My Sex Ed

L​averne Cox is an openly trans actor:

Or think about musical lyrics, like Lady Gaga’s Born This Way: “No matter gay, straight or bi Lesbian, transgendered life I'm on the right track, baby I was born to survive. No matter black, white or beige Chola or orient made I'm on the right track, baby I was born to be brave!” which is a perfect way of discussing the acceptance and celebration of many different types of identity.

Be mindful of language
Many teachers often default to calling their class by “boys and girls,” “ladies and gentlemen,” “princesses and princes,” and so on. We should move away from polarizing, gendered names to be sensitive to students who may not fit into one of those two gendered “categories” (also, what happens if you divide your class based on gender, but you have a student who is not openly trans? How do you think that would make them feel?)

If you do need to separate your class into two, or call them to get their attention, try using gender-neutral names like “scientists and mathematicians,” “folks,” or “students”.

Conclusion 
There is opportunity all around to talk about sexual orientation and gender identity. I have created a lesson plan using the grade 6-12 specific expectations from the 2015 curriculum, to talk about gender identity and sexual orientation. You can use this lesson plan for younger grades too!

​​

"I Don't Flush" is a campaign to help create awareness around items that should not be flushed down our toilets (and drains). There are many personal hygiene products that unintentionally (or intentionally!) get flushed down our toilets. Some common products related to sexual health that SHOULD NOT be flushed include:
- Tampons
- Sanitary pads
- Condoms and condom wrappers
- (While not listed on the website), dental dams should not get tossed into toilets!
Share this with your students to create a dialogue on environmentally friendly (well, friendlier) ways to dispose of these aforementioned items. There are also environmentally-conscious items women can use during their period, such as the The DivaCup.
I Don't Flush: http://idontflush.ca/personal-hygiene-products/

Best Practice Strategy for Teaching Sex Ed Series!
I am going to be posting different best practice strategies for teaching sex ed over the next few weeks.
Best practice strategy 1: Teacher comfort level
When teachers have more content knowledge about a given topic, in this case sex ed, the more comfortable you will be with the content. Let's use math as an example. If you don't know much about trigonometry, you will feel very nervous if you need to teach it, and as a result your teaching will not be as effective compared to a teacher who knows trigonometry and feels comfortable sharing it. The same applies to sex ed.
When teacher comfort level increases, students notice the shift - the class will be more relaxed and open to conversation. You will be less nervous and more prepared to enter topics you may have originally knew little about (and no one likes to feel under prepared!)
Set a goal for yourself to look up a different sexual health resource every week and build a repertoire of resources you can use to support your own sex ed learning, and in turn help your students!
Two of my personal favourite online resources are Planned Parenthood ("Learn" tab - https://www.plannedparenthood.org/) and SexualityandU (http://www.sexualityandu.ca/). Click on a different topic every week and learn something different about human development and sexual health!
Next best practice strategy will be posted this week.

The Ontario Ministry of Education released a comprehensive review of the 2015 Sexual Health Education curriculum from Grades 1 to 12. They broke down the specific expectations and described the overall themes and topics covered in each grade. 

What is in the Health and Physical Education curriculum? Active Living

• Active Participation
• Physical Fitness
• Safety (e.g. bike safety, concussions)

Movement Competence: Skills, Concepts and Strategies

• Physical Activity and Sports Skills

Healthy Living

• Healthy Eating/Nutrition
• Personal Safety and Injury Prevention
• Substance use, addictions and other behaviour (e.g., gaming, screen time)
• Human Development and Sexual Health (sex education)
  • Human Development and Sexual Health (sexual education) represents approximately 10% of the entire Health and Physical Education Curriculum

Living Skills

• (building an understanding of themselves, coping skills, social and communication skills, thinking skills) and learning about mental health is incorporated across the curriculum

What’s changed in the Human Development and Sexual Health (sex education) section of the curriculum?The world has changed since the sex education section of the curriculum was updated in 1998, 17 years ago. Research shows that children now enter puberty earlier. Young people now have widespread access to the Internet, social media and smart phones, giving them easy access to both helpful and potentially harmful and incorrect information at their fingertips.

