - more intensive version of above + STDs
9th - anatomy, STDs (shown pictures and explanations of all types), birth control options (but with a focus on abstinence being the only one 100% effective), drugs/alcohol/caffeine.

Public school, DC
Either 5th or 6th grade
Menstruation, feminine hygiene, changing bodies, wet dreams b/c a classmate asked about it b/c she heard it from her older brother.

Then in 8th or 9th grade Health class the consequences of sex was discussed pregnancy, STDs, safer sex. There was an "ask me anything" class when a speaker came I think homosexuality was addressed.

Thats all I remember

Public school, Ohio.

5th grade - separate girls talk, mostly focused on periods but also briefly touching on how babies are made.

7th grade - separate girls talk, again mostly focused on periods (but more specific/instructive with tampons and whatnot), and more talk about how babies are made, brief talk on STDs.

9th grade- health class, mixed gender, semester long class focused on various health topics but also had segments on STDs

At some point in early high school we also had a specific sex ed class. I think it was mixed gender. I think it was part of gym class, and a couple days long. This was the intense talk about STDs, pregnancy, and protection. Our gym teacher taught it and had samples of condoms and female condoms, and instructed us on the use of each. Also talked extensively about pros/cons of various types of birth control and their effectiveness regarding STDs.

Type of school: public 5th grade private middle/HS
Location: CA
Grade levels: 5-9th
Topics: in 5th we started off with puberty, getting your period and the reproductive system. Then it got more detailed through the years. In 9th grade (catholic private school) we learned about birth control options, STDs, pregnancy, the intricacies of the mnthly cycle and practiced putting on condoms correctly on fruits and vegetables. It was very comprehensive.

5th grade public school we had the girls' period conversation. All I remember is that I asked about periods making you throw up because that's what my mom had told me about her experience. The nurse said that was absolutely untrue and my class laughed at me. The next year I got my period and vomited nearly every month for years.

At Catholic HS we had health class. I don't remember anything standing out. Just a nervous gym teacher and the basics. Not abstinence only.

Senior year of HS my religion teacher got fairly detailed with NFP. He described checking his wife's CM (seemed like way too much TMI) and her taking her temperature. It wasn't presented as birth control for HS or college students but as part of married life for a Catholic adult. The most impactful sex Ed I had in HS was when my school stopped kicking out pregnant girls.

I went to public school. In 7th grade there was a few weeks of sex ed. You had to take home a permission slip to participate. My parents didn't allow me to do so, so I spent that time in the library. I was the only one who was not allowed to go.

Public school in Central PA.

In 5th grade we had separate boys and girls classes where we learned about periods and briefly touched on anatomy.

In 7th grade, I think we did one quarter of sex ed in Health Class, but I can't really be sure. Mostly biology-based stuff - reproductive cycle, conception, birth, probably briefly talked about STDs.

In 9th grade, there was a bigger focus on anatomy. I kid you not, I clearly remember being given blow pops while we labeled blank pictures of male anatomy. We also talked more in-depth about conception and contraception. It was an "abstinence is best but clearly not the only choice so here are your other options" approach.

In 10th grade, we had VERY specific discussions about STDs. Like, we were showed slides of anatomy with infections.

these answers are terrifying to me!

Type of schooling: private (not religious)
Location: Texas

Grade level/Schedule/Length of classes:
I know we covered this in grades 4-7 at minimum....I assume 8 but don't remember.
4th - you study the body all year long in science, basically one body system per month: muscles, bones, digestive system, and the last unit is reproductive system. It lasts all of May and is taught in the same co-ed class as the rest of the year was. We covered the basics and it was very comprehensive and accurate: puberty, how babies are made.... As I remember it, this is the main lesson and everything in future years added on to this. You HAD to use the real words, just like you did for bones or muscles.... the week before, we were told to practice saying Penis, Vagina, and Breasts into the mirror until we could do it without giggling. And I remember coloring and labeling a drawing (just like we did with the digestive system) and trying to remember which one was the vas deferens vs. the seminal vesicle!! And learning that all babies start off as girls - I thought that was awesome!

6 or 7th - don't remember the year, just the teacher. We covered lots relating to drugs and STDs, and had the "put any question you want in this box" day.

4th grade is what stands out the most to me. But I came from a school where nothing was off limits, and I know I didn't learn these things from kids on the playground, so I must have learned it in class and just not be remembering everything.
ETA: I don't recall learning about birth control but I know we did. My school was definitely not abstinence only (but they of course taught that abstinence was the only 100% way to prevent pregnancy and STDs)

@farawayyama: LOVE LOVE LOVE that!

There are places in the midwest to find that, but honestly, it will be hard. This is part of why we plan to go private here in Texas -- I believe very strongly in a science-based education, and that is not how I would describe our public schools.

@MrsLonghorn: @808love:

I loved it too. What is also interesting is that I was very religious until my mid twenties and chose to not have sex. Often the argument is that comprehensive sex education will cause young people to go out and have sex, whereas I was one of the very oldest of my friends to start having sex, and when I did I was comfortable asking for an STI test and dealing with contraception.