I know I’m not the only one out there doing this. But I know that most young people don’t ever access contraception until they need it – right then! That’s not a time or a place to try and do something as different and unusual and potentially scary as buying condoms. I take groups of, […]
Archives for adolescent development
This little thing called rights
People often ask me how I got into the field – sex education is a pretty fascinating topic from many angles. I even have an e-book coming out this year that will tell many sex educators’ stories of their entrance into the field. But after a conversation with Heather Corinna yesterday, I wanted to write […]
Can we learn from a place of power?
This weekend I had a conversation about education and classroom dynamics. In it, I said: We need to remember that students will have a wide range of reactions to any curricula or activities we bring to the classroom. There will always be some who are not drawn into an activity and others who love it. […]
Parents: Children’s Primary Sexual (Violence) Educators
I recently wrote an article for Partners in Social Change, the publication from the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs that addresses how parents can most effectively talk with their youth about sexual violence. Here is a clip from my article: “Parents have a unique position in their teenagers’ lives. They have daily access to […]
Rising Rates of Mental Illness Worry Academic Community
Most of the issues covered on my blog are about teenage sexuality. However, this topic is related to a far wider range of material. In this post, Bree Hernandez, an education writer, discusses the spikes in college students reporting depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies. Bree provides information on how to get into college through her […]
Saying good-bye, and thank you, to a class
One of my middle school classes just ended about an hour ago. On these last class days, among other things, everyone gets a blank book and we all write notes to each other, the students, myself, and my co-teacher. Then we all hug, say good-bye, and go our separate ways. After spending fourteen weeks together […]
Sex Ed Subtlety
There is something about subtlety around adolescence and sexuality and sex education that I see as problematic in the culture of advice and guidance from professionals. I have had an experience of sitting in eight hours of talks from Dr. Sharon Maxwell this week. I have heard from her that parents should look inward to […]
Teaching about the media
There are many people talking loudly about how over-sexualized, inappropriate, highly suggestive the media is at all times and in all places. This outreach tends to focus specifically on women and female representations. There is currently a video making the rounds on Facebook and in other places stressing just these things, along with a discussion […]
Those crazy teenagers! What do they think they’re doing?
What is it about teenagers that drives their parents so crazy? I had a mother of two young teenage boys in my office this morning, bewailing the very typical actions of her sons. By all accounts her sons are good kids – they (generally) listen to her and (eventually) do ask she asks them to. […]
How to respond when your kid/teen views varsity level porn
Last week I asked that parents send me questions that they had about adolescent sexuality or their children (or themselves) specifically. Below is my favorite question so far. If you have a question that you haven’t sent in yet, don’t hesitate to e-mail me or leave it in the comments section below. HERE’S A QUESTION […]