Educating children with accurate and current information, skills and strategies to help them navigate a digital world can help keep them safe and healthy.

The Human Development and Sexual Health (sex education) component of the Health and Physical Education curriculum guides teachers to plan what they teach with the goal of establishing a foundation of mutual respect and understanding for diverse perspectives in the classroom. It will not replace the role of parents in educating their children about sexual health. 

What will students learn in the Human Development and Sexual Health (sex education) section of the curriculum?The learning about Human Development and Sexual Health, like all the learning about healthy living in the curriculum, is focused on helping students learn about the things that contribute to their health and how to use that information to make healthy choices (and avoid potentially harmful ones) in their everyday lives.

Some of the information students will learn about this topic includes:

Grade 1 Students will learn:

• to identify body parts by their proper names, including genitalia
• about their senses and how they function
• basic good hygiene habits (e.g. washing your hands, using tissues)

When children know the correct names of their body parts, they can communicate clearly and ask for help in case of illness, injury or abuse.

Grade 2 Students will learn :

• the basic stages of human development (e.g., infant, child, adolescent) and related body changes
• good hygiene habits for oral health (e.g., brushing your teeth, flossing, visiting the dentist regularly)

Before puberty, helping children to understand that their bodies will change (e.g., losing baby teeth) can help them communicate potentially unhealthy changes (e.g., pain) to a trusted adult.

Grade 3 Students will learn:

• about healthy relationships with peers and family (e.g., accepting differences, listening, mutual respect, honesty, open communication)
• how to overcome unhealthy aspects of relationships with others (e.g., bullying, peer pressure, being left out)
• about factors and habits that can affect physical and emotional development (e.g., safe environment, caring adults, feeling like you belong, sleep, food, physical activity)
• how visible differences (e.g., skin, hair and eye colour, clothing, physical ability) and invisible differences (e.g., learning abilities, cultural values and beliefs, gender identity, different family types such as one-parent, two-parent, two-mom or two-dad, grandparents, caregivers) make each person unique
• ways of showing respect for differences in others

As a foundation for healthy relationships later in life, students will learn about what makes them unique and different from others, and how to show respect for all.

Grade 4 Students will learn:

• the physical changes that happen during puberty, and the emotional and social impact that changes can have on a developing child
• how personal hygiene needs may change during puberty (e.g., the increased importance of regular bathing)

Learning about the effects of puberty before most students fully experience it helps prepare young people for changes in their bodies, emotions and social relationships. 

Today, children enter puberty earlier: on average, girls enter puberty between 8-13 years old and boys enter puberty between 9-14 years old.

Grade 5 Students will learn:

• to identify parts of the reproductive system, and how the body changes during puberty
• about the process of menstruation and sperm production
• to describe emotional and interpersonal stresses related to puberty
• to identify strategies to manage stress and enhance their emotional well-being and mental health

Puberty can be stressful, and helping students to understand changes in their bodies can help them cope. Students will also continue to learn about the importance of showing respect for all, including those who may be entering puberty earlier or later than peers.

Grade 6 Students will learn:

• about factors that may affect the development of a person’s self-concept or personal identity (e.g., body image, stereotypes, self-awareness, cultural and gender identity)
• the physical, social and emotional changes that may occur in adolescence after the initial onset of puberty (e.g., body growth, skin changes, increasing influence of peers, increased intensity of feelings) and how this impacts healthy relationships
• to make decisions in their personal relationships that demonstrate respect for themselves and others, including the importance of consent and clear communication
• how stereotypes, such as homophobia and assumptions about gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, culture and abilities, can affect a how a person feels about themselves, their feelings of belonging and relationships with others
• appropriate ways to respond to and change assumptions and stereotypes

As children grow older and enter adolescence, understanding how the many changes happening in their lives may affect them and their peers helps build a healthy sense of who they are.

