Just last week, Terrible Virtue, a fictional portrait of birth control activist Margaret Sanger by Ellen Feldman, was published by Harper. Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, devoted her life to legalizing birth control, and improving its availability to all women. Who Was Margaret Sanger? Born in 1879, Sanger first became interested in the idea of legalizing and improving… Read more »
Last weekend I taught a pregnancy options counseling training for nurses at the New York City Health Department – a program called Connecting Adolescents to Comprehensive Health (CATCH). The program generally and the specific nurses and health educators who I met just impressed the pants off of me. The program is entirely data driven –… Read more »
Today marks two very special birthdays: The first birth control clinic in the United States (98 years old) and my younger daughter (10 years old). It’s pretty amazing to think that in two short years birth control clinics will only be 100 years old – and my girl will already be 12. Time is both… Read more »
I so thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s discussion of story writing as a component of sexuality education that I wanted to continue the theme of creativity and imagination today. Positive Imagesseems to be the manual for me this week, because in addition to yesterday’s lesson, it also includes this! _____________________________________________________________________ MAGICAL METHODS OF BIRTH CONTROL By Melissa… Read more »
The mood was perfect: The dark sky dotted with points of light, the milky-way gathering extra stardust just above the horizon. Empty fields putting miles between the young couple and everyone else. The pick-up truck bed, covered with a blanket, plus another one on top to stave off the chilly night air… So could begin… Read more »
This Sunday is Margaret Sanger’s birthday! Sanger was born in 1879, almost 100 years before me. She was a remarkable woman – a trailblazer who made it possible for me to do the work that I do today. One of my favorite quotes from Margaret Sanger is: “No woman can call herself free who does… 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 »
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? Blythe Ulrich, MA, CHESUNC Horizons Blythe currently teaches a Women’s Health psycho-educational group at UNC Horizons, a gender specific substance abuse treatment program for pregnant women and women with children under age 12. Topics included are anatomy, STI/HIV education and prevention, contraceptive education, body image, gender,… Read more »
I am a firm believer the knowledge is power. Rachael Carlevale Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains www.pprm.org I am a firm believer that knowledge is power. Teaching comprehensive, medically accurate, age appropriate sex education: healthy relationships, contraception, pregnancy options- that knowledge is LIFE SAVING power. I feel as a sex education instructor, I am enabling students to make… Read more »
Daniela Vallez by Daniela Vallez Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains When I tell people what I do, people usually are quick to tell me their story about how they never had a class on sex education, or they explain how awkward it was. When I ask them why it was so awkward, they usually… Read more »
