Tying back in, somewhat, with Monday’s post on debunking theoretical myths about condoms, let’s talk about that pervasive issue: the people (who you rarely actually have in your classroom) who think that if their partner (who you do have in your classroom) requests a condom, it means that the partner is cheating. Or that they […]
Archives for educational psychology
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. […]
Everyone has something to come out about
Happy National Coming Out Day! This day has been set aside to increase awareness of people who are open about their LGBTQ identity. This year in particular, with the election right around the corner, the Human Rights Campaign and others are encouraging people to call their elected officials and “come out” as LGBTQ or an […]
Oh, the questions they ask!
I have a Jar’o’sex. It’s actually an old applesauce jar that I’ve painted with those words. I pass the Jar around my college Human Sexuality classes, especially toward the beginning of the semester, and have students drop in anonymous questions. (I have a similar process with my younger students, but we use a different container.) […]
Why Middle School comprehensive sex ed?
Most middle school students are not yet sexually active. Many of them are not even on the skinny end of the sexually active bell curve (that is, they don’t have boyfriends or girlfriends yet, they haven’t had a first kiss, they might not have even started their periods or had their first orgasm yet). So […]
Why are we learning this again?
I spend a lot of my time teaching, and I love it. Sometimes I teach classes that are associated with formal schooling, and so I need to formally grade my students. Other times I teach informal classes through churches, private schools, or parenting groups and I do not grade my students. Ultimately, I prefer the […]
Summer school
My first college summer class teaching human sexuality starts today. I’ve taught summer school before, but it’s generally been developmental psychology or educational psychology or one of those other topics I teach on occasion. Experiencing a classroom that is focused on sex is just different than other topics, and so I wonder what this whip-lash […]
Teaching about rape
Rape is one topic that I have a harder time covering than most. Part of the issue is that I’m never quite sure how the class is going to react. Here are two extreme examples from my college classes: Last semester one of my college classes on rape was dramatic and emotional. Every single woman […]
What they need to know about gay
Through a round-about series of events I ended up having a late Saturday night dinner with a lovely woman from a local non-profit who teaches sex and health educators how to teach their content effectively. We spoke specifically about how – and what – to teach young people about sexual orientation. It’s gotten me thinking […]
A letter to parents everywhere
Dear Friends, I’ll be frank: I understand that the young people in your family are probably very busy, far too busy to enroll in another class. I know your kids are going to be tapped-to-the-extreme this year. I also know that most – not all, but most – young people have an absolute need to […]
