UN Meeting on Girls Education

Improving girls’ access to education focus of UN Asia-Pacific meeting

United Nations officials, government leaders and education experts are gathering in Kathmandu, Nepal, today for the start of a two-day conference examining how to improve gender equality in schools across the Asia-Pacific region.

UN News Centre

Sex Ed in Schools

Sex education and public edification

“Children love the idea that they harbour secret knowledge of the strange world of adults. They enjoy making us squirm. It is understandable when you spend most of your time being told what to do by people bigger than you, whose priorities have little to do with your own.

I’m not surprised that my sons have developed an interest in human sexuality, however innocently expressed. I remember having the same giggly conversations in the playground. Apart from offering information when they ask for it, I ignore their banter and occasionally go off for a quiet laugh in the corner.”

Sydney Morning Herald

Club 21

Ugly truth of school bullying and Club 21

“A group of Year 11 students from Mackay’s St Patrick’s College created the club, also known as Big 21, in which they ranked themselves according to their looks, their weight and popularity with boys. ”

news.com.au

Wow, this is really scary. Even the girls that I went to school with weren’t this extreme and that was only four years ago.

This is quite an interesting opinion piece related to the article from All For Women

Club 21, “girl world” exposed: binge drinking, bullying, low self esteem and distorted body image.

“Queensland school girls have formed an exclusive club, known as Club 21, which encourages members to be ranked between 1 and 21 based on their thinness, good looks, binge drinking escapades and popularity with boys… This story has caused significant shock in the media. However it is unlikely this type of bullying – of each other and those who didn’t make it into the club – came as a shock to many teen girls. It was likely no surprise to their teachers either, who witness the various manifestations of the “Compare and Despair” game that teen girls are so good at playing, in playgrounds right across Australia.”