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THE MARSHALL MEMO
What's the Role of Schools in Teaching About Sexual Harassment?
By Kim Marshall, TIE columnist 02-Feb-18
The article: "What Do Schools Teach About Sexual Harassment?" by Stephen Sawchuk in Education Week, January 26, 2018, http://bit.ly/2ElBcfw In this article in Education Week, Stephen Sawchuk reports that most school sex education programs have very little content on sexual harassment and consent in relationships. This is a puzzling omission, say some educators. "From the first time that a girl got her ponytail dunked in an inkwell, schools have been places where girls (and, in some cases, boys, too) have experienced gender-based harassment," says Sawchuk. "Given the amount of time children spend in them, schools are also the most logical places to teach young people how to recognize harassment - and how to avoid perpetrating it." The #MeToo movement is adding urgency to this question, with students sharing stories from the adult world - and their own experiences in the companion hashtag #MeTooK12, which was launched by Stop Sexual Assault in Schools. All this casts new light on the age-old view that girls should put up with touching and teasing because it's a sign that a boy likes them. If schools don't give clear guidance, students will get their "education" in this area through rumors, anecdotes, social media, and pornography. How early should schools get into all this? Students in the elementary grades need lessons on body autonomy, personal space, and appropriate and inappropriate touching. But teaching them about assertiveness can be tricky - the idea that you don't have to hug grandma if you feel uncomfortable can get pushback from families. However, there can be much worse consequences from not talking about these issues. "If we tell kids they're too young to talk about this," says Kate Rohdenburg of the WISE program in Vermont and New Hampshire, "we're reinforcing the idea that they need to keep their mouths shut…" Outside of formal sex ed programs, educators' personal behavior is key, as are the limits they set (or don't set) when they see inappropriate touching and hear disrespectful and sexist comments in classrooms, corridors, cafeterias, and playgrounds. In addition, there are the questions students privately ask educators about how women are talked about and treated by peers, TV personalities, and politicians, and the norms around them. "Why, for example, do the most popular Google searches that contain the word 'girls' result in images of women in various stages of undress?" writes Sawchuk. "Why do TV shows often show women in catty rivalries with one another? Why are women 'period shamed' and taught to use coded words for menstruation?" What adults say in these informal conversations can have a major impact on how young people think about gender norms, relationships, and harassment.
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Comments
10/26/2021 - Anna
My daughter is in 5th grade abs is only 10..this is a topic that PARENTS need to discuss with their kids..NOT teachers..teachers can’t and won’t fully explain the meaning and what “sexual harassment” entails..our kids are only in elementary..why can’t we keep them innocent and more driven and focused on the basics? Why bring these topics up without us, parents consent? As a mother of 3 daughters..I’m trying to keep them as innocent as possible for as long as I can..now my 5th grader has marked another 5th grader as “sexually harassing” her just by playing tag..this is what happens when schools leap in without consulting parents on thinking they know what’s best for our babies..
08/21/2018 - Dale
not sure if all that is said is accurate, my family is experiencing something similar which demanded me to inquire and read the laws pertaining to sexual harassment in school, and to my amazement the DOE requires this but defers it to the state,then the state requires this but defers it to the county which has its requirements but defers it to the school district,and it leaves it to the principals to establish something that resembles an effort of concern. even in the handbook the word sexual harassment is never mentioned and for civil rights violation concerns ,we are to fill out a form and give it to the superintendent of the school district who is in another city, this isn't what was said or instructed to do.in the guidelines of any of the institutions but is embraced as ok. we are planning to plant our seed in the middle school and high school with a pas it on to the next upper classmates (8th and 12th)