By Grade 6, students have developed some self awareness and coping skills and also learned critical thinking and reflective skills to solve problems and examine issues, which they will apply to learning about stereotypes and assumptions.

Through challenging these stereotypes and assumptions, they not only continue to learn respect for others, but also self-confidence in their own identity.

Grade 7 Students will learn:

• the importance of having a shared understanding with a partner about: delaying sexual activity until older, reasons for not becoming sexually active, the concept of consent and how to communicate consent, and the need to clearly communicate and understand decisions about sexual activity in a healthy relationship
• how to identify common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and describe their symptoms
• how to prevent STIs (including HIV) and unintended pregnancy, including delaying first intercourse and other sexual activities until they are older, and using condoms consistently if and when they become sexually active
• physical, emotional, social and psychological factors to consider when making sexual health decisions (e.g., STIs, pregnancy, side effects of contraception, social labelling, cultural teachings, gender identity, and impact on other relationships)
• how relationships with others and sexual health may be affected by physical and emotional changes in puberty and adolescence

Students need information and skills to make sound decisions about their health and well-being before they face a situation where they may need that information.

Teaching about sexual health and development does not increase sexual behaviour, and can actually prevent risky activity.

Grade 8 Students will learn about:

• factors that could affect someone’s ability to make safe and healthy decisions about sexual activity
• sources of support regarding sexual health (e.g., parents, health professionals, in-school resources, local community groups, religious leaders, an elder)
• gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation, and to identify factors that can help all young people to develop positive self-concepts

Learning respect for their peers helps to ensure young people build positive, healthy self-concepts.

Grades 9-12 Students are required to take one Health and Physical Education credit in high school. However, they may choose to continue to take additional course in other grades. These courses build on learning from Grades 1-8. See below for what students will learn in the in the Human Development and Sexual Health component of those courses.

Grade 9 Students will learn about:

• preventing STIs and unintended pregnancies and helpful sources of information and support (e.g., doctor, public health unit)
• gender identity and sexual orientation, and how different things like acceptance, stigma, stereotypes, self-awareness, culture, religion, and media can influence a person’s understanding of themselves.
• how to build healthy relationships with peers, family members and potential romantic partners (e.g., honesty, open communication and respect)
• how to think in advance and to apply their knowledge of sexual health and safety, including consent and sexual limits

High school students are encouraged to think critically about the information they’ve learned about sexual health, in the same way they are encouraged to apply these same critical thinking skills to decisions about food choices, personal safety and fitness.

Students also learn about the potential implications of online activities (e.g., texting and sending personal photos) and how to use electronic technologies appropriately.

Grade 10 Students will learn:

• how a variety of factors (e.g., their values/beliefs, what they see in media, setting and communicating limits) can influence a person’s decisions about sexual activity
• common misconceptions about sexuality in our culture, and to explain how these may cause harm to people and how they can be responded to critically and fairly
• how being in an exclusive romantic relationship with another person may affect them and their relationships with others

 Providing information to students helps them to understand and express their identity as it develops.

Grade 11 Students will learn:

• about mental health/illnesses and addictions, their causes and symptoms, and their effects on personal health and well-being
• how proactive health measures and supports (e.g., regular medical exams such as Pap tests)  can minimize the risk of reproductive or sexual health problems
• how to use personal and interpersonal skills to deal with stress and help others in stressful situations (e.g., abusive relationships, illness, separation/divorce)
• the negative stigma sometimes associated with mental illness and ways to reduce it in their community

As students near the end of high school, they learn self-awareness and self-monitoring skills that help them to:

• understand their strengths and needs
• take responsibility for their actions
• monitor their own health progress and fitness goals
• acquire health knowledge and apply it throughout their lifetime

Grade 12 Students will learn:

