In Germany, a book released in 1991 has been circulating through Berlin’s first grade classrooms. Graphically illustrated, “Where Do You Come From?” teaches children ages 5 and up about stages of sexual arousal, and how to put on a condom properly. As if this is not shocking enough, two years ago, teachers in Berlin were urged to present a media kit to seventh graders explaining homosexuality and transsexuality, in addition to encouraging “role-playing”- cheap pornography dressed up as education.
See the full article from Spiegel Online International here.

In Berlin, parents’ complaints were ignored by the school board, until the local press and Berlin’s administrative body, the Berlin Senate, got involved. In the West, an emphasis on pervasive sexuality is growing. At younger ages (in Berlin, five years old), children are being exposed to sex. This is all the more reason for parents to demand higher levels of choice. Teachers and schools should not dictate what is in children’s best interests; parents should ultimately be the gatekeepers for the sexual information children receive.

This situation is not new to Canadian schools, where parents’ role in determining their children’s knowledge of sex is largely ignored (see story in Nanaimo of graphic sex education pamphlet).  Though we have not seen examples as extreme in Alberta, this curriculum usage leads one to wonder if such blatant disregard for parental involvement and choice in Alberta education is just around the corner.