Last few weeks the topic of sex is being handled in many different forms at campus – It began with complain against one child. As we went deeper into the issue we realized how each one of us are contributing in many different ways – some tease each other, some make pairs, some use foul words, some watched video of nudity, some followed, some lead. Many more aspects were questioned – initially only few spoke, slowly many started sharing.
Some questions came up – why we have ratings in movies (A, U etc), What actions are appropriate in social environment and what are not, What is acceptable at campus which is heterogeneous environment (people of all ages live together) and what is not acceptable and why.
For each aspect – all of us showed a sign either for ‘okay’ or ‘not okay’ or ‘want to understand more’. The option of ‘understand more’ allowed each one of us to explore what and how different people at campus think.
Eg: Bathing together was fine with some , not fine with others. And many expressed thier expereinces as well as views about it.
Living together put us in many different life learning situations – this experience was one of them. It all started with complete freedom to understanding the meaning of that freedom and the role each one plays in the community.
Three influences / controls in any child’s life:
- School
- Media: TV, internet and I would enlarge to include even books (Not sure if we should include culture and religion here)
- Parents (and other relatives and friends in the first circle).
Without being judgmental about the quality and quantity of control, influence and conditioning that each tries to exert on the child – we yearn to create an environment in which each of these can be discussed, inquired into, reflected upon and understood by the child in his or her own way.