Sex vs Sexuality: Puberty and sexuality education all too often do not coincide. In Northern California, Kaiser Permanente offers a play to 6th graders called Nightmare on Puberty Street, which introduces them to the changes that occur to youngsters bodies during puberty. (As a personal aside, I’m not a fan of this name, as it’s… Read more »
What project(s) in Sex Ed are you currently working on? My newest is Inside Out: Your Body Is Amazing Inside Out and Belongs ONLY to You. It’s a body-positive child abuse prevention program. Inside Out is a culturally-inclusive, body-positive, affirming approach to child abuse prevention that encourages young people to love and respect themselves. Inside Out sets… Read more »
Russia says no to sex education and yes to reading. Pavel Astakhov, left, Russia’s children’s ombudsman is just looking out for the chastity of Russian children. He says that everything young people need to know about sex and relationships is in the Russian classic literature like Chekhov, Tolstoy and Gogol. Despite Russia’s 1 million people living with… Read more »
Photo by: HUE photography What project(s) in sex ed are you currently working on? I’m currently writing for the blog My Sex Professor. While the blog isn’t what most people may think of when they hear of “teaching,” I think it’s a very innovative way of teaching and being able to interact with a broad range of… Read more »
Graphic: Guttmacher Institute New Mexico: For six years, the New Mexico Department of Health has rejected federal funding for abstinence-based sexuality education, saying it’s ineffective and biased. However, the DOH, in partnership with New Mexico State University, has recently accepted a nice sum of money to support an abstinence-based sexuality curriculum called Sex Can Wait. The curriculum will be offered as… Read more »
What project(s) in Sex Ed are you currently working on? I use my training as a sexuality educator to focus on child sexual abuse prevention and intervention. My current projects include synthesizing research on school climate with best practices in sex education, bullying prevention and harassment prevention. I work with school districts in NJ and PA on programs, policies and procedures… Read more »
Sexual Climate: Janet Rosenzweig, MS, PhD, MPA discusses the characteristics of a healthy school’s sexual climate in this Healthy Kids page of Philly.com. In order for youth to grow up and be educated in a safe environment, it is essential to understand the importance of having a healthy “sexual climate.” Equally as essential is the ability of… Read more »
What project(s) in Sex Ed are you currently working on? A million things! Two of the big highlights would be starting up a new sex-ed program for an entire all-girl’s middle school and doing a lot to put LGBTQ domestic violence on the map as an issue in Rhode Island. With a healthy relationships and… Read more »
Tulsa, Oklahoma: Tulsa Public Schools is set to vote this coming Tuesday, September 10 on the expansion of their sex ed curriculum for 7th, 9th, and 11th graders in the district. If passed the comprehensive pregnancy prevention curriculum, Making Proud Choices! will begin this Fall and will require the consent of a parent or guardian. The classes… Read more »
Every year, late Fall, the Center for Family Life Education hosts the National Sex Ed Conference. This year’s Conference, in case you were wondering, is December 11-13, 2013, at the Sheraton Meadowlands, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Educators from all over the country, and even the globe, come to this Conference – the largest conference… Read more »
What project(s) in Sex Ed are you currently working on? Answer recently released our latest online professional development workshop, “Boys and Sex Ed: Beyond Statistics and Stereotypes.” This workshop seeks to address the gender imbalance within sexuality education, which tends to focus on girls and young women, by demonstrating how to teach in ways that… Read more »
Two students attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are encouraging conversations on their campus for sexual education and advocacy through their reinstatement of two student groups: Students for Choice, and Students Advocating Gender Equity (SAGE). Meredith Cain and Audrey Nance returned to campus feeling inspired after attending the Youth Organizing and Policy Conference in Washington, DC in July,… Read more »
What project in sex ed are you currently working on? My current passion is working to bring together the fields of sexuality education and sexual violence prevention. I provide professional trainings around the intersection of healthy sexuality and sexual violence prevention for organizations in both arenas. This summer I will present on this topic at the National Sexual… Read more »
Beijing, China: In 1979, the Chinese government instituted the one child policy, which remains today. According to the State Family Planning Commission’s Science and Technology Research Institute, more than 13 million abortions occur in China annually, and according to Durex, 9% of sexually active people under 25 know how to use a condom. Li Yinhe, a… Read more »
What project in sex ed are you currently working on? I’m excited to be coordinating The Pleasure Chest – Chicago’s educational program, which offers over 60 classes at no charge each year on topics ranging from basic sexuality to specialty topics encompassing the range of ages, genders, and orientations. In my off-hours time, I write… Read more »
Great news! Effective January 1, 2014, all Illinois schools that choose to teach sexuality education will have to teach comprehensive sex education to their students, thanks to Democratic Governor Pat Quinn who is expected to sign House Bill 2675 into law in the coming weeks. This bill essentially bans abstinence-only curriculum from the classroom. Illinois is ranked 27th in the… Read more »
What project(s) are you currently working on in Sex Ed? This year, The SPECTRUM, the LGBTQA youth safe-haven I founded in 2006, turns 7 years old! I’ve done my best to provide hundreds of queer and allied youth with education, recreation and support. Helping them grow into sexually healthy adults is some of the most… Read more »
Robert E. CooperAttorney General Nashville, TN: The Tennessee Attorney General Office decided that state and county public health workers are exempt from a law enacted in 2012 that allows parents to sue teachers and workers for discussing family life matters that could be (mis)construed as “gateway sexual activities.” These activities include everything from touching thighs, breasts,… Read more »
What project in sex ed are you currently working on? I am a sex educator for Masakhane Center in Newark, NJ. I have worked with Covenant House, the local young adults homeless shelter, Renaissance House, an expectant mothers drug rehabilitation center, and several high schools as well as youth groups in the summer time. Masakhane… Read more »
What project in sex ed are you currently working on? I just launched my 6 month women’s sexuality program, The Sexually Empowered Life, in NYC. It’s designed to help women do deep work on their sexual selves and it uses a powerful combination of group coaching, education about the sexual body, self-exploration and more drawing… Read more »
