That slippery, slippery slope that leads from the lesser to the greater evils. It’s the good intentions, I am sure, that make it so slippery in the first place. Here to dispel that myth! _____________________________________________________________________ IS THE SLOPE THAT SLIPPERY? Objectives: Participants will: 1. Identify behaviors that may be congruent (or incongruent) with their personal… Read more »
There are emerging conversations about consent – and even budding conversations about enthusiastic, or affirmative, consent! – brewing in the public discourse in the US. California now requires that colleges that receive state funds define consent in these terms – such an exciting move! Why is it that the state doesn’t just make that the… Read more »
Basically I love the name of this lesson, which is why I’m writing about it today. They say that you shouldn’t choose a book by its cover…and I suppose that the sentiment should be continued to include not choosing a lesson plan by its title, but I already threw that out the window a few… Read more »
I live in Texas – one of the United States’ deep, smelly armpits of sexuality education. While we do seem to be improving, our curriculum is nothing like that of our fellow countrymen in Oregon or New York. All of which is to say: sexuality education around here can be something of a farce. A… Read more »
As I mentioned earlier this week, there’s a lot of notable days in the sexology world right now. And what better way to celebrate THIS day of celebration than with a lesson from Positive Images: Teaching About Contraception and Sexual Health? And as I always do when I start a new manual, we’re going to… Read more »
Fourteen years ago on Saturday, the FDA approved Mifepristone. It was one of those all-too-rare moments in recent years where access to safe abortions were increased rather than decreased. But even though it’s been available for fourteen years now, there are still vast misunderstandings about it – the most common one is confusing it with… Read more »
This Saturday is the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion. This is a very personal and very emotional issue for me. In the summer of 2013 there was a major shift in the abortion dynamics here in Texas. Wendy Davisapproached heroic measures in order to allow Texas women to keep their… Read more »
I love working with the Center for Sex Education. In addition to my daily blogs here, I do a variety of other things, including editing the Sex Ed Network, run trainings for sexuality educators, and am co-chair for the 2014 National Sex Ed Conference. The conference is coming up in a few months (Less than… Read more »
One of the most neglected areas of sexuality education is with older adults. Stereotypes about sexuality and aging are pervasive in our culture – from assumptions to asexuality being an inherent part of the aging process to not needing to discuss safer sex choices, the dominant United States culture sweeps older adults’ sexuality entirely under… Read more »
What project(s) in Sex Ed are you currently working on? In May 2013, I was certified as a trainer for the middle and high school levels of Our Whole Lives (OWL), a renowned sexuality education program developed by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ. The OWL program has been integral in… Read more »
What project(s) in Sex Ed are you currently working on? Evaluating the impact of Our Whole Lives (OWL) training and facilitation has with our Community/School Health Educator Majors and how it enhances or improves improves their confidence in teaching sexuality education, and how it shapes their future career choices, and how they used the training… Read more »
What project(s) in Sex Ed are you currently working on? After teaching sexuality courses for twelve years for the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Washington University in St. Louis, I recently accepted a position as Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of Sexuality Studies for the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Traditionally, social… Read more »
What project(s) in Sex Ed are you currently working on? I am very interested in the intersection between sexuality education and social justice education. I’ve recently designed a workshop called “Just Sex: Sex, Social Justice, and Pleasure” that applies social justice principles to topics in sexuality education. Bio: Al Vernacchio is the Sexuality Educator at… 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? 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 »
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 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 »
In the United States Bridgeton, NJ: Inspira Health Network‘s Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program, “At Promise, Not At Risk,” just received $5 million from the United States federal government to continue its programming. The program, now in its third year, combines life skills with abstinence-based sexuality education for 120 6th graders across two school systems. The… Read more »
What project in sex ed are you currently working on? Sue Milstein and I have finished editing Positive Images: Teaching about Contraception and Sexual Health, which was recently published! I am also working on the 13th edition of Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Human Sexuality with Ryan McKee, and a few other projects in line…. Read more »
This past weekend, Teaching Safer Sex, Third Edition, Volumes One and Two received the AASECT Book Award, a prestigious honor given by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. Editor-in-Chief Bill Taverner and Associate Editor Susan Milstein were on hand to receive the award at the 2013 AASECT Conference in Miami, Florida. Associate editor (and recently retired Planned Parenthood educator) Sue Montfort was not… Read more »
