You are absolutely not off base. It seems like something stinks right now.
There's nothing wrong with your moral compass.
Any chance of a grassroots movement to force a change in the curriculum?
FWIW, I learned the same in 4th grade, circa 1968 in a public school in St. Louis. This isn't new, if that helps.
ping-a-ling
I have a 4 year old boy. We live in a nice part of New Jersey with good schools but I still wouldn't send him there. I wanted to send him to Catholic School like I had been to protect him just a little longer. Is there no decency left anymore? (And I am far from a prude)
From what I've seen most Catholic schools nowadays are "in name only.' They are taught by non-Catholic teachers, the curriculum is chosen by non_Catholic administrators and boards.
find out what program they are using
Our kids finished out that year, but when a new Catholic School opened up in the next town over the following year, we moved them there. Two years later, we got sick of the whole idea of school and began homeschooling them. ;o)
I had sex-ed in the fourth grade in Catholic school in the 1960's.
This is not new at all.
I remember learning from my parents that babies came from sperm and eggs probably around age 6. I didn't know where sperm came from, nor where eggs came from, but I knew that sperm+egg=baby.
You are not off base. This is one of the reasons we homeschool instead of sending our children to Catholic schools. Unfortunately, the diocese in which we live now requires that homeschoolers send their children to CCD classes. If we don't, our children cannot receive the sacraments. We are blessed to have a wonderful priest as the spiritual director of our homeschool group and he waives the CCD requirement in our parish.
Two Words: HOME SCHOOL
You can't afford not to do it these days.
I don't think you're off base, however remember that age of first menstration is going down in our girls, it is not uncommon for them to start that in 5th or 6th grade (I have a good friend whose daughter started in the 4th grade, I think it was the end of the year tho).
I think the terms sperm and egg are not such a big issue, I would want to know what they are teaching them about those words in very specific terms. Ideally, I think parents should be the ones to teach their kids, and it should follow what the child is interested in knowing. That is the difficulty of teaching it in a school, as it has to be a one size fits all approach, and kids are not all one size.
For a little background, I taught health in a public school, which of course included sex ed. It was an abstinence only approach, and most of the information was rather clinical, ie, how the fetus developes, the reproductive organs of the male and female, diseases, and birth control methods were only talked about in discussing failure rates. But, this was 9th graders, and was not appropriate for 4th graders!
I am currently working in a Christian school as a 4th grade assistant. I cannot imagine broaching sex ed with that group.
Ask the school to give you a copy of the curriculum. You might feel less concerned if you actually see what they're going to cover. BUT if you are concerned about it, don't hesitate to opt out. No one has to know why your child missed the class, and 4th graders are unlikely to persue asking. Go with your instincts. It's YOUR right to educate your child about these things.
susie
I taught 5th Grade in a Catholic school in Chicago. We taugth "sex ed" as part of the religion class, at the end of the year. It was basic biology and why you don't have sex until you're married. I thought it was really well presented. I also sent home copies of the text and invitations to the parents to attend the class, no one responded. The girls (the other 5th grade teacher took the boys) didn't want to learn about sex at all, they kept saying they were too young! They were concerned about getting their period though..I do agree this early in 4th grade is young and personally I would either be in class the day it's taught or pull my child if you're not comfortable.
Learned it in 4th grade in 1989-1990.
Didn't bother me a bit.
I teach religion to fourth grade in a Catholic School. I don't know if your school uses the same curriculum as we do, but we use Benziger Family Life for this portion of our religion curriculum. It does talk about sperm and eggs but it doesn't mention reproduction or sex at all. It is a very small section in the curriculum (2 or 3 lessons at the most) and it is clearly designed to promote a pro-life point of view, without actually discussing conception.
We allow parents to review the material presented and to opt their children out of this portion if they would prefer their child not be exposed to the material. Keep in mind that many kids in fourth grade already know all about the birds and the bees.
Our focus in presenting the lesson is to introduce the idea that a baby begins in the mother's belly as a microscopic group of cells. Even when we can't see it, or feel it moving around, it is a baby boy or girl, specially designed by God. We show some ultrasound pictures of how babies grow, and what we looked like while we were still in Mom's tummy. The kids are much more interested in babies than the egg and sperm, which are meaningless terms to them at this age. I never thought it was inappropriate at all, and I have never had a student make the jump into sex or conception.
It may not be the same where you are, but thought it might help.
It all depends on what EXACTLY is being taught. However, the way you describe I would have to say that you are overreacting. What your kids are being taught is science, or more specifically biology, by learning how human life begins. Don't be so defensive, and don't look for problems where there aren't any.
In fact, you can try looking at it another way if it will make you feel better about it. When your kids learn at this young age about how sperm and eggs create people, it can very well make it that much harder for some baby killing nutjob to convince them that abortion is nothing more than a 'harmless medical procedure'. Because your kids will have learned early in life, that life begins at conception.