Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1118959
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 MAY 2019 NEWS KURT SANSONE WITH images of "gay super- heroes" and "youngsters in underwear", it was no wonder that a concerned parent de- scribed a workbook for per- sonal development lessons at school as 'diabolical', 'filthy' or even 'oral rape' of 10-year- olds. And yet, this controversial PSCD workbook contained cartoon images of different family units… including one of a nun with children, a family with two fathers, another with two mothers, a single-parent household, and a Muslim fam- ily. For, if what the public knew of the 24-page workbook em- ployed by State schools came from what they had heard on social media, they would have been excused for thinking that children were being peddled a debauched and precocious in- troduction to early sexuality. In reality, it is an educational tool to help children appreci- ate the diverse relationships around them and understand the physical, emotional and psychological changes they will go through. When sexual knowledge is misconstrued as 'filth and oral rape' Persisting in error is surely diabolical… this was the week a PSCD workbook got an unfair rep when a Facebook video from a deeply religious couple went viral Left: Stephen Camilleri, education officer for PSCD learning at the Education Department, and Stephen Cachia, director general for curriculum, speak to Kurt Sansone on how the PSCD workbook was crafted