Why Teaching About Consent To Young Learners Is Very Necessary? - Complete Guide
28th December 2022
As the #MeToo movement is on the rise and the cases of sexual assault are increasing rapidly in numbers all over the world. According to ncdsv.org, 1 in 10 children getting sexually abused and 1 in 5 children got solicited sexually while on the internet.
These statistics are proof that too many younger individuals within the age bracket of 18 are becoming a victim of sexual abuse. As a society whatever steps, we are taking in past is clearly not working.
Now is the time to bring changes in the education system and teach young learners about consent using non-sexual examples and situations. Every school must implement this idea to teach about respecting each other boundaries, speaking up when somebody’s if somebody’s invading their boundaries, or talking to responsible adults about it.
Teaching young learners about consent can save them from sexual predators, make them understand each other boundaries and respect them, and teach them to ask others before borrowing their belongings or asking others before touching them like hugging.
Note: In case you are planning to teach in Singapore as a primary teacher then we would recommend our online pre and primary teacher training course in Singapore, which can help you to achieve your dreams, and helps to empower your students in every aspect as well.
Now, let’s get to know how you can teach consent to young learners effectively:
1. Teach what Consent actually is:
As a teacher, you have to teach about consent to your young learners by taking a non-sexual approach. First make them understand what consent actually meant, which is to “Ask permission for everything before taking action.”
Teach them about consent in a non-sexual context like asking someone to borrow their personal belongings and to set boundaries of personal space and respect other personal space boundaries as well.
2. Teach about personal space and norms of body parts:
It's high time to break the norm of talking about body parts without using any alternative words. As a teacher, it’s your responsibility to remove the hesitation of talking about body parts and their functions openly for your young learners.
In Preschool, you can teach students about setting personal space boundaries and at the same time respecting other boundaries as well.
For example - If a student doesn’t want to hug at a particular time, then he/she can say no.
In Elementary School, Teach students to talk about their bodies without any shame then if they are being a victim of sexual abuse then they understand that and they can raise their voices for it or they can report the abuse to any responsible adults.
3. Teach Linguistic and Non-linguistic expressions:
Teaching your young learners about both forms of communication in terms of consent is very essential for their understanding.
Linguistic consent examples like- If somebody is saying “Yes” or “No” to certain requests or actions.
Non-linguistic consent examples like- Showing if they are comfortable or not by their facial expressions, gestures, or from their body language.
If young learners understand both forms, of expression then they can express themselves well while giving consent and at the same time, they will understand or respect others' consent as well.
4. Make them Practice all four components of Consent:
Consent consists of four components, which are:
- Listening to request
- Responded to that request
- Make requests to others by asking
- Listen to others if they are giving consent or not towards your request
You can organize tasks revolving around these 4 components which will develop a habit and 2nd nature of how to respond and react toward other requests and at the same time respect others' consent as well.
5. Become a reliable individual for your students:
As a teacher create a comfortable environment for your students so that they are not feeling hesitant to report any issue related to their consent.
Become an individual who believes what students are saying and encourage them to report any problems that they are saying.
Final Thoughts:
Teaching consent to your young learners at an early age is pretty essential for their safety and to create a comfortable environment for the students to talk or report about any incidents they have faced.
It also teaches students to set boundaries and respect other boundaries at the same time.
In addition, if you are an aspirant primary teacher who wants to teach in Singapore then we positively recommend our Online Pre and Primary Teacher Training Course in Singapore, which will help you to fulfill your dreams and teaches you how to teach consent-like concept effectively in your class.
