TC, on Sex ed:

The Film. Surely you remember The Film? We grew up about the same time; it’s probably the same Film. Horrible production values, almost as bad as the “Don’t Get Run Over by a Bus” film.

Actually, I don’t think I remember The Film. What I remember (and this was sixth grade, the same as Justin) was that the Boys were grouped in one classroom and the Girls went to another.

In our classroom, we got a fifteen-minute slide presentation with medical diagrams of the inside of a human body, complete with dry male voiceover. Following that, our principle (he apparently had to do the class because neither of our (female) sixth-grade teachers wanted the job) said:

“Well, by now you’ve figured out that nobody gets pregnant by kissing.”
[nervous laughter and sidelong glances from boys who had figured out nothing of the kind]
“Right, who wants to go to recess early?”

The girls, we found out later, got to see a thirty-minute movie, followed by a lengthy question and answer period with BOTH of our teachers.

They maintained that strategic advantage over us until our late twenties.

Yeah, something like that. We had three sixth grade classes at my school, and all the boys got to go to Mr Mays' class (where I was), the girls got double-teamed by the two lady teachers.

And, yes, we got a film with lots of cross-sections and descriptions of anatomical parts and so forth. I don't remember much discussion, and since I'd already been plied with the appropriate books on the subject by the folks, there wasn't much to discuss (though there was some wondering how those pix tied into the pix that some other kid in class had been showing off from a magazine his older brother had).

The girlfolk got more briefing, perhaps, but they had to learn all about -- y'know -- girl stuff. Y'know? Though I was kind of curious about their films, too. While I can see doing it in a segregated fashion, giving everyone all the info would probably have been wise, too. It would certainly have been helpful when I get sent to the store. Or maybe not.

Wow...

So the Hippy school I went to did it better (again)...Cool!

Forth, Fifth, and Sixth graders all together...and the boy's got to stay around for what I guess would have been the girl's section (plus Q & A)

Wow, I thought you guys were ushered into the gym to learn how to rebuild car engines or something...

Oddly...I can see Jayne saying...

"I'll be out rebuilding my engine..."

The year we did our class, all I really remember is the one girl in our class who was even getting her period in 6th grade, got physically ill watching the video and threw up in the hallway. Talk about scaring the hell out of the rest of us.

Where I went to school, there were girls having kids before we ever had sex ed.

And we had girls breaking the spines of other girls in cross-tribe conflicts in Junior High.