• how relationships may develop through various stages (with an emphasis on communicating about those stages)
• the skills and strategies needed to maintain a satisfactory relationship as it evolves (e.g., conflict resolution strategies)
• skills and resources they will need to maintain their health and well-being as they become more independent
• about how their strengths and interest can be applied to the development of life plans and goals
• to analyze how different relations portrayed in the media, and how they can take action to encourage more realistic and inclusive messaging

The final year of high school emphasizes how students can maintain the habits of healthy, active living throughout their lives

http://www.ontario.ca/education-and-training/ontario-health-and-physical-education-curriculum-including-sex-education

Lesson Title: Let’s Talk

Introduction

Learning how to communicate to maintain healthy and satisfactory relationships – both platonic and romantic – is one of the main objectives of the new Human Development and Sexual Health strand of Ontario’s Health and Physical Education curricula. Whether you are 6 years old or 60, learning how to communicate effectively with others is very important.

Theoretical Background

Throughout my undergraduate studies in psychology, I learned that one of the most common issues that arise among children and adults alike are faulty communication skills. Take a moment to reflect on a recent experience when you had a dispute with a friend, a colleague, a partner, and the like. When you were communicating with this person, how were you expressing yourself? More often than not, when we try to communicate – especially during a challenging or upsetting experience – we place a lot of blame (if not, all the blame) on the other person, which leads the other person to become defensive. It is not healthy or productive to communicate in such a way, though it is easy to default to “You upset me!  This is your fault! How could you do this to me?”

I was recently speaking with a clinical psychologist who specializes in Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (currently, one of the most commonly practiced therapies in psychology) who works with pre-teens to adults. He gives each of his clients a worksheet with an exercise to practice effective communication skills. The worksheet looks like this:

“I feel ____insert basic emotion ____because ____insert what happened____. I would appreciate ____insert specific request ____.”

This dialogue is non-threatening. Instead of blaming the person with which you are communicating, you are explaining how you are feeling because of your interpretation of what happened.  This allows the other person to understand where you're coming from and hopefully they will respond similarly when explaining how they feel. Then, the two of you can reach a compromise while remaining empathetic to each others' feelings and needs. 

When describing how you feel, use “basic emotions” that a six year old would understand – regardless if you are speaking with an adult or a child. Some “basic emotions” include happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised, and so on. Disappointed or frustrated may be what you initially think you’re feeling, but do you think a 6 year old would truly understand that language? Likely not. At the core of disappointment and frustration are usually anger, sadness and/or surprise, so use those terms instead.

Example

 Let’s say, for example, you are supposed to meet a friend for a movie at 7 pm, but she arrives at 7:20 pm without letting you know she was running late. This is what a conversation would look like not using the dialogue above:

“I can’t believe you were 20 minutes late. We’re going to miss the movie now. Why didn’t you call me? Or send me a text? You obviously don’t respect my time.”

If you were to use the dialogue "script" above, it may sound something like this:

“I feel angry because we are going to be late for the movie. I would appreciate if you give me a quick text or phone call to let me know that you are running late.”

This communication tool can also be used for positive experiences. People enjoy praise and being complimented. “I feel happy because we got to see a movie together. I appreciate spending time with you because you're a lot of fun to be around, and I hope we can do this more often!”

How to use this activity with your students

1.      Ask your students to get into pairs. Ask students to label themselves as Person A and Person B.

2.      Ask them to reflect on a recent experience when they were upset with someone.

3.      Ask students to role play using the dialogue above. Alternatively, students can make up a situation and role play. Person A starts by using the dialogue script above and Person B can respond. Give students a couple minutes to go back and forth to elaborate on the situation or use different emotions/scenarios. Then students can switch roles. (*Note* Depending on the age of your students, it may be helpful to show them some examples or role play with a student volunteer to model what the conversation would look like).

4.      Have a class discussion about how the exercise made them feel. Do they feel more confident about communicating their needs? What did they find effective (or not effective) about this strategy? Ask how they can see themselves using this in their lives.

