A new sex-education primary school textbook was released in Beijing this week, making some parents and experts believe it is too 'pornographic' (黄色). The book doesn't refer directly to sexual desires, though it does illustrate the procedure of reproduction and the female and male sex body parts.
北京公布一套名为《成长的脚步》[1]的试点[2]教材[3]，这本由北京性健康教育研究会[4]推出的性教材[5]，针对６到１２岁的小学生。这套教材被媒体称为"北京突破传统尺度的小学生性教育"的前卫[6]教材，在中国内地引发广泛热议。
一位妈妈担心对于她八岁的孩子来说，这本教材会造成孩子早熟[7]。在这位母亲看来，孩子小小年纪分辨是非[8]的能力差。生物医药[9]网站"丁香园"(dxy.cn)的副主编[10]冯志华也是一位父亲，他认为这些内容适合小学生，应该被更广泛地推广。
中国著名科普[11]网站果壳网(guokr.com)的副总编[12]吴鸥认为，用直接的语言描述性并没有错，只是教科书中的语言太过直接了。儿童性教育是一个需要设计和多花心思的领域。用图示[13]的方式本身没有问题，只是在细节上要多考虑。
此套教材编纂人之一的吕卫红说，在青少年[14]性教育问题上，中国国内以前的做法比较保守。特别是学校教育方面，把这部分责任丢给家庭和社会。在以前涉及性教育的各类教材中，很多中小学生看了以后，反而更加糊涂。北京师范大学性教育研究中心[15]主任[16]张玫玫说，性教育在中小学长期处于缺失状态，孩子们由于对自身发育不了解，到了青春期[17]会产生很多心理问题。她认为，这本教材吸收了国外性教育精华[18]，结合中国传统文化，可以为学生、教师、父母提供相关的性教育知识、价值判断[19]和行为引导。
A diagram of a sperm meeting an egg, taken from the 成长的脚步 sex-education book
Beijing has published an experimental teaching book, called 'Steps of Growing up'. This is a sex-education book promoted by the Beijing Research Association for Sex-Health Education, targeted at elementary school pupils of age 6-12. This education book has been called by the media an avant-garde education book and "the capital's elementary sex education which breaks outside the traditional scale". It had evoked extensive hot discussions throughout China.
One mother is worried for her 8 years old daughter, saying this book brings about early maturation. In the opinion of this mother, kids of young age cannot distinguish right and wrong. Vice chief-editor of the biomedicine site 'Lilac Garden' (Dingxiang Yuan - dxy.cn), Feng Zhihua, is also a father. He believes this content is suitable elementary school pupils, and should be spread more extensively.
Deputy editor-in-chief of China's famous popular science internet site, Guoke Wang (guokr.com), Wu Ou, believes that using direct language to describe sex is by no means a mistake, but the language in this textbook is too direct. Children sex education is a realm that must be planned and carefully considered. There is no problem in using illustration pictures, but the details should be considered thoroughly.
One of the compiling editors of this textbook, Lu Weihong, says that concerning the issue of children and teenager sex education, China's former conduct was rather conservative. In school education in particularly, this responsibility was lost and given to families and society. The various types of education textbooks that involved sex-education in past, have only made middle and elementary school pupils more confused. Director of the Sex-Education Research Center of Beijing Normal University, Zhang Meimei, says that in the long period of elementary and middle school, sex education suffers from deficiencies. Children don't understand one's own development and when reaching puberty this creates many psychological problems. She believes that this education textbook absorbs the quintessence of foreign sex-education, integrated with Chinese traditional culture, and could provide relevant sex-education knowledge, value judgment and behavior guide, to pupils, teachers and parents.
Original article published by Xinhua News Agency 新华 xinhuanet.com
[1] 《成长的脚步》chéngzhǎng de jiǎobù - 'Growing up steps'; the controversial textbook tested within the Beijing education domain
[2] 试点 shì diǎn - Experimental
[3]教材jiàocái - Education textbook
[4] 北京性健康教育研究会běijīng xìng jiànkāng jiàoyù yánjiū huì - Beijing Sex-Health Education Research Association; a Beijing governmental education-research center
[5] 性教材 xìng jiàocái - Sex-education textbook
[6] 前卫 qián wèi - Avant-garde
[7] 早熟zǎo shú - Early-maturing
[8] 分辨是非 fēnbiàn shìfēi - Distinguish between right and wrong
[9] 生物医药 shēngwù yīyào - Biomedicine
[10] 副主编 fù zhǔbiān - Vice chief-editor
[11] 科普 kēpǔ - Popular science
[12] 副总编 fù zǒng biān - Deputy editor-in-chief
[13] 图示 tú shì - Illustrating pictures
[14] 青少年 qīngshàonián - Children and teenagers
[15] 北京师范大学性教育研究中心 běijīng shīfàndàxué xìng jiàoyù yánjiūzhōngxīn - Sex Education Research Center of Beijing Normal University (a large-scale university focusing on education studies and teacher training
[16] 主任 zhǔrèn - Director
[17] 青春期 qīngchūnqī - Puberty
[18] 精华 jīnghuá - Quintessence, example
[19] 价值判断 jiàzhí pànduàn - Value judgement
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