29 Sex and Relationships
INTRODUCTION
Do schools give you all the information you need about sex and relationships?
Remind students that schools are required to have sex and relationships education as part of the curriculum. What is students’ experience of that so far?
ACTIVITY
Show students the YouTube of Dan le Sac vs Sroobius Pip performing ‘Get Better’: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEitrZU-
Imagine a song, that really reached out and touched kids,
And not in a Daily Mail way, innocence corrupted,
But in a way where criticism remained constructive,
And wasn't too politicised and children weren't instructed,
To behave in a way that was unrealistic,
Or made out the way they live was somehow sick and twisted,
But simply pointed out reasons to get it together,
Not shouting "get a job", but just saying,
[Chorus] Get better, get better, get better …
You see the young mother capital is where I live,
Little kids being raised by slightly bigger kids,
Society seems unphased that this is how it is,
While I'm constantly amazed that this is how it is,
They confuse love at first sight with lust at first light,
It must have hurt right when trust first took flight,
You're young, you've no rights, you long for new heights,
But some of those nights leave more than love bites,
Tops cropped, skirts stop at the top of their thighs,
And the boys got that hungry look in their eyes,
They wanna be grown up and have respect you see,
But they're acting uneducated sexually,
I ain't saying' be celibate,
Go out and have your fun,
But there's plenty you can do without impregnation,
And there ain't nothing wrong at all with having children,
Just build yourself a little before you try to build them,
And,
[Chorus] Get better, get better, get better …
I see small town syndrome growing in size,
There's not a lot to do, so the kids they decide,
To get drunk every night, a glazed eyes disguise,
Do drugs every night, tired from their lives,
People getting off their faces for a quiet night in,
Kids rolling around the streets rowing and fighting,
But it's all just because life ain't too exciting,
And it's easier than trying to do the right thing,
But there are other choices -
You don't have to tow the line and just float with the flotsam,
You can build your time better when you find a passion,
The Internet and public services give free education,
So it really ain't a case of rich or poor,
It's a case of self-
Like Billy1 says, whether you have or you have not wealth,
The system might fail you, but don't fail yourself,
Just,
[Chorus] Get better, get better, get better …
© Scroobius Pip, 2010, Sunday Best Recordings.
Explain that Dan le Sac and Scroobius Pip are a British rap and electronic music duo, and that this track is from their second album, The Logic of Chance.
Ask the students to imagine a line or ‘continuum’ representing different views about sex. At one end of the spectrum are very casual attitudes to sex, e.g., people who think they can engage in sexual intercourse without worrying about the consequences. At the other end of the spectrum are very serious attitudes to sex, e.g., people who say that sex should be restricted to those who are in a committed relationship intended to last a lifetime. Ask students to respond to such questions as:
- Where would you put Scroobius Pip on the continuum of attitudes to sex?
- What do you think Scroobius Pip is concerned about? e.g., What does the song say about (a) media messages about sex and (b) young people?
- What do you think are the best lines in the song? Why?
- Are there any lines that you don’t agree with or don’t like so much? Why?
- What other advice about sex and relationships have you heard that makes sense to you?
ACTIVITY
Show students some statistics about teenage pregnancy and legal abortions, e.g., from www.fpa.org.uk/factsheets/teenagepregnancy.
Ask students to talk to each other in twos or threes about what they notice about these statistics and whether they think young people are actually ‘getting better’. After some time exchanging views, get some feedback and encourage an exchange of views and ideas, especially on the idea of ‘getting better’.
In particular bring out some of their thinking on such ideas as:
- What would you advise a friend caught up in a situation of unwanted pregnancy?
- Do you know the law about sexual consent, sexual health services, abortions and so on? [The NHS Choices website contains good information here.]
CONCLUSION
Replay the Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip song and point out what support there is locally for sex and relationships counselling and advice, e.g., school, NHS, Relate.
1Billy Bragg. 1983. To Have and Have Not, Charisma Records.
A printable (pdf) version of this session can be found here
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