We need more information before we can analyse the report that many of the essays written by students sitting the PSE contained graphic details on sex and violence. Is this a new development or has there been a gradual increase that was not previously reported? How many of the thousands of essays actually contained disturbing content? Are there any commonalities in gender, age or ability between the students who wrote such essays? On a rating scale of 1 to 10 how graphic were the essays? Without such information we may be tilting at windmills. A few such essays indicate the need to reach out to a small number of disturbed children but an increasing trend may be a symptom of a wider problem to which we need to find realistic solutions.
We do need to keep in mind a few underlying facts that many of us would prefer to ignore. The young people sitting the PSE are mostly in the age range between 11 and 15 years. Although in modern societies they are technically children they are actually on the threshold of adulthood in terms of their physiology. The bodies of modern children, like those of our nomadic ancestors, are preparing to begin the reproductive phase of their lives. These children are going through a period of profound and rapid changes driven by the hormones now coursing through their bodies. Girls begin their menstruation and   experience a dramatic change in their body shape. Boys experience a sudden growth spurt, their voices change and their dreams are wet. Regardless of the environment they are raised in this age group is acutely sexually aware though not necessarily knowledgeable about the new thoughts and feelings rushing through their systems. It is therefore perfectly normal for these young people to be thinking about sex and we could not prevent it even if we wanted to. That Standard Six students are thinking about sex is not the problem but rather the inappropriate expression of these thoughts.
Another characteristic of young people is their desire to rebel. Again, this is a natural part of becoming an adult and moving away from the authority of parents. This rebellion may fire positive desires to right the wrongs of a previous generation, save the planet, make new discoveries and much more. However, it may also lead to negative and self destructive behaviours such as substance abuse and promiscuous sexual behaviour. One has to assume that many, if not most, of the students writing these essays knew that they would disturb the examiners. Did they do it as part of that generational desire to shock adults? If they did, then they showed another characteristic of this age group – the tendency to take risks because of an inability to realistically weigh the consequences of their actions. When you consider the importance of the PSE in the educational options open to these young people and the path into adulthood that they will embark on it is amazing that some would risk a poor grade by writing in this way.  Teachers are already overworked but they may need to include some guides on content and language as they prepare their students for the PSE.
Regardless of why these essays were written we are reminded how important it is for parents and teachers to continue to monitor and interact with their children to teach them appropriate ways to express their sexuality and channel their rebellion into positive directions. This report will encourage greater efforts from most adults but unfortunately there are many children who do not have adults in their personal lives who can provide the positive support they need. These essays may therefore be a way of identifying those children who need individual help to deal with the issues in their lives before it is too late. They may be cries for help that we ignore at our peril.
