Don't shy away from things that exist... here's some food for thought!

I have an excellent idea. Beyond excellent idea.

So I was recently encouraged to read a lovely journal entitled Our Schools Our Selves "Sex Ed and Youth". Not only do I adore this journal, but I adore every author in it! It's a journal about sexuality and minority communities. A beautiful read, if I do say so myself. I am currently reading Volume 18, Number 2 and I'm excited to get my hands on the other volumes!

So I was reading an article by Alexandra Looky who speaks about the differences in the sex education curricula of North America and Togo. So as I'm reading her article, I keep thinking about ways to improve current sex education (as is my usual train of thought). THEN, my new best friend Alexandra Looky (2009) lists her thoughts on how to approach sexual education. I enjoy them all and I agree wholeheartedly with the general theme, which is a positive vs. negative approach. Also, the inclusion of other aspects of sex rather than the consequence of pregnancy. <-- THANK YOU! What about STIs? Hmm?? What about Susie's broken heart when Jared gets up and says "Alright, I gotta peace. Thanks for the sex"? OR.... what about the satisfaction Molly gets from making the decision to express her love towards her boyfriend? OR... what about Billy confronting his boyfriend about wearing a condom, which shows his self worth in wanting to keep himself healthy and safe? Anyway... Looky's article (2009) raised a lot of interesting points for me, as did almost every article in this journal! One of the things Looky (2009) states is that "the average Canadian is still ignorant when it comes to sexual and reproductive health but is living in a country where countless resources are readily available..." (p. 95).



Absolutely. There are pamphlets about everything under the sun these days, and SO.... get ready:

Sarah's words of wisdom:
TEACHERS. Why not craft an assignment that encourages students to pick from a variety of pamphlets about sexually related subjects (anal sex, rape, sexual harassment, orientation and harassment, sexual dysfunction, sexual diversity, etc) and ask them to do a presentation/other form of critical assignment on one issue of their choice. THIS WAY the students who are like "aaahhh, I don't need to know about HIV" can present on something else. It sounds to me like this would be a value friendly assignment. Maybe? Also, have all these pamphlets (hopefully one day crafted by me or another superior mind) readily available in the school. ALL of these issues are important. If a student wants to shy away from COMPLETELY knowing everything about anal sex... fine. Don't present on it. Yes? Thoughts?

ALSO!!!!! by having each student present on something different, it allows you as a teacher to get through more material and thus, be a more comprehensive sex educator. AND!!! since the students are teaching each other, hopefully there will be more accessible language used, trust, less embarrassment, and an opportunity for students to talk to other students about sex! Whoa. Yes.

So, read this journal. Do it. It is filled with many educated voices from SO many perspectives. These are the people in our communities, in our schools, bravely speaking about something soooooo important. LISTEN. Aka, read. :)