My Personal Experience Of Sexuality Education At Avondale...

The time at which we are at school is thought to be one of the most critical times of our lives.It is a period in our life in which we start discovering ourselves and our sexualities.School is an institution that is thought to provide enrichment in all aspects,not just academic stimulation but also emotional maturity and psychological development.Sexuality education therefore has become a fundamental aspect of one’s learning as it not only enables us to formulate ideas regarding sexual identity and gender but also allows us acknowledge ourselves as sexual beings.It can be argued that sexuality is not ‘the property of the individual and is not a hormonally or biologically given quality’ (Epstein,O’Flynn and Telford, 2003) but rather it is a socially constructed paradigm or notion that permeates almost all aspects of not just schooling but our society,both formally and informally.This ‘notion’ of sexuality is ever-changing and it is made dynamic by particular events in history that change our perspectives and priorities.By using my personal experience of sexuality education at Avondale College and St.Dominic’s College,I aim to demonstrate the ever increasing importance of comprehensive sexuality education in New Zealand and show how the current curriculum very successfully promotes heteronormativity but often fails to wholeheartedly acknowledge desire,homosexualtity and teenage pregnancy.This failure to acknowlege key aspects of sexuality in schools has numerous consequences