WHAT he terms " the false philosophy of well-meaning Catholics who would concede to
the biological approach in sex instruction " is denounced by Mr. R. Watson. Headmaster of Birkenhead, New Zealand, in a printed survey of the whole situation which has been widely circulated in the Dominion,
He first wrote his thesis when over a year ago it was proposed to introduce legislation for sex instruction in New Zealand State schools, and it was used as a basis of the Report by the Council of Christian Churches there; it was also used in Canberra, Australia, when that Commonwealth Was considering similar proposals. As a result education reforms known as the Children's Charter were prepared to bring a less pagan and materialistic: bias into State schools.
Points from Mr. Watson's thesis include:
" Reputable physicians and psychologists all agree that it is desirable that the child should be kept in ignorance of sex as long as possible. Dr. J. Elliot Ross. in Innocence and ignorance, points out that of 5,000 cases examined by Fxner it is shown that the first enlightenment on sex knowledge Varied from six.to eighteen years. the sharpest rise in the graph being between twelve
years and fourteen years. Therefore with group instruction we would have six-year infant adolescents in the some mental age grouping !--a situation which reveals an unpardonable ignorance of modern medical research."
" Experience in America of sex hygiene taught to segregated groups of either fere was one or grave scandal in homo-sexual practices."
" Sound pedagogy demands positive idealism. not negative leaching. By reason of their training. doctors and nurses, when called upon to act the role of teacher, lay undue stress on the pathological aspects. The unsoundness of this is shown by the fact that medical books on sex in public libraries are notoriously the most thumbed volumes as the result of being constantly pored over by perverts."