Relevant Specific Expectations from the Ontario curricula

Grade 3: C1.3 identify the characteristics of healthy relationships (e.g., accepting differences, being inclusive, communicating openly, listening, showing mutual respect and caring, being honest) and describe ways of overcoming challenges (e.g., bullying, exclusion, peer pressure, abuse) in a relationship

Grade 6: C2.5 describe how they can build confidence and lay a foundation for healthy relationships by acquiring a clearer understanding of the physical, social, and emotional changes that occur during adolescence (e.g., physical: voice changes, skin changes, body growth; social: changing social relationships, increasing influence of peers; emotional: increased intensity of feelings, new interest in relationships with boys or girls, confusion and questions about changes)

Grade 12: C1.3 demonstrate an understanding of how relationships develop through various stages, and describe the skills and strategies needed to maintain a satisfactory relationship as the relationship evolves (e.g., communication and interpersonal skills, adaptive and coping skills, conflict resolution strategies)

Lesson Planning – Minds On Activity for gender identity and sexual orientation

Explaining gender identity and sexual orientation to your students can be difficult. Where to begin? How do you introduce the topic? How do you make it personally relevant to all of your students? There is a great minds on activity to help students understand how societal and cultural expectations make it difficult to define gender identity and sexual orientation, and hopefully help students move away from many assumed binaries that exist in gender and sexuality.

1.       Ask students to get into pairs.

2.       If you have access to a projector and screen (or SMART board), place two images of two “opposing” objects, such as a camp fire and waterfall, or a beach and a snowy mountain (you can also print the two images and pass them around the room).

3.       Tell students that they have one to two minutes to choose which image reflects them best overall. They then have two minutes each to share their reasoning for choosing the image with their partner.

4.       After students share their image and reasoning with a partner, ask the class if anyone had difficulty choosing one image. Ask them why. (Most students will likely say that they felt that neither applied, or they related to both).

5.       Explain that the two images are metaphors for gender and sexuality binaries  we often use in our day-to-day understanding of gender and sexuality. Oftentimes, we have to “choose” to identify as either male or female (e.g. medical forms, washrooms). Also, when we think about sexuality/sexual orientation, the two most “commonly” discussed orientations is straight and gay/lesbian. There is a huge spectrum of gender identity and sexuality/sexual orientation. Just like choosing an image to describe oneself, people sometimes have a hard time defining which gender and/or sexual identity suits them – sometimes one fits perfectly well, sometimes multiple identities apply, and sometimes they change over time.

Relevant specific expectations from the Ontario’s Health and Physical Education curricula

Grade 6: C1.3 identify factors that affect the development of a person’s self-concept (e.g., environment, evaluations by others who are important to them, stereotypes, awareness of strengths and needs, social competencies, cultural and gender identity, support, body image, mental health and emotional well-being, physical abilities)

Grade 8: C1.5 demonstrate an understanding of gender identity (e.g., male, female, two-spirited, transgender, transsexual, intersex), gender expression, and sexual orientation (e.g., heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual), and identify factors that can help individuals of all identities and orientations develop a positive self-concept

Grade 9: C1.5 demonstrate an understanding of factors (e.g., acceptance, stigma, culture, religion, media, stereotypes, homophobia, self-image, self-awareness) that can influence a person’s understanding of their gender identity (e.g., male, female, two-spirited, transgender, transsexual, intersex) and sexual orientation (e.g., heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual), and identify sources of support for all students

Grade 10: C3.4 describe some common misconceptions about sexuality in our culture, and explain how these may cause harm to people and how they can be responded to critically and fairly

There are many misconceptions about Ontario's 2015 Sexual Health Education curricula, especially for Grades 1-8. I have read dozens upon dozens of articles about the new curricula, I have seen newscasts about the new curricula, I have talked to parents, teachers, and principals - and most of what I hear is inaccurate. 

I came across an amazing resource developed by People For Education that clarified a lot of the erroneous beliefs about the new curricula. You can check out the link below or open the file attached.

http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Sex-Education-tip-sheet-2015.pdf