Online Education, Anyone?

Hello Sex Educators!  Below are my experiences with teaching sex education through online workshops.  I am sharing with you my successes and my failures with doing this type of education and I hope you can learn from my trial-and-error process.

Click the following link to download the printable handout for this vlog:

Online Video Sex Education Handout

Please complete the handout while watching the videos. 

Video One: How to Create a Video

Guided Questions:
(1) After watching the video, what other skills can you model during your videos as a sex educator for your audience?
(2) Which demographic do you think online workshops can greatly benefit?  Least benefit?

Video Two: How to Create an Online Learning Environment

Guided Questions:
(1) After watching the video, which sex education topics can you see working well on this format?
(2) Is there opportunity in your current sex education to integrate online workshops/vlogs?  If so, how soon can you get started?

Thank you all for the on-going support and Happy Orgasms!

 Rachel Maulding

rachel.maulding@gmail.com

Blue Waffles: Social Media's Effect on Sex Education

In the past few years social media has drastically changed our daily lives. In its most basic use it is a way to communicate and keep up with friends. In recent months we have seen it successfully used as a way to begin movements, revolutions, and larger social change. Social media is changing our lives. While the implications of this change are both bad and good, beautiful and ugly, as educators we must question the role it will play in our classroom.

I was teaching a lesson on STI’s a few weeks ago at an area high school. In the lesson is a brainstorming section – a chance for students to shout out some of the STI’s they have heard of, which we then categorize and talk about in greater detail. While facilitating the brainstorm I had one student yell out “blue waffles!” to which all the other students said “ew, yeaa,” Now as a sexologist I thought I had pretty good knowledge of the majority of STI’s that exist. Here I am the teacher and students are teaching me about an STI. Slightly embarrassed I looked over at my co-facilitator who smiled and said “there’s something we have to talk about with blue waffles.” We asked the class how many had heard of it and nearly every hand went up.

As it turns out, a picture went viral on the internet claiming that a new STI had been uncovered called blue waffles. It apparently causes severe bruising as well as lesions on the vulva and penis and it is said to be transmitted through improper cleansing of the genital area. It is not real. When the students found that out, there was an audible sigh of relief in the room. It was something they were genuinely worried about.
After I went home that day, I decided to Google blue waffles to see what would come up. The first hit was a site for The Daily Gore which hosted the picture. While the photo may have been indicative of bruising due to sexual assault it is also clear that photoshop has also been to work on this picture. Upon more searching I could only find minimal information related to this apparent “disease.” There was certainly nothing of any merit.

What particularly frightened me about this was that despite information by any reputable sources, students believed blue waffles was a real thing, and were worried about it, simply because it was out there. This brings me back to my earlier point about the role that social media plays in education. As educators we need to be aware of the things students are seeing, the things that are going viral.

While in another post the importance of staying up to date on news is important, so too is remaining up to date on what the students see as news, whether or not it is true. Although it is impossible to be a gatekeeper of anything that is floating on the internet, I think educators should be aware that there is a special need now to have a discussion with students about what is current to them. A weekly discussion of what’s viral on the internet, particularly as it relates to issues of sexuality could have uncovered blue waffles as well. I happened to do it by chance. 

In this instance, incorporating social media into the classroom could be used as both a way to engage students into talking about issues current to them, as well as debunking the many untruths that exist when information is not substantiated before it is posted. As educators we want to reach our students with the correct information.

Our Kids Are Smart!

I recently learned a trick to getting middle schoolers engaged in class discussion... Candy.  I teach an after school community education program for Latina youth focusing on sexual health and self-esteem.  Working with a group of sixth grade students after they've already been in class for eight hours is a tall order.  For the past six months I've struggled to engage my group in class discussion.  The easy part is always the experiential part of the experiential learning cycle:  showing videos, reading stories or doing hands on activities.  After the fun part is over many times I loose my student's attention, transitioning between the experiential activity and discussion.  During one particular moment of frustration I took one of my students aside and asked her how I could get her peers more involved in class.  She said that one of her teachers focuses on rewarding kids whenever they offer a particularly thoughtful comment during class discussion.  I thought... Brilliant!  How easy!  So step one to getting my class engaged in meaningful discussion:  rewarding students' when they make a contribution to class, as opposed to disciplining them when they get off track.

Inspired by my student's suggestion of reward over punishment, I brought in a bag of candy into my next class.  We were talking about bullying and dating violence.  After showing a video I led the class through a series of questions and whenever a student said something that was really insightful or thoughtful I would throw him or her a piece of candy.  My student's caught on right away.  After a few student's received candy they began raising their hands more readily.  I could see them taking more time to think about their responses, as the name of the game was rewards only to those who shared thoughtful comments.  I learned another lesson the day I incorporated reward over punishment...  One of my brightest students said flippantly to the class, "Wow I'm really smart in this class.  I wish I could be this smart in school."  Her comment made think two things simultaneously:  1) Do teachers not commonly reward students when they are making great contributions to class?  2) Do students not participate in class discussion because they think they don't have anything smart to contribute?

