A little holiday Glee!

If you're a Gleek like me, you know that Glee is quickly making its mark as a popular and progressive television show.   The show portrays the lives, struggles and triumphs of a group of youth in an American high school.  The best descriptor I can think of for the cast is diversity.  Glee transcends a number of invisible barriers simply by existing  - racism, sexism, ableism, classism, ageism and heterosexism are all challenged within this show, and it continues to gain popularity.  I love it!

Over recent weeks, Glee has increasingly featured the struggles of Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) - an openly gay teen in a high school environment riddled with homophobia and bullying.  Over the course of this season, Kurt has struggled with his identity as the only openly gay student at a high school where diversity is challenged - and often crushed - with prejudice and violence.  Fortunately, Kurt is a strong, self-advocating individual with a determination to be himself, regardless of what the rest of the world expects of him.

In the episode A Very Glee Christmas, Kurt and his love interest Blaine (Darren Criss) are featured in a duet performance of "Baby it's Cold Outside".  I've watched the video of this performance many times and I wanted to share it with you.  To me, this budding television relationship represents a huge step beyond homophobia.   This show has the ability to inspire hope in many young people, and it is my wish that our society - and especially our youth - continue to embrace the diversity of Glee.  As for myself, Tuesday nights are definitely reserved for Glee!



Happy Holidays!

Candice

Sex Ed + Twitter = Awesome!

I'll be the first to admit, I've been slow to get on the Twitter bandwagon.  I still don't use it as much as I probably should, but I'm really starting to see the value it has as a networking and marketing tool.

For example, last night Mark and I decided to conduct a little (nerdy) experiment.  We simultaneously posted links to his most popular site - ImOnRecess.com - which features free games, videos, tv shows and movies (it's a pretty cool site and you should check it out!).  Our purpose was to determine how much of an impact posting the link on Twitter and Facebook would have - and it was pretty cool to watch the traffic spike!  (Yes, we are nerds).

Perhaps my hesitation around Twitter has been based on the number of porn and related sites that "follow" me.  Or perhaps it's just that I'm so busy with school, work and establishing this business that Twitter gets pushed to the back of my mind (Facebook, on the other hand?  I'm there!).  Either way, Twitter has gained new respect from me for helping me to discover a new blog ... SexualityToday. The author of this blog is Stephen Snyder, a psychiatrist from New York City.  His blog is interesting and relevant to this field, and I thought you might enjoy it.

So ... enjoy!

- Candice

Find me under 'Sexual Health Education'

Last week, while in the midst of a discussion with one of my CYW instructors, I realized something ... my life revolves around sex.  You may be thinking "Well duh, you're making a career out of talking about it!", but until that moment I had not realized just how much of my life - both professional and academic - is focused on this topic.

The more I think about it, the happier I feel.

I consider myself to be very fortunate - I am building a life and career around something I love to do, albeit slowly.  I get to talk about what I think is an absolutely fascinating subject, and only some of the people I encounter look at me like I've lost my marbles.  Of course, I wouldn't be here if I were doing it all on my own.

In fact, Sex Ed Central wouldn't exist if it weren't for Mark Garland, Owner of Analyzed Marketing Solutions and my wonderful, supportive life partner.

Mark has helped me take my "dream job" and build it into a reality.  Not only did he see my potential and encourage me to "go for it!" - he has helped me to put my business together and continually helps me to figure out where to go next.  He has put together this website, taught me how to use it, and is constantly fixing it when I mess things up.  Thanks to his amazing internet marketing and SEO work, people are actually able to find me amongst the millions of websites out there.  In fact, if you go to google.ca and search for "sexual health education" (without the quotations), you will find this site listed on the first page.  Out of over 53 MILLION results, I'm in the top 10.  How awesome is that?

This post is dedicated to you, Mark, for all that you have done for me.  THANK YOU for your help and support, your skills and knowledge, and your willingness to listen to me talk about sex on a daily basis.  Thank you for not complaining when I pack our apartment with a thousand condoms and dozens of boxes of educational materials, and thanks most of all for believing in me.

Now, who wants to talk about sex?

- Candice

p.s. Here's the poster for my workshop on Wednesday!

Ethical Promiscuity

It's almost here!

Wednesday, November 10 is the date of my very exciting and unique workshop is at the University of Guelph! I will be facilitating what promises to be a very interesting discussion. The workshop, entitled "Radical Relationships and Ethical Promiscuity" is sponsored by OPIRG and will be held on campus. If you're interested in more information, don't hesitate to contact me!

The purpose of this workshop is to open up discussion about issues that fall outside of the scope of "typical" sexual health education. We will be discussing what it means to be "promiscuous" - where the word comes from, how we internalize it, and what it means for our sexual relationships. We will look at such topic as pleasure in sexual encounters, safety and self-respect, and what it means to be "ethically promiscuous".

I'm very excited - this workshop has been in the planning stages for several months and I'm looking forward to returning to my Alma Mater to make it happen.  The workshop is open to all genders, identities, orientations and preferences, and I hope to meet many new people.

I will keep you posted! As always, thanks for tuning in.

Candice :)

Sex Ed and the OACYC

This week, my program (Child and Youth Worker, or CYW) and college (Georgian College, Orillia) hosted the bi-annual regional conference for the OACYC. The OACYC, which stands for the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counsellors, is the representational organization for my profession. As stated on their website, "The Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counsellors (OACYC, ou en français, AOCEJ, l'Association Ontarienne des conseillers à l'enfance et à la jeunesse) is the professional association representing the 2000+ Child and Youth Counsellors - members, students and associates in the province of Ontario, Canada. It also provides a voice for the other 8,000 child and youth workers in the province."

If you know me, you may already know that I love conferences!  To me, a conference is an opportunity to network and learn (and of course, to eat lots of yummy food!).  In the past, I've attended leadership conferences for Relay for Life, which were always fun and very inspiring.  This summer, the Guelph Sexuality Conference was an excellent opportunity to network and learn with other individuals who value sexuality in similar ways to myself.  This conference was just as valuable; although the attendees and the topics of discussion were different from any other conference I have attended, opportunities to learn and connect with others abounded!

Having made some valuable connections this week, I am eagerly anticipating whatever opportunities - workshop or otherwise - may arise over the next several months.  I will keep you posted as things continue to develop.  As always, thank you for taking the time to learn about what's happening with Sex Ed Central and myself!

Candice

Coming Very Soon!

It's Reading Week! Updates are on their way this week - what I've been up to, and will be up to very soon - as well as what I've been reading.

School is keeping me pretty busy, so I will be temporarily supplementing my posts with relevant and interesting things I have been reading.

Please be warned, some of what I'm directing you to is rather more explicit than what I normally post (particularly "Savage Love"). If you feel you may be offended or disagree with what is posted, please don't go to the sites!

That said, I hope you enjoy and please post comments on here!

Thanks for reading :)

Candice

Homophobic Bullying - It Must Stop

As Ellen DeGeneres said it in her recent video about this issue, "One life lost in this senseless way is tragic; four lives lost is a crisis".

In the past month alone, at least four teens in the US have committed suicide after being subjected to homophobic bullying and teasing.  These kids felt that they had no other option, and that death was easier than dealing with what they were going through.

My heart aches for these kids and for their families, and for the kids who are dealing with this every day.  Kids can be horrible ... I remember my own struggles with bullying, and mine had nothing to do with something as deeply rooted as my sexual orientation and sense of who I was.

I feel that it is incredibly important to share this message.  Please take the time to watch and share the videos below.

The first is of Dan Savage and his husband, Terry, talking about their own struggles with bullying and figuring out their sexuality.  The message in this video is exactly as it's titled - It Gets Better.  Our kids - LGBTQ as well as heterosexual - need to know this.  The bullying ends ... life after high school is so much better, so much more fulfilling, and so much more fun than what they are going through now.  HANG ON, you can get through it.



This second video, recently posted by Ellen DeGeneres, talks about the crisis in teen bullying and asks us to join together to make it STOP.



Please share this post and especially these videos ... spread the word that this is happening and that we need to stop it.  Kids don't need to die in this senseless way, before they have a chance to really live.

- Candice

What's the deal with "promiscuity"?

I am in the midst of arranging a workshop at the University of Guelph in September.  I am very excited, as this will be unlike anything I have done thus far, and great experience!  Although the details are still being worked out, the topic of discussion will likely be the concept of promiscuity.

According to Wikipedia, the term "promiscuity" is defined as "sex with relatively many partners" (www.wikipedia.org).  Okay, thanks for clearing that one up, wikipedia!  But wait ... what denotes "relatively many"?  Who decides what is and is not "promiscuous"?  Who sticks these labels onto individuals, and tells them how to define themselves?

*I want to be clear about what I'm saying - I am not suggesting that using the term "promiscuous" is appropriate, nor am I suggesting that anyone label individuals based on their choices regarding sexual encounters.  My intention is to point out ways in which the term is used and to encourage the questioning of the term altogether.*

What about those who are happy to embrace their promiscuity?  How can we encourage and support these individuals who choose to have multiple partners (maybe even at the same time!) and to be smart and safe about their decisions?  What can we, as sexual health educators, allies, advocates and the simply "interested" do to make life easier on the "promiscuous" individuals of our society?  How can we help those who may have been pushed or even forced into a life of promiscuity?  How can we educate, befriend, advocate and question?

I'm nowhere near to suggesting that I know the answers to these questions, but I want to encourage you to consider them.  How can we, as a society, remove some of the stigma around having sex and encourage individuals to make smart and informed decisions - regardless of how many sexual partners they have!  Let's go beyond giving out condoms, and look at what else needs to happen to make the world a more pleasant and easier to navigate place for the sexually promiscuous.

I'd love to hear from you!  Thanks for reading :)

Sex Ed: Education Central

I am currently putting together a new component of the website, entitled "Education Central".  This area will feature information and resources for youth, adults, parents and educators.  Check back often, I will be posting content regularly over the next several weeks.

I am also working on adding additional resources, including books and educational tools, to the site.  I would like to share with you many of the excellent resources I have and am currently utilizing in my curriculum development and workshop implementation.

Like what I'm doing?  Please share my site with others by clicking on any "Sharing is Sexy" icon or by sharing my address.  Also, if there's anything you think would contribute to the site or to my work, please contact me and let me know!

As always, thank you for your continued support!  I look forward to sharing my knowledge, expertise and experience with you as Sex Ed Central continues to build.

- Candice

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day to all of my fellow Canucks!  It's a beautiful day in Orillia ... the sun is shining and many people are heading down to the waterfront to enjoy vendors, food and entertainment.

Whatever you are doing today, be safe and use protection!  Chlamydia doesn't stop for Canada Day ;)

After the Guelph Sexuality Conference

The Guelph Sexuality Conference was last week, and it was excellent.  Held at my Alma mater, the University of Guelph, the conference brought together a variety of people from across Canada and the US, all of whom share a passion for human sexuality.  I thoroughly enjoyed the conference; it was my first poster session opportunity and it was great to get some exposure for the workshop that I spent so much time developing.   Perhaps the most exciting part of the conference (for me!) was the change to meet and network with people who have a great deal of knowledge, skill and experience and are willing to share that expertise with me.

Many of the workshop sessions I chose to attend were heavily focused on providing sexual health education to youth.  This youth-focused approach gave me the opportunity to learn about what other people have done and how they have made their programs successful with youth audiences.  As well, I left the conference with the realization (or perhaps reminder is the better word) that there is a lot more to human sexuality than I have been addressing in my workshops.  My focus has been primarily on risk reduction, and the things we discussed in several of the workshops I attended have broadened my awareness.  Stay tuned for more information about this in my "workshop" section!

Now that the Guelph Sexuality Conference is over, it's time to get back to the real work.  If you are looking for more information about my workshops or the work that I have done, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I will continue to post updates as things come together.

Stay tuned!
Candice

A Sneak Peek!

The Guelph Sexuality Conference is a little more than a week away - time is whipping by!  I have prepared the slides for my poster, and I thought I'd share a little "sneak peek" of what I'm preparing!

In addition to the excitement of the Guelph Sexuality Conference, I'm pleased to announce that I have reached - and surpassed - the 1,000 website visitor milestone!  THANK YOU for your ongoing support and encouragement, and positive feedback.  It does not go unnoticed!

More soon!
Candice :)

Up next: Guelph Sexuality Conference

In just a couple of weeks, I will be taking a drive back to what is definitely my favourite Ontario city, Guelph.  I will be spending three days at what is definitely my favourite university, the University of Guelph (go Gryphons!).  It's where I spent most of what I think of as my "formative years" ... although I was finished growing physically, my time at U of G is where I explored myself and experienced a great deal of emotional, mental, psychological growth.  I'm definitely excited to go back and experience my alma mater from my more recently developed (and more mature?) state of mind; as an alumni rather than a U of G student.

The reason for my trip to Guelph is the 32nd Annual Guelph Sexuality Conference.

The entire event - including the SAR (Sexual Attitudes Reassessment) weekend, and the Sex Therapy Training Program - lasts nearly two weeks.  I will be attending the final three days - the Pre-Conference and the Main Conference.  I've signed up for workshops discussing topics such as: what is effective for sexual health education with youth, using social media to promote sexual health, promoting inclusiveness in schools, and communicating about sex with teen girls.

I'm very excited to be part of the poster sessions as well, and am working on my poster presentation entitled "Let's Talk About Sex: A Comprehensive, Youth-Oriented Workshop".

I'm really looking forward to this conference and to expanding my knowledge and contacts within my field.  I will let you know how it goes!

Candice :)

Abortion ... whose right?

As you may be aware, abortion is a hot topic these days.  Beyond the usual Pro Choice vs Pro Life debate, the conservative Harper government's recent announcement that they will not support abortion funding for women in developing nations has sparked hot debate both at home and abroad.

Canada is now the only nation in the G8 who is refusing to support funding for abortion, in addition to other measures such as contraception and maternal health care.  The controversy, it seems, stems partly from the fact that the Harper government waited until last Monday to announce, "for the first time that Canada will not fund abortions in its G8 child and maternal health-care initiative for developing countries" (CBC News).

This was good news for Canada's anti-abortion groups, who demonstrated their support for Harper's conservative policy, in Ottawa and across the country (The Globe and Mail).  Activists took to Parliament Hill, calling for an end to abortion and claiming that abortion "constitutes a crime against humanity" (The Globe and Mail).  Although Harper has said that he does not want to reopen the abortion debate here in Canada, it would seem that, in a way, he already has.

I'm interested to see where this goes ... are we losing our status as a forward-thinking, accepting nation?  Will Canadian women have to fight, again, for the right to choose?  Given that we now stand alone against the rest of the G8 on this issue for women around the world, I'm starting to wonder if this is the case.

What do YOU think?

Candice

It's the Final Day!

Tonight is my final workshop session!  This ending is bittersweet ... although it has been an insane amount of work to get through this workshop, I have enjoyed it immensely and will miss running it when it's over.  All the more reason to keep improving and looking for another opportunity to run a workshop!

I've prepared what I think is a pretty awesome info board for tonight's session on Teen Pregnancy.  My intention is to give a "reality check" to those youth who may view pregnancy and raising a child as something that would be "fun" or "something to do".  The board draws attention to three main things:

1) that having a baby changes your whole life;

2) that babies are expensive and;

3) that it's hard to pay for a baby when you and/or your partner haven't yet finished high school, or if you're relying on Governmental support to get you through.

A disclaimer, just in case: In no way am I trying to negate the positive aspects of parenthood, nor am I demeaning those who have had children when they were teens.  As usual, I am trying to educate about the realities involved with having a child.

I still need to put together the actual activity board, but I wanted to share this info board with you!

Thanks for your support!
Candice :)

Babies Having Babies ...

Based on the title, you can probably guess (if you haven't read previous posts or don't remember) - tomorrow's workshop is about Teen Pregnancy.  It's also the FINAL session of my workshop - an adventure which has flown by and developed into far more than I could have imagined!

As is the case with all of my workshop sessions, the information I present tomorrow will be both practical and relevant to my audience.  I don't see any point in standing in front of them and spouting random, irrelevant knowledge that won't help them in their lives.  Instead, I am going to focus on helping them figure out how to apply what I talk about to their own lives.  Maybe one of them will walk away thinking "Wow, I am not ready to be a parent yet."  Fingers crossed!

As I've already stated, this workshop has grown into far more than I could have imagined.  I'm incredibly thrilled with how well everything has gone, and very proud of the youth who have been part of the sessions.

What I have now is a very comprehensive and widely applicable workshop which can be edited and tailored to a variety of audiences.  Running my workshop at the OYC has given me a chance to step back and evaluate every aspect of it; yes, I will definitely make a few changes before I run it again.  However, I have worked hard to build a strong foundation, and it will continue to get better!

Even though my workshop is ending, I will be continuing to post regularly.  There is SO MUCH going on in the world of sexual health education!  Also, don't forget to check out the other pages of this site!

• Contact me (Candice)


• All about my workshop!


• Useful resources and links


• About me!


• Support my efforts to educate!

Thanks for tuning in!

Candice :)

Let's be clear ...

As I mentioned in my previous post, this week's workshop was focused on the topic of Communication - specifically in the context of interpersonal (intimate) relationships.  It was an interesting and challenging week; five new youth for a total of twelve and some interesting group dynamics made for a different session than I am used to.

I think that the challenge of managing this week's group while presenting the material in a clear and understandable way was a really good thing.  Being continually challenged ensures that I am also continually thinking, e.g. "How would I revise this next time?".  I have the opportunity to assess what is working well and what I would like to change, which is certainly important when developing any sort of program.

Yesterday I attended a conference with two others from the Youth Centre; it was a leadership and equity conference focused on GLBTQ students in high schools.  There were approximately 150 students, teachers and allies in attendance and we were there as community supporters and to provide information about the OYC as well as my workshop.  The other two tables were occupied by an RN from Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit and PFLAG, of which I am a proud ally member.  It was an interesting experience, and I would liken it to the proverbial "small fish, big pond" scenario.  I met some really great people and exchanged a few business cards and I enjoyed the opportunity to be there.

Since this is National Youth Week, the OYC hosted a BBQ last night.  The hot dogs were absolutely delicious and the OYC was the busiest I have ever seen it.  What a successful week!

Coming up next week: Teen Pregnancy!

Ciao for now,

Candice

More than words ...

Tomorrow night's workshop is all about communication.

In planning this session, I've come to the conclusion that it would be very easy to put together an entire workshop (6, 8, 10 weeks) about communication all by itself.  There are so many things to think about and I've had to make some tough decisions about where to focus my attention and what I think will most benefit the youth.  I've decided to focus on the basics ... the components of communication (what you say, how you say it, body language), I-statements, and miscommunication.

What we say only accounts for 7% of the message we send.  More than anything, it's our tone of voice and body language that we use to communicate with others ... how we say it, and how we act when we say it.  That's what I want to impress upon the youth.  There will be plenty of role-playing, role-modeling, and discussion, and my good friend Scott will be assisting me with this session.  I'm really looking forward to it!

Who's responsible for teaching sex ed?

Whose responsibility is it to teach our young people about sex?  Is it up to parents, who are often uncomfortable and sometimes unprepared to discuss this topic with their kids?  Is it the religious groups, who often exclude those topics with which they do not agree and may only discuss abstinence as the "right" choice?  Is it the responsibility of teachers, many of whom are also uncomfortable discussing sex with young people, and may be lacking enough information to really teach the subject?  Or should we skip sex ed all together and let kids learn from their friends and older siblings, or "figure it out for themselves"?

Sex is a part of life.  It's not something that can be ignored, hidden or avoided.  It's not something shameful and it's certainly not unnatural.  It's the reason we all exist (no storks around here!) and it's the most vital part of our survival as a species.  It is intertwined with many wonderful things ... love, laughter, pleasure, and fun.  It can also be used in negative ways ... manipulation, abuse, assault, victimization.

Sex can also be scary.  STIs are out there, and many of them are on the rise.  Rates of Chlamydia are continuing to rise, especially amongst young people 15-24 years old.  Gonorrhea is rising as well.  And syphilis, which had become very rare in Canada, increased by 62% from 2008 to 2009 (Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, Public Health Ontario, 2010).

Anyone who engages in any "risky" sexual activity (e.g. unprotected vaginal or anal sex, unprotected oral sex, having multiple partners, sharing toys, etc) is at risk for STIs.  While some STIs are curable, many are not.  Herpes, for example, makes itself comfortable and stays for life.  It can be transmitted even when the person does not have any symptoms, and yes, if you have a cold sore and give your partner oral sex, they can get genital herpes!

Although I cannot speak as a parent, I can speak as an experienced Sexual Health Educator and as a Child and Youth Worker.  I can tell you that, regardless of what kind of sex ed they receive, some young people are going to have sex and others are not.  Handing a young person a condom is no more likely to make them have sex than handing someone $50 is going to make them go to the casino and gamble.  In fact, if the youth are educated - thoroughly, honestly, accurately - they are more likely to choose not to have sex.

Which brings me to my original question - whose responsibility is it to teach our children and youth about sex?  In my opinion, sex ed should be taught by those who are comfortable doing so, and who are prepared to be honest and frank with their audience.  Sexual health educators need to be confident and provide plenty of opportunity for the audience to engage with the information.  I can speak from experience when I say that, when presented with the opportunity to talk openly and ask questions, young people are eager to learn.

Sex ed isn't about telling people what they "should" or "shouldn't" do, or preaching about what's "right" and "wrong".  It's about presenting the information - the factual information - and letting people decide for themselves.  That's what Sex Ed Central is all about.  I talk to people about sex and offer the facts: STIs are out there, pregnancy can happen at any stage in a woman’s cycle, and to be unsure about your sexual orientation does not make you any less of a person.

If you're interested in this topic, check out my other posts, read this article or contact me.

Thanks for reading,

Candice

We Live in a Beautiful World!

Good morning, sunshine!

Last night's workshop was entitled "Sexual Diversity & LGBTQ" and featured a phenomenal guest speaker.  Seventeen youth (biggest turnout yet!), lots of dialogue and plenty of great questions made for a productive and meaningful workshop.  My guest speaker gave the youth an opportunity to listen and talk to someone who has "been there" and I am happy to say that they didn't hesitate to take full advantage of her experience and knowledge.

I opened the discussion with "What do you think of when I say 'sexual diversity'?".  We talked about what different words mean to different people and how easily words can hurt and offend.  We also discussed how difficult it can be to struggle with something so fundamental to who you are as your sexual orientation; my guest speaker talked about her experience with internalized homophobia and the process of accepting herself as someone who did not identify as heterosexual.  I, like many of the youth, felt inspired and awed to talk with someone who has come through so much and, despite everything, is such a compassionate and loving person.

It was absolutely great!

Last night was Week 8 ... only two more sessions left!  This workshop has been phenomenal ... far better than I had ever anticipated!  The feedback from both the youth and the OYC staff has been consistently positive, and I've noticed a major improvement in the willingness of the youth to open up and talk about sex and everything related to it.  What a huge success!

Next week is all about communication ... I-statements, communicating clearly, saying what you mean and being honest with yourself and your partner(s).  I will have another guest co-facilitator.  He is also an amazing individual and someone who I can count on to help me role-model and facilitate discussion with the youth.

Stay tuned!

The controversy continues ...

Well folks, it looks like the Ontario sexual health curriculum won't be changing anytime soon.  After a good deal of public resistance, McGuinty retracted his decision and decided to avoid this battle for the time being.

Largely as a result of all of this uproar, it's been an interesting week to be a sexual health educator!  I've been likened to a pedophile more than once (eek!) and have heard several people exclaim "They want to teach them anal sex in grade three!".  The first of these statements (that I am a pedophile) is more than a little silly so I will skip right to the second.

The second statement, that this curriculum involves teaching anal sex to eight year old children - is absolutely outrageous and completely inaccurate.  For one, the curriculum does not involve "teaching anal sex" to anyone.  It includes teaching about what anal sex is, and the risks associated with it, and about safer sex ... but not until the sixth or seventh grade.  Why, you may wonder, is it even necessary to teach our young people anything about anal sex?  The answer to that is both simple and complex -- because they need to know.  More and more young people are engaging in anal sex, and anal sex is a high risk behaviour.  Furthermore, many young people do not regard anal sex as "real sex" with "real consequences" so they don't take the steps necessary to protect themselves.

In addition, the topics that would be introduced in the third grade are basic and involve teaching about diversity ... "Some families have two mommies or two daddies".  This revision to the curriculum acknowledges the reality that homosexual, bisexual, transsexual, transgendered, queer, two-spirited (and anyone I've missed) people are people too.  These people have families and deserve as much recognition and validation as any other person or family.

I read something on facebook yesterday that I thought sums the situation up in an interesting and rather humerous way:

"So let me get this straight - Larry King is getting his 8th divorce, Elizabeth Taylor is possibly getting married for a 9th time, Jesse James and Tiger Woods are (having sex with) EVERYTHING, yet the idea of same-sex marriage is what is going to destroy the institution of marriage?? REALLY??"

I realize that many of those who have misinterpreted the intentions of the curriculum (see example above) have done so because of the way it has been portrayed in the media.  McGuinty, for one, could have handled things much more delicately than he actually did.  Of course, this kind of sensationalism is great at getting people watching and reading, so the media picked up on the fire and ran with it.  Add in those who are strongly enough opposed to pull their kids out of school and we have quite the interesting scene!

I will be watching to see what happens next.  I have seen the OPHEA guidelines for our sex ed curriculum, and I can speak from experience in saying that they are minimal and insufficient.  There are definitely those out there who feel similarly to me; that it's extremely important to teach kids a comprehensive sex-ed curriculum.  After all, the decisions kids make around sex can impact the rest of their lives.

Curriculum Changes

Given the news today about the McGuinty government introducing new (and much more thorough) sex ed in schools, I felt the need to make this post.

If you haven't already heard, beginning in September children and youth in Ontario are going to start learning more, and at younger ages.  Although this list is by no means complete, some of the changes include:

• use of clear, explicit and accurate language

• introducing proper names for body parts in Grade 1

• discussing "invisible differences" and introducing concepts such as sexual identity and orientation to students in Grade 3

• introducing the topic of puberty in Grade 4 (previously introduced in Grade 5) - reflecting the reality that children and youth are reaching puberty at increasingly younger ages (I know girls who got their periods when they were 9!) ... the discussion is also more accurate and acknowledges changes such as body hair and breast development

• using terminology such as "anal intercourse" and "vaginal lubrication" in Grades 6 & 7

*Warning: opinions ahead*

Needless to say, there are those out there who do not agree with these changes.  Many of the reasons given for this dissonance center around religious values.  For example:

“I think it’s a sort of infringement on parents, because you’re talking about a very personal and sensitive area and dealing with kids so young I believe what it will end up infringing on their thought processes and their desires and ability to make correct choices,” said Reverend Ekron Malcolm, director of the Institute for Canadian Values

What gets me - REALLY gets me - about that quotation is the reference to children's "ability to make correct choices".  Correct according to whom?  For whom?  Says whom?

Statistically speaking ...

Every survey of young Canadians that has been done on this topic indicates that Canadian youth are unequivocal in recognizing the importance of being well informed about sexual health through school-based programs and that they want a wide range of relevant topic areas to be addressed (Byers, et al., 2003a; Byers, et al, 2003b; Cairns, Collins, & Hiebert, 1994; Cregheur, Casey, & Banfield, 1992; HKPR Health Unit, 1999; Lawlor & Purcell, 1988; McKay & Holowaty, 1997; Smith, et al., 2001).

I can speak from experience on this point ... young people want this education, they need this education, and they are more likely to postpone sexual activity when they have this education.

“If anything, young people who are very well educated about sexuality and sexual health tend to actually delay having sex, because they fully understand everything that’s involved, biologically and psychologically,” Alex McKay, research co-ordinator for the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada.

There are parents threatening to pull their children out of school unless this curriculum is abandoned, and I'm happy to say that the government is sticking to its guns on this one.

Looking for more information about this topic?  See my "resources" page, or click on these links:

http://bit.ly/bbMXyT (Globe & Mail news article)

http://bit.ly/bDz4hN ("Youth Want Sexual Health Education)

http://bit.ly/b8liDr (Myths and Misconceptions Regarding Sex Ed)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this issue!  Email me or leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Candice

This week ... Relationships!

This week's workshop is based on relationships.  Lots of different relationships ... friends, family, peers, teachers, workers, clergy, romantic partners ... you get the picture.

Obviously I'm not going to spend the whole session just talking about types of relationships.  My focus will be on safety within those relationships ... power, what is and is not ok in different kinds of relationships, red flags for unhealthy relationships, sexual assault and domestic violence.

I think that it's important to go beyond the mechanics and technicalities of sex, and talk about the more personal side of things.  Sex doesn't happen in a vacuum (and if it does ... well ... let's chat ...); there are a whole bunch of other factors involved with a person's decision to engage or not engage in sexual activity.  From now until the end of the workshop, it's that kind of stuff that we will be talking about on Wednesday nights!

Which reminds me - this is week 7 already!  Wow!  It's gone by SO FAST, and has been far more successful than I could have asked for.  This is GREAT!

Like what I'm doing?

Like what I'm doing?  Have suggestions?  Want to chat?

You can subscribe to receive email updates whenever I post new content; simply enter your email address in the in the box to the right of any blog post, and click "Subscribe".

You can also share the love (the purple heart icons scattered around the site) ... subscribe to my RSS feeds, follow me on Twitter, or stumble me on StumbleUpon ("I like it" is greatly appreciated!).

Feel free to contact me (using the "contact" page) with any comments, questions, suggestions, ideas etc that you may have!

So far, everything I have done has been AMAZING ... but has also been at my own out-of-very-tight-budget-pocket expense.  If you'd like to support my efforts (and help me buy my OWN sex ed kit!), you can support me.  Every penny will go back into developing the best program I possibly can!

Please spread the word about what I'm doing - tell your friends, family, colleagues, peers, students, and anyone else you think might be interested!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

It's about diversity.

Yesterday I received another box of goodies.  Those of you who are familiar with my apartment are probably groaning and thinking "Oh goodness, where is she going to put more stuff?  I assure you, the office can handle it!

Amongst all the goodies, first on my reading list (which begins next week, after the three assignments, two papers and one test are over!) are two more informational books from Public Health - "Sexual Orientation in Schools" and "Gender Identity in Schools".  As a heterosexual Caucasian female living in a hetero-normative, largely Caucasian society, I have not had to contend with many of the issues facing the diverse youth in our communities.  I feel strongly that it is my responsibility to educate myself as much as I possibly can regarding the experiences of those with whom I cannot directly identify.

Which brings me to my latest venture - an information and resource display at a Student Leadership Conference, all about LGBTQ issues and equality.  I am not yet sure of my particular responsibilities regarding this event, but I can tell you that I am very excited!  I will update when I have more information!

If you're looking for resources such as the ones I've mentioned in this post, visit the CATIE Ordering Centre - have fun!

Let's make this FUN!

Another workshop tonight, complete with guest speaker and warm fuzzies!

[caption id="attachment_215" align="alignleft" width="137" caption="HIV/AIDS Ribbon"][/caption]

This time I started the workshop with the activity, rather than saving it until the end.  I learned pretty quickly that if I ever switch things around like that again, it would be a good idea to plan another activity for the end of the session as well.  Tonight was the first time that I have received requests for more games and activities, and I will be sure to follow through on that!  After all, the activities and games are my favourite part as well!

My guest speaker tonight was Karyn, Manager of Community Services at the AIDS Committee of Simcoe County (ACSC) and one of my placement supervisors.  It was great to have her knowledge and expertise and the youth had plenty of excellent questions.  I am so proud of the progress that the youth have learned so much and have made so much progress.  I think that it was very wise to begin the workshop with the hands-on topics, such as anatomy, contraception and STIs and save the personal stuff for the later weeks.  Next week I am discussing relationships and healthy decision making.  The rest of the workshop is much more person-oriented rather than activity-oriented, although I am always open to any questions that may come up!

As always, thank you for your support!

Did you know ... ?

Did you know that there are multiple strains of the HIV virus, and that a person can become infected with more than one strain?  Until recently, I did not know that.  I, like many, thought that there was one HIV virus and that once you had HIV, that was that.  Another question ... Did you know that the average time between a person contracting HIV and developing AIDS is more than 10 years?  I'd say that is pretty awesome ... HIV no longer has to be the immediate death sentence that has been ingrained into our minds.

As you may have figured out, next week's topic is HIV/AIDS.  I have a guest speaker coming in to assist; she knows a great deal about HIV/AIDS and I think it will be good for the youth to see that there is someone out there who can help them with any HIV/AIDS related questions or issues.  It's part of my goal to provide hands-on information and resources, and sometimes "resources" means offering up the knowledge that "there's someone I can talk to if I ever need to".

One more question ... Did you know that you can subscribe to my website and receive notifications whenever I post new content?  You can do this in a couple of ways:

1) on the "Blog" page, simply enter your email address and click "subscribe"

2) below ANY blog post, click "share the love" and then "subscribe".  This takes you to the RSS feed, which is simply a list of every post I have made on this website.

As well, please "Share the Love" and spread the word about my site!  Your support makes a world of difference with what I'm trying to do!

Thanks,

Candice

A Fine Balance

Teaching sex ed is a balancing act.  You want to be upfront and honest with the youth, and get the information to them.  At the same time, you don't want to come across as using "scare tactics" or being too graphic.  Also, you need to know how much each group can handle.  This is when having a good rapport with your audience really comes in handy.

As a CYW (Child and Youth Worker), one of the central features of my education is developing the skills to establish relationships with young people.  The awesome part about taking all of these classes and practicing these skills in my labs is that it really works! The youth like me and respond well to me, and almost without realizing it, I can build positive relationships with them.  Yet another reason I love the CYW program :).

When it comes to teaching sex ed, you need to keep it practical and relevant.  While it's great that I know that, in Canada, "the overall reported rate of gonorrhea increased by  124.2% between 1998 and 2007" (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2009), what the youth need to know is that more and more people are getting gonorrhea, and most of them are between 15 and 24 years old - and this means that they are at high risk for contracting gonorrhea.  It's not enough to spew information and statistics at them and expect that they will absorb it all because you're such a great speaker and it's important information.  Bite-sized chunks, clear language, repetition, and fun are all necessary to making your lesson a success.

On that note, it's time for me to get back to next week's lesson!

Thanks for reading,

Candice

STIs, anyone?

This week's session: An Intro to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

Oh the joys of STIs ... you may think I'm strange, but I really enjoy talking about STIs.  Well, I enjoy talking about pretty much ANYTHING related to sexuality or sexual health, but STIs are just plain fun!  They're icky, nasty, and just plain yuck and yet they are completely avoidable and preventable!

And that, my friends, is what I like about them.  I like being able to tell a young person that they can take control and they can protect themselves from this icky nastiness.

Now before I get too far, I want to clear something up:  In no way, shape or form am I putting down anyone who has ever contracted an STI; nor am I making any sort of statement or judgement regarding having STIs.  My emphasis is on the fact that, from a harm reduction standpoint, STIs are a way to give a visual and descriptive (and hopefully, ickifying) reminder of a person's ability to take steps to protect him/herself.

I'm not going to get into the facts and figures in this post ... my blog is just that - a blog - and I'll save the statistics for another page (more content coming soon!  keep checking!).  I am, however, going to tell you that this week's session was AWESOME, that I had 14 youth (yay!!), and that I know that some of them are already excited about next week!  So I am thrilled and, of course, very excited (are you surprised?).

I learned something very important this week: it's a good idea to have several "levels of difficulty" with the jeopardy-like questions I use in my activities ... cuz these youth were way too smart for the ones I had made up!  Time to take it up a notch!

Questions?  Email me!  Comments?  Write one here, or email me!  There's now a "contact" page and you can use that to send me an email, OR write to candice@sexedcentral.com

I can't wait to hear from you!!!

Candice :)

p.s. Don't forget to "Share the Love" below!!!

Great news!

Great news!  I've been accepted to the Poster Presentations at the 32nd Annual Guelph Sexuality Conference in June!

I am very excited to be part of this incredible event.  When I was a student at U of G I volunteered at the Conference each year, and dreamed of being part of the conference itself.  I am now one step closer to that dream!

I wanted to share my news - yay!

:) Candice

Pieces are falling into place ...

Well, things are crazy right now!  I have a few weeks left in the semester, so I am trying to get through the last of the tests and assignments while planning my workshop and working on this awesome website.

I have been neglecting the blog a bit over the past week, in favour of getting some "content" onto the site.  If you haven't already, check out my other pages ... About, Workshop, etc.

Check back often as this site continues to grow and, hopefully, flourish!  I can't wait to see what happens!

Let's get connected!

Another week, another workshop!

This week, week 3 of my workshop, was a continuation off of last week's contraceptive session.  While last week was all about condoms, the pill, patch and ring, this week was about less common and less well-known methods.

I started by making big "info sheets" about each method.  These sheets include all of the "good to know" stuff, including how each method is used, effectiveness, protection offered, and any warnings or other info they should know.  For example, did you know using spermicide increases your risk of transmitting or contracting HIV?  Neither did I, until I did some research!  Wrap it up, folks!

I hung these posters along one wall of the OYC, where they would be visible to the youth.  I had 12 in total because I thought that a review of the four methods we covered last week would be a good idea!  I started the discussion with an overview of each method, complete with samples and explanations of how to use them.  I also talked about Plan B and made sure that they knew where to get it, how it worked, and how much it costs.

One of the BEST parts of this week's workshop was when I talked to them about the four methods we discussed last week.  In particular, I ended the "lesson" part of the workshop with another condom demo.  I asked the youth to walk me through it - two of them had been present at last week's session - and THEY REMEMBERED!  I was soooooo excited and so very proud!  One of the youth in particular walked me through each little step - including making sure there was air in the package and pushing the condom to the side of the package before opening it - and not using teeth to tear it open!

YAY!!!

This week's game was called "Contraceptive Connection".  Here are some pictures!

[gallery]

The game is essentially a combination of Jeopardy, Sequence, and Tic-Tac Toe.  The kids really enjoyed it, although I will make a few revisions next time around, because they definitely wanted more competition!

I used rewards in the form of lilliput eggs, Kinder Surprise and Cadbury Creme Eggs ... go easter chocolate!  I'll have to stock up again this week to make sure I am well-equipped.

Oh, and the best "Session Eval" comment to date?  "This program is great".

I'm on top of the world!

Thanks for reading :)
Candice

Step by step!

So much is happening this week, and I don't have enough time (or energy) to tell it all right now. I was in Toronto today for "ASIST" - Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. To get there, we left at 6am ... so it's been a long day. Not to mention, we're doing it all again tomorrow!

I have a surprise coming soon, and I can't wait to unveil it to you! All I can say is, this blog is going to be moving soon! In the meantime, I will try to keep you entertained by telling you about what I am doing in workshop this week.

This week's activity is called "Contraceptive Connection". I had the brainwave for the oh-so-clever name last week and I'm pretty excited about the activity (as usual!). It's like a combination of jeopardy + tic-tac-toe + sequence + Candice's awesome creativity. Ok I added the last part in myself ...

I haven't made the game board yet, but it will be more-or-less an oversized tic-tac-toe board. My objective is to engage the kids with the info (cleverly posted around the OYC) while encouraging fun and watching them strive for chocolate prizes!

I am continuing to spread the word about my workshop, as well as this blog. I am thrilled to say that I am making connections and - hopefully - building interest in what I'm doing. As I mentioned in my first blog post, I decided in the fall that this placement would be exactly what I wanted it to be - and I made that happen. I'm thrilled with the results.

Stay tuned ... for now, I must sleep, but I will write more as soon as I can!

:)
Candice

What's that in the giant box you're carrying around?

For those of you who didn't know, my wonderful college monitor put in a request for me, and the CYW program has purchased a SEX ED KIT! YYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!

I'm soooooo thrilled and excited about this! If you click on the link, you will see that this particular (amazing!) kit is not all that cheap ... and definitely beyond my grasp at the time (if you want to donate to the "Candice needs a sex ed teaching kit" fund, please contact me! I'll thank you personally! Tee hee).

As soon as I could, I opened it up and went through everything ... and it has pretty much EVERYTHING I could want! Condoms, a woody, six different samples of the pill, a nuvaring, an IUD, samples of the patch, a sponge, a female condom, a cervical cap, vaginal film (spermicide), jelly (spermicide) ... the list goes on and on! To show just how excited I am about this kit, I had Mark take a picture of me holding it open! And yes, it's nearly as tall as I am ...


This is great!!!! I couldn't possibly ask for anything better! In addition to all of the teaching supplies, it comes loaded with some print materials too ... pamphlets, booklets, and educational resources. I'm sure I'll add a few things to it while I'm using it! After all, there's no such thing as too many sex ed resources!

In addition to the arrival of "my" kit (yes I know, it's not mine, but I'm going to refer to it as "mine" rather than "the CYW program's sex ed kit") ... I have had a great week in terms of spreading the word about my workshop. Which reminds me - if you know of ANYONE whom you think might be interested in what I'm doing, please pass this along! I am trying to spread the word as much as I possibly can, and I appreciate any and all networking assistance! I've been talking with several people who are interested in what I'm doing, which is wonderful! The word is spreading amongst the youth as well!

THANK YOU for reading, THANK YOU for following, THANK YOU for forwarding, and THANK YOU for your support and well-wishes!

What's Your Plan "A"?

Another week is almost done and it has been crazy busy! Here's an update:

Workshop number two was last night. There were not as many kids as the first week (there were 10), but the ones who were there were really engaged and participated fantastically! The staff participated as well, and to them I say a huge THANK YOU for their support!

Activity number one - Condom Lineup - was hilarious! Both teams did their best and really engaged with the activity, so I was thrilled! We had some fun with "the Woodster" and I showed them that a condom easily fits over my fist ... so no "it's too small" excuses!

The second activity was officially named about 1/2 hour before I left for placement ... thank you Kristin for your suggestion. I adjusted it slightly, and the name is now "What's your Plan "A"?" Your prize is in the mail! Stay tuned for more pleas for help!



Yesterday afternoon I made a quick trip to WalMart and picked up a variety of "prizes" ... mmm chocolate! Easter chocolate to be precise! Bribery is GREAT and works like a charm! I offered the youth a "prize" to whomever helped me with the condom demo by holding Woody ... only one volunteered, without knowing what the prize was. Now that they know I am armed with Kinder Surprise eggs, I think I might get more volunteers!!!

Overall, it was a great session. I had hoped for more youth, but it worked out very well with the number who were there. I'm getting a better idea of how long to run the sessions for and what kind of activities to use. And the way I see it, if even one of the youth learned something last night, I was successful!

Thanks for reading!

p.s. Alexandra, I am still keeping your name suggestion in mind for further activities! I will let you know if I use it!

Another activity ready!

Okay folks, the board for my second activity is finally finished. The only problem remaining is that I don't have a clever or witty name for this one!



Essentially, I present the methods, give them each an info sheet about all 4 (with the main points) and then have them fill out this board with the cards I've also made (e.g. under "Effectiveness" they would select the card with "88% effective" written on it and stick it in the "Condoms" column). Repeat until completed! Of course I'll endeavour to make it more interesting than that, but I'm sure you get the essence of the activity!



So ... any great name ideas? Help me out and I'll send you a surprise! Mailing address required :)

*note* THANK YOU TO KRISTIN for your great name idea!

Aside from the tremendous amounts of work I've done today, it's been a GREAT day and I have lots of things to write about! However, it's late and I am exhausted, so they will have to wait. Keep reading ... I will keep posting!

:)

Making a game of it!

Week 2 of my workshop is upon me. Yesterday I realized that next week is going to be extremely busy, which means I have this week to prepare for both this and next week's workshop sessions!

The topic of this week is Condoms and Contraception. However, after last week I realized that we need to start with the very basics - a look at anatomy (particularly female!). The youth need to know what I mean when I say "cervix" and I'm not sure all of them do.

After I cover the "moose" (Sue Johanson's word to describe the appearance of a woman's inner reproductive system) and external genitalia, we'll move on to the fun stuff -- CONDOMS! I have just finished preparing the activity boards for my rendition of "Condom Lineup". I am taking the original idea from the Advocates for Youth website.

I'm quite pleased with how the boards have turned out!



After we cover everything condoms, I will be talking about the pill, patch and ring. I haven't finished the board for that activity yet - that's tonight's task!

Stay tuned!

The path to sex ed is long and convoluted ...

When I decided to go back to school for Child and Youth Work (go Georgian College!), I didn't really think too much about my human sexuality related ambitions. After graduating from U of G, I had briefly considered doing an MSc in Human Sexuality but decided that research wasn't really my thing ... I prefer to get "in there" and connect with people, and CYW seemed a great way to do that.

Jump ahead to April 2009, at which point I found myself on placement at a really great elementary school in the Orillia/Barrie area. My supervisor gave me the freedom to schedule my time however was best suited to everyone involved, and also gave me the opportunity to pursue what I REALLY wanted to do. At that point I began offering to teach sex ed to the seventh and eight grade students at the school - and all of the teachers went for it! Needless to say, I loved every moment of it and learned more than I had ever anticipated.

Fast forward a few more months, to September 2009. Although I was only anticipating completing my second (six week) placement in the upcoming spring, I was determined to make it the best placement I possibly could. A few revisions and suggestions later, I found myself planning instead for my final 400 hour placement, which was even better! I started phoning and emailing and visiting agencies in the area, offering to do sex-ed outreach, to teach, to run a workshop ... whatever they needed and wanted! At first I didn't have too much success ... I quickly discovered that Simcoe county is rather conservative in many ways, and doesn't offer much in terms of sexual health resources to youth. Even an offer of free labour and an independent student wasn't enough to entice!

My luck turned around when I was referred by one of my fabulous teachers to the Orillia Youth Centre. Kevin quickly agreed to take me on as a student and let me develop, implement, and evaluate my own workshop. He offered me free reign to do as I pleased ... topics, content, guest speakers, activities ... it was all up to me! At that point I was ecstatic, though I was still looking for a second agency to partner with; my ultimate goal was a split placement with an agency whose name and affiliation could benefit me in the long run.

On January 8 I was attending a Leadership Conference at the Georgian campus in Barrie, where I noticed that one of the agencies attending the "networking lunch" was the AIDS Committee of Simcoe County. I introduced myself and explained what I was trying to do, and my ultimate goal of having a "split placement" with an organization such as the ACSC and the OYC. Karyn immediately agreed and said that a split placement would suit her perfectly. If I had been ecstatic before, now I was bursting with excitement!

Now that I had both of my placement supervisors arranged, I started to think about everything involved with planning and running a sex-ed workshop. Of several things I was certain: that I would be working 95% independently, that I wanted to give myself lots of time to plan the workshop, and that I wanted more than 8 weeks to run it. I talked to a few people, did a little self-advocating, and within a few days I had made the arrangements to start my placement two months early, on a part-time basis. I officially began my placement on February 8, 2010.

Though nowhere near over yet, this journey has taught me a great deal. I have realized, among other things, that I am a strong advocate for myself as well as others. I've learned that if I am determined to make something happen, I can do it! And now, as the workshop really gets going, I'm learning that I'm a pretty good sexual health educator as well!

Let's hear it for comprehensive sex ed! :)

And ... success!

Tonight was my first workshop session. Granted, it was just the intro ... I talked about myself, let the youth ask questions (they mostly just wanted to know how old I am), we talked about ground rules (confidentiality, respect, listening and being nonjudgemental), and then talked about what's coming up with the next few sessions! I asked them what kind of things they'd like to learn about and, although they were fairly quiet during the actual workshop, I received some great feedback at the end.

There were 17 youth there to start with, and 13 of them were there long enough to fill out evaluation forms! I'm pleased to say that nobody said "that sucked!" ... yay! The staff were also full of positive feedback, and I had a few good chats with youth who approached me afterwards with questions. So, the ball is rolling!

Thanks for reading :)

p.s. Two veggie trays and one fruit tray, as well as a package of cookies -- GONE in 20 minutes. They were hungry, but not for me! Phew! :)

There comes a day ...

There comes a day when you have to throw yourself to the sharks ... and hope that they're not too hungry!

That day has arrived for me ... it is officially "start my workshop" day!

I consider today to be more of a "soft start" ... like the "soft openings" before the Grand Opening of a new store. Tonight we're talking about me, the workshop, ground rules, and what the kids want to talk about over the next 10 weeks. I'm taking lots of fun stuff (handouts, resources, flipcharts, booklets, condoms) but it's not until next week that the REAL teaching starts.

It's all coming together ... the posters are being printed, schools have been contacted, public health has been called, and the veggie trays have been ordered! Wish me luck!

Let's Talk About Sex

My involvement with the field of human sexuality began several years ago, with an "Intro to Human Sexuality" course in University. This course, in conjunction with my extra-curricular activities, ignited a passion for sexual health education which has continued to grow over the years.

My goal is to get "out there" and connect with young people; to get them to talk and learn about a topic which so many feel uncomfortable discussing. The reality is simple - the decisions people make regarding sex can permanently and drastically impact the rest of their lives. My current project is a joint venture between the AIDS Committee of Simcoe County and the Orillia Youth Centre. I am designing, running, and evaluating a 10 week sex ed workshop, geared towards at risk youth in the Orillia, Ontario area.

In addition to this project, I have several years of involvement with the Guelph Sexuality Conference and spent two years as a volunteer with a group called NAKED at the University of Guelph. Last year I spent six weeks in an elementary school; among other things, I taught sex ed to all of the seventh and eighth grade students.

These experiences, as well as my discussions with young people regarding all things sex, have ignited within me a determination to make my goals and dreams a reality.