by Melissa Keyes DiGioia,CSE & Jessica Shields, CHES “Through play we learn to recognize patterns in the world around us and develop our own understanding as well as shared understanding with others.”1 Like other sexuality educators we were initially unaware of the potential of this medium as a teaching strategy. When we presented games, we recognized… Read more »
by Alethea Thompson Planned Parenthood of Central and Greater Northern New Jersey Alethea Thompson Some days I feel like I have the best job in the world — it’s so educational! Whether I am learning from a conference, a mandatory state training, or a Planned Parenthood in-service training, I always have something new to take… Read more »
by Julie Halpin Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains Julie Halpin I feel like a curious child stumbling through the world of the unknown, mesmerized by anything new and easily distracted by something shiny. As I fumble through the stages of crawling, walking, and talking I am easily frustrated but excited and anxious to keep… 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 »
Somebody Has To Do It! by Niala Terrell-Mason Planned Parenthood of thePacific Southwest Niala Terrell-Mason I teach sex ed because someone has to. I work for a large Planned Parenthood affiliate that covers three counties in Southern California. My particular area, Western Riverside County, has some of the highest teen pregnancy and STIs rates in… Read more »
by Courtney Peters Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma “I teach people about sex.” This is how I used to approach the situation when asked about my profession. I quickly realized that this statement elicited some very strange looks and many unwanted replies. Over the last 16 months, I have learned to elaborate, and now my… Read more »
Darrien Howze by Darrien Howze, M.EdPlanned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan A funny thing happened on the way to looking for a new job. I found a career that I could be proud of: sex education. I get paid to discuss the most common but the most uncomfortable topic in this nation. This career choice… Read more »
Jessi Ensenberger “You Can’t Get Pregnant Standing Up”:Why America Should Beef Up on Peer Education by Jessi Ensenberger, Planned Parenthood of Indiana Last year I became a peer educator with Planned Parenthood of Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana. I am extremely passionate about spreading comprehensive, medically accurate knowledge about sexuality; but this isn’t the only reason… Read more »
by Kirsten deFur Kirsten deFur wrote these lessons for the forthcoming 3rd ed. of Teaching Safer Sex: “Defining Sexual Health” and “I Feel Good!” (vol. 1) and “Be Afraid! Be Very Afraid” (vol. 2) Contributing author to Teaching Safer Sex I had just started 8th grade at Byrd middle school in Richmond, VA. It was the beginning… Read more »
by Bill Taverner Both volumes of the preliminary draft of Teaching Safer Sex, 3rd ed. are now in the hands of our editorial advisory board, as well as other experts in sexuality education, and our copyeditor. So for the first time since I dove into this project full-force a year ago, I am finding myself trying… Read more »
By Matthew Lowe Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts Matthew Lowe I teach Sex Ed because the Sex Ed classroom is the only secular educational space in which a student’s development as a whole person is directly addressed. If human sexuality were purely scientific, the biology teacher could cover it, right after mitosis and meiosis. But… Read more »
Charlie Glickman by Charlie Glickman Last [month], the Center for Family Life Education (CFLE) hosted the Sex Ed Conference and it was an amazing time! There’s nothing like a few hundred sex educators sitting around, sharing tips, and telling stories. Although my work focuses on working with adults while many of my colleagues work… Read more »
by Marty Klein I was recently interviewed by internet safety expert Dr. Larry Magid for a piece on kids looking at porn. We had such an interesting conversation I thought I’d write about this myself. Of course, 700 words can’t possibly cover every aspect of this issue. But let’s begin. Given the typical danger-oriented media… Read more »
By David M. Hall (CNN) – During the final Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, Rick Santorum was asked how he would respond if his son told him he was gay. “I would love him as much as I did the second before he said it,” Santorum responded. He received applause for this statement, which… Read more »
By Alethea Thompson Sexual Health Educator, Planned Parenthood of Central and Greater Northern New Jersey Sex Education can be eye-opening to high school students, as well as college students. I feel students relate to music more often. There is a video that I have had the opportunity to see several times. My daughter, who is 22,… Read more »
The current issue of the American Journal of Sexuality Education is a special, themed issue on abstinence. One of the articles, “Abstinence, Sex, and Virginity: Do They Mean What We Think They Mean?” by Jason Hans and Claire Kimberly, includes an analysis of what teens and professionals mean by “sex” and “abstinence”. Below is the abstract and selected… Read more »
by Brian Flaherty, Partners in Sex Education One of the truly enjoyable things about the CSE conference is that the programs tend to be created and presented by professional educators – by people who spend a good amount of time thinking about the best way to present information so that they reach a variety of… Read more »
by Alie Kriofske Mainella IndependenceFirst, Milwaukee, WI I was lucky enough to attend my first ever NationalSex Ed Conference in New Jersey last month and I learned so much. I work with young people with disabilities and a big part of my job is teaching boundaries and personal space, healthy relationships, safe dating and sexuality for… Read more »
by Robie H. Harris How lucky was I to be able to be at and attend workshops at and be the opening keynote speaker at the CFLE’s 2011 National Sex Ed Conference! Very lucky! Despite the horrendous rain storm on Wednesday night, people arrived and were full of great questions after my keynote, in which… Read more »
By Megara Bell, Partners in Sex Education The best workshop that I went to at CFLE’s National Sex Ed Conferencewas one that I didn’t even intend to go to. A workshop that I couldn’t have predicted would be as interesting or as relevant as it was. I passed Matthew Morales on my way to another… Read more »
