I have come under close scrutiny recently.  As a result, more people have been stopping by this blog.  Some of the people who have come to read have come away with some misunderstandings about what this blog means to me, how it presents my point of view, and how to interpret my thoughts and words here into what I do in a sexuality education class.  So I want to clear those things up.

This blog means a lot to me.  I started writing on March 2nd, 2007, and I put a picture of Bill Clinton in my post.  All told, this is post number 410.  Over time, I’ve written daily, more or less.  You may be wondering why I’ve been writing substantially less over the last month or two.  Part of my writing less is simply a time factor – I’ve been really, really busy.  But added to that, is the sudden attention that my professional approach, and thus this blog, has been getting from people In Real Life (IRL).  While there have always been a few of you personal friends, family members, and close colleagues who read my blog (Hi there!), most of my readers are not people I actually know here in Austin.  This sudden attention has left me somewhat mute.  My writing has been frozen by the constant analysis and picking-apart that I’m receiving.  But no more.  This blog, the outlet it provides me, and the conversations and relationships it contributes to, are too important to me.  So onward through the duckweed: I’m going to start writing again.  Because I believe in the critical and life-changing influence of what I do, and this blog helps me and other people do it better.  If you have questions, critiques, praises, or anything else to say, please feel free to bring them to me in the comments, in e-mails, or if you know me IRL, then call me or stop me on the street.  I want to talk with you, all of you!

This blog constitutes my thoughts on a huge range of issues.  Most notably, because my work is in the field of sexuality education, I pay a lot of attention to child and adolescent development, politics, news, pop culture, sex, gender, sexual orientation, bodies, puberty, pornography, and the many places where all of these topics intersect.  Over time, my blog cover all of these topics in one way or another.  But that does not in anyway suggest that I provide these topics in this format to students in my sexuality education classes.  This blog is meant for adults who are interested in these same topics – not as a substitute for a sexuality education class for middle school students or anyone else.

I have taught sexuality education classes to middle school students, high school students, college students, and parents.  I have been asked – and am seriously considering – providing sexuality education classes for adults.  Moreover, I teach in many different settings – private practice, colleges, churches, private schools, and others.  Each of these settings and student groups requires that I approach the students with different kinds of activities and conversations.  I target my classes to the students, rather than asking that my students fit into my pre-designed curriculum.  This blog is a completely separate medium and approach from any of my classes.  This blog should not be construed as a substitute or as a curriculum guide for any of my classes.

Two more things:  I have specific things I believe about sexuality education.  These are never topics in my sexuality education classes, unless I am talking with parents or teachers about how to teach their children and students about sex.  I also have a curriculum I use for classes with parents in my TALKS About Sex series.  This class is for parents of children and teenagers, not for the children and teenagers themselves.

I will be returning in full writing glory, because I love this outlet and this blog and my readers.  Thank you for sticking with me as I have taken this little sabbatical.  And remember: Just because I post it here, doesn’t mean I’m suggesting it’s appropriate for your teenager.  Sometimes it is – just don’t make that blanket assumption!