Whispers
This incident happened back in 2004 when I was in my secondary schooling
years. We went on a youth camp to Hutan Bukit Panchor and really had the
best time of our life. Playing games,
pranks, competitions, jungle trekking, and doing army practices and dances... I
just felt wonderful after a long time.
One morning we had a renown psychiatrist
addressing us. There we sat, listening carefully what he had to say about
concentrating on studies and later on the topic moved to the various
distractions we had when we studied. It was then suddenly pushed to the topic
of premarital sex. I could feel the air bristle with tension when students put
anonymous questions on sexuality, contraceptives and premarital affairs.
I had experienced some of the so-called premarital
events when I was in my primary schooling years. Everyone concentrating on UPSR
exam. But me and my gang always spending time -> playing hide and seek,
laughing and yeah its obvious that girls and boys will be acting like that on
that particular age. But, if it comes to education, of course THE ATTENTION was
really paid t0o much on it by ME...=D
So, during the UPSR extra classes, I tried to concentrate on my
studies so that my target will be achieved. Eventually, I came across where one
of my classmate suddenly start to cryin and cryin n still cryin.. I was like seriously? duh..
She's crying and crying and crying.. Non-stop
man..!!! And there was a big group.. Apparently, she was surrounded by them. As the class monitor, I
was wondering for awhile. What should I do now??..I can handle her but the situation seemed getting worst so we
just let our headmaster know it. And there he goes. He keep lecturing…lecturing
and lecturing her. I still couldn’t catch his point. But, somehow I figured it that something unusual or odd had happened on
her. My friends was telling me that …blah blah story. I just skipped the topic
and be normal. She was ok. Then, later they sent her home.
(Coming back ~> Secondary school life)
I felt pretty awful and embarrassed to be discussing
these issues in an open circle on that day. And I was shocked, you can say
shell shocked listening to the questions raised. My idea of sex was limited to
watching movies and reading Milsandboon strictly!..=p
The embarrassment continued when we, the girls, were
supplied with sanitary napkins by a manufacturer. Hijacking the solitary napkin
in the secret pocket of my tracksuit was
by itself an adventure! Giggling and whispering, we safely transported it,
hiding from the prying eyes of the guys of the class. I still remember vividly
how we girls shifted a girl from and the shivering hands! And why would these
sanitary napkins be named – Whispers, Private, Intimacy, Kotex???
And how the world has changed today? Discussing sex
is not considered a taboo anymore, as is evident now. And ‘transporting’ a
sanitary pad is not arduous task.
Amma and her ilk are going to supply them free of
cost to all female students in schools through teachers…errr…come again,
teachers, I said? So, from now on, teachers would be distributing notebooks
and sanitary pads…What a novel idea!
Freebies starting from sanitary napkins to mixers, grinders, and cows, goats???
Children these days are more intelligent than us,
they are swift learners when it comes to sexuality than algebras and theorems.
Sex education in schools was a much discussed issue during my secondary school
days and now it has fizzled out. In some country, they holds sex education as
an optional subjects and I wonder if anything worthwhile is taught in schools.
And at times I myself am confused what is to be taught to our teens – safe sex
or abstinence?
Well, some countries such as India has banned sex
education in all schools, citing reasons it ’corrupts’ children. I wouldn’t say
that is wise, because if classrooms don’t teach them, our idiot boxes and peer
circles will do that nefariously! A friend of my mother lamented once that her
five year old daughter was –asking about the liquid which was being absorbed - seeing a TV commercial. The mother was too stunned to
reply. But is that a solution?
It is better we take kids to our side and
explain what is required for them to be known for their age, depending on their
maturity levels. Who would be a better teacher than us, parents - their first
teachers?
*LOVE*
