Good Shepherd Lutheran College Howard Springs students asked questions about their genitalia
Some members of a school community in outer Darwin claim a workshop asking year 9 students about their genitalia is highly inappropriate, but others have defended the episode as standard sexual ed.
Northern Territory
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A Lutheran school on Darwin’s outskirts has fielded multiple complaints from parents after a year 9 cohort was asked if they were circumcised and whether they had nicknamed their penis.
The questions were distributed recently at Good Shepherd Lutheran College’s middle school campus at Howard Springs in the context of a workshop program, ‘The Rite Passage’.
The program was delivered by The Rite Journey, a Steve Biddulph-inspired education provider whose stated aim is to “support the development of self-aware, responsible, respectful, resilient, resourceful and reflective adults”.
Last week, a Good Shepherd father took to social media to voice his concerns after his son came home with ‘Man Made Cards’ asking questions such as whether he was circumcised, what he nicknamed his penis, and whether he was happy with its shape and size.
He wrote that while parents were aware the program would be delivered, “nowhere in the information was it ever discussed that such invasive and personal questions regarding penis and vagina size/shape and masturbation would be asked of our kids”.
“No consent was ever given to questions like this,” he said.
The father’s post, which received more than 400 comments, set off a frenzied debate.
Labels such as “grooming,” “disgusting,” and “strange” were all bandied about, but equal numbers thought the questions were standard in the context of sexual education.
“These cards are clearly discussion prompts and these are discussions young men should have and know about themselves,” said one.
That viewpoint received support from a number of people, such as one woman who offered, “They’ve already Googled more and worse.”
Good Shepherd principal Matthew Qualischefski said the cards were “a supplementary resource that was used with one group of students in a way that it was not designed for as part of a single lesson”.
“The college has communicated with all of the parents of the year 9 cohort regarding the matter and is committed to ensuring that all topics, conversations and resources are presented in a safe and respectful way for students, staff and families,” he said.
Mr Qualischefski noted the school had “received positive feedback from parents regarding the initiative” and that parents were invited to two information sessions before the program’s commencement.
The Rite Journey founder and director Andrew Lines said the cards were created initially a decade ago as a tool for fathers to broach sensitive topics such as body image with their developing sons.
“In more recent years the cards have been used as a resource in schools,” he said.
“The cards weren’t intended for peer-to-peer use.”
He said the deck is being reviewed and will be re-released and claimed the controversy boiled down to one particular card.
Palmerston Christian School mum Anne Wood told this masthead her 14-year-old son recently completed the program, which she said was a “great opportunity for families to be involved in their child becoming a woman or man”.
“Parents were well informed along the way if we didn’t want our children to participate then they didn’t have to,” she said.
However, she didn’t believe her son was distributed the body image cards, although she said she wouldn’t have had a problem with this, provided it was communicated.
“It’s sex education and shaping the children into becoming adults,” Ms Wood said.
“We were all taught something similar in school.
“In year 7 back then, we were placing condoms on bananas.”
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