The second question really stopped me in my tracks.  Maybe there is more to this notion of reward over punishment in an educational setting.  While kids all love receiving candy and are generally motivated by the opportunity to receive free sugar, I think what is more important in rewarding kids for their positive contributions is the act of reminding them they are smart and what they have to say is truly brilliant.  I wonder how often youth are told how smart they are and how often they are validated by their teachers, mentors and parents.  As educators we have a unique opportunity to inspire our students to perform well in school and make positive contributions to their communities.  One of the simplest ways to encourage our students to participate in class might be a candy incentive.  However, providing validation and support to our students by reminding them every day how smart and insightful they are will encourage students to do more than just speak up in class.  Who knows, they might just change the world!

Teaching sex ed from a different angle

My job consists of working on an evaluation project of a positive youth development (PYD) program.  I had never known what these programs were until I started working on this job.  PYD programs are intended to develop a youth’s sense of self for being a good person and productive citizen.  This particular one I am evaluating has, in essence, a side effect of preventing teen pregnancy in addition to its intended goals of decreasing school failure and dropout rates.  When I was talking to a friend about this it struck me that sex ed does not always have to be taught from a direct angle.  This program has taken a different approach to addressing youth about sexuality in that they address the outside factors facing a person and their influence on their decision to engage in sex rather than the traditional disease model.  The thought is that if youth develop a better sense of character in themselves, develop a greater appreciation for and connectedness with their school and community, and set life goals for themselves that either they may be too busy to have sex and/or they stop to take the time to think how getting pregnant, or getting someone pregnant, can help or hinder them in their life and with their life plans.  Granted this approach is not a fully comprehensive approach to sex and sexuality but I feel it is effective because it is a message that the youth are not expecting and it gives them the empowerment to make a decision to engage in sex as opposed to obeying a mandate that says to always use a condom if you are going to have sex.  Also, this program is intended to develop other skills within themselves so that making decisions in relation to sexuality are more thought-provoking such as thinking of the implications of using a condom or not rather than just choosing to use a condom because you told to do so.  I can see how a program like this can add value to the work we are trying to do with youth in educating them about their sexuality outside of a reproductive standpoint.  Getting them to see the impact their decisions have not only on themselves but also on others, especially in their community, can give them the perspective that has been missing in some of the traditional sex ed programs.  I would hope if given the opportunity to teach sex ed one day I can blend the best components of both the traditional and newer approaches into one to create a sexual PYD program.

It's More Than Being a Teacher

The current culture in our education system is a complicated one.  School is not just about learning in reading and writing, but a setting in which students acquire social skills and knowledge.  It is a place where they learn to navigate the social mores and the community culture with which they have grown.  It is also an environment where students can seek support, if they so choose.

Over the past year I have been a sexuality educator and a counselor in schools throughout Delaware.  All of my clients seek counseling for mental health issues.  This is not uncommon.  The CDC estimates that nearly 1 in 5 children under the age of 17 experience some mental health issue that impairs their life.  As educators, it is our responsibility to promote their mental health wellness.  So what does this require, especially as sexuality educators?

It means that we need to work with mental health professionals at schools.  There is often a climate in which mental health professionals are shunned, and not incorporated into the school environment.  A belief that we do not need to work together, because the two - education and mental health - have littlein common.  However, as educators, we should work together with counselors, to promote the wellbeing of the students we work with.  We are all aware that teaching about sexuality is a sensitive topic, and can often bring to surface issues that students either have not yet dealt with, or are still working through (sexual assault, bullying, gender nonconformity, etc.).  This is why working with the school mental health professionals is crucial.  Working together allows students to receive support on every end.

In an atmosphere where LGBTQ bullying is rampant and adolescent suicides are becoming more frequent than they are not, it is vital we provide these students especially with all the support.  Mental health professionals and educators can work together and aide students through navigating the incredibly difficult period of adolescence, and beyond.  My experience this last year has helped me realize how important this partnership can be, both for the school environment and more importantly, for the students we work with.

Sexuality Education: The Deal on Keeping it Fresh

It was not long ago that I had the opportunity to be the teaching assistant for the local university’s human sexuality professor. I’d say he’s in his in his mid forties and has been teaching sexuality since the early nineties. His teaching also consists of using research articles from the nineties! While having the opportunity in 2010 then again in 2011 for my practicum to facilitate seminars, I found myself being the new and upcoming sexuality educator, who needed to bring sexuality education back to the future!

How important is keeping ourselves “with it” and cutting edge? The majority of us have had the opportunity to purchase that assigned book made in the 80s because nothing new has been published. There is obviously value in original research, but there comes a time where having students discuss an article published by Sanders and Renisch (1999), which asks students to identify an event in the late 90s that started a public debate on whether or not oral sex was sex, becomes dated. This is because the majority of these students were roughly seven years old at the time! I was 12 myself, and I wasn’t able to recall the answer which was the Monica Lewinski and Bill Clinton scandal.

As sexuality professionals, Taverner (2006) suggested to  “try to expand your reading to equip yourself with greater dimension in understanding the field of sexology. I have heard this recommendation from both emerging professionals who are surprised at how little their fellow students read non- required books and fail to keep up with the news, and from expert colleagues who recommend reading that will enable you to understand the background necessary to become a leader in this field. Read about history, social issues, cultural issues, and psychology” (p. 3).   

While this professor sounded amazing back in the mid 90s because he was keeping current to create his original curriculum, he failed to continue to make continuous updates to bring his curriculum up to speed. Asking students to conceptualize Mazur (1986) focusing on the trends in female beauty from the 1950s to 1980s, was great, but was missing three more decades of trends. A great example is women starting to be more muscular which was a trend that was more prominent in the 2000s. Nonetheless, it was my job to go over and above and add these important tidbits so that students felt the information was relevant for them in 2011.

The importance of updating one’s curriculum is crucial. Of course, I know I will never know it all, but if planning on talking at conferences or teaching sexuality in secondary and post secondary institutions, I believe that using more current research will help to identify with students and will help with building a better report. I cannot express the number of times these students found the articles boring or irrelevant because of the time frame of the dated articles. To be the best sexuality educator, no matter how busy, take the time and invest in subscribing or reading online journals in our field. Sometimes you are able to sign up for RSS feeds that keep you informed on which new articles are out based on your topic of interest. Review your curriculum at least on a yearly basis. While reviewing, assess if the articles you are citing are exceeding five to ten years and if so, see if you can find something a little more current that may better relate to the group you are educating for the time being. 

References

Mazur, A. (1986). U.S. trends in feminine beauty and overadaptation. The Journal of Sex Research, 22,  281-303.

by Ashton F. 

Specific Considerations in Sexuality Education for Homeless Women

Teaching homeless populations about sexuality has unique challenges. Sexuality education for this population is often overlooked. Many these individuals have not had formal or comprehensive sexuality education. Also, most of them have not graduated from high school or received their GEDs (Cleminson-Hernandez, 2004). Additionally, these individuals reading levels are typically below average, and financial disparities make access to healthcare and health promotion education very difficult. These challenges require specific considerations when adapting my lesson plans and educational strategies for this group.

I’ve been working with the homeless population for almost a year now, and I’ve enjoyed teaching a Sexual Health class series at a local shelter as a part of my practicum and community partner project. During my time at the shelter, I’ve had to adapt both my teaching styles and lesson plan to fit the needs and capabilities of my marginalized audience. To design my classes to best serve my participants, three factors were important to consider:

First, I had to consider health literacy of my population (Perez & Luquis, 2008). As most of my participants had not earned GEDs and read under a 5^th grade reading level, I had to adapt my worksheets and health pamphlets to avoid frustration and confusion in my learners. According to Perez & Luquis (2008), it is crucial to provide the educational materials that are appropriate for the comprehension level of my students. Initially, when I went in with pamphlets with language geared towards high school aged students. I quickly learned that the ladies were having difficulty understanding them. When this happened, they became frustrated and were discouraged from participating. To reconcile this, I started to use sexuality education materials geared towards 5^th grade and middle school.

Next, it was important for me to consider the level of knowledge my participants already had (Perez & Luquis, 2008). While most of my students were reading below a fifth grade level, most of them were above 30 years old. Many of them also have had experiences that were not covered in teaching materials and curricula directed towards fifth graders. Most of my participants had children and knew the basics of sexual reproduction. Many also were knowledgeable about HIV and some were diagnosed as HIV positive. So, it was important for me to respect what knowledge they came in with as well as their experiences.

Lastly, when developing my lessons and strategies, I considered the structural obstacles my population likely faced (Perez & Luquis, 2008). Structural obstacles are barriers associated with structural issues in communities and cultures (Perez & Luquis, 2008). For example, many of my participants were homeless and did not have transportation to health centers. Also, even if they did have some sort of transportation, not having a home address made it difficult for them to secure benefits such as medical assistance in order to get the health care and education they need. Additionally, many of my participants were distrustful of medical systems, had some form of mental illness, and were victims of domestic violence and rape. When adapting my lesson plans and strategies, it was imperative that I considered and was sensitive to these obstacles.

By considering these factors and adapting my teaching accordingly, I have been able to better educate this population and improve the personal autonomy of my participants as they have been able to comprehend my lessons and relate the information to their own lives.

Cleminson-Hernandez, M. E. (2004). The relationship between fear and success and the identity style    among urban homeless and formerly homeless adults. Dissertation Abstracts International, 65 (2-B), 1023.

Perez, M. A., & Luquis, R. R. (2008). Cultural competence in health education and health promotion. Jossey Bass: San Fransisco, CA.