High school pupils are the peculiarly ripe starting point for sex instruction, and the appropriate lower grade limit should be established by starting at the top of the school and working down¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · theoreticalr2·q1
Currency · newest study 1913 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q1 i? High school pupils are peculiarly ripe for sex instruction because of new dangers characteristic of their physiologic age and their emotional susceptibility. → Cook 1913
q1 i? The only intelligent way to establish the lower age or grade limit for sex instruction is to start at the top of the school and work carefully down, not the reverse. → Cook 1913 (2)
Evidence¶
Cook 1913¶
Cook, W. A. (1913). The problem of sex education. The Journal of Educational Psychology, 4(5), 253-260. https://www.google.com/search?q=%22The+problem+of+sex+education%22+Cook+1913
q1 · i? · theoretical · r2
Theoretical argument in the 'When Shall We Begin?' section. The author notes only one-fifth to one-twentieth of children in different communities graduate from high school but many others attend for a time, and argues reached pupils will become teachers of their less-favored fellows.
"That high school pupils are peculiarly ripe for this instruction is almost a truism, (1) because of the new dangers that are characteristic of their physiologic age, (2) because of their emotional susceptibility."
Cook 1913 (2)¶
Cook, W. A. (1913). The problem of sex education. The Journal of Educational Psychology, 4(5), 253-260. https://www.google.com/search?q=%22The+problem+of+sex+education%22+Cook+1913
q1 · i? · theoretical · r2
Theoretical argument on administration in the same section. The author believes there should ideally be some differentiation on the basis of age between pupils under and over 14, but notes the difficulty of making younger pupils feel they are being dealt with frankly.
"The only way to establish our limit intelligently is to start in at the top of the school and work carefully down, surely not the reverse."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Sex instruction should work by countering motives with motives, using fear, disgust, self-respect and desire for the regard of others against sexual carelessness — related
- An indirect, gradual nature-study approach to sex instruction is superfluous and may arouse pupils' suspicions rather than disarm them — related
- The school is the only organized agency that can assure sex instruction reaches all children, since the home and free literature cannot be relied upon — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
high-school-start-work-down-grade-limit |
title |
High school pupils are the peculiarly ripe starting point for sex instruction, and the appropriate lower grade limit should be established by starting at the top of the school and working down |
description |
High school pupils are the peculiarly ripe starting point for sex instruction, and the appropriate lower grade limit should be established by starting at the top of the school and working down |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
1913 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-23 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — cook-1913, cook-1913-2 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.