Sex Education for Teenagers: Making Healthy Decisions in the Digital Age
This class forces on sex education and includes information that is uniquely relevant to today's teenagers, such as sexploitation and sexting.
Anne Connelly
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(2)
What's included
3 live meetings
3 in-class hoursClass Experience
This class will teach sex education to high school students based on the National Sexuality Education Standards. The information in the curriculum is especially relevant to American teenagers age 14 and over, because even if they are not yet sexually active it is most affective to teach them about sexual health before they are faced with those decisions. I feel strongly that this topic is important because this generation is more exposed to sexualized marketing than other previous generation was. If we do not give our young adults the information to make educated decisions regarding their sexual health, they will only have what they learn from popular media to make these decisions. Sex education is typically given very little time in school curriculum. And yet, according to the National Survey of Family Growth, "teens who receive comprehensive sexