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
No comments:
Post a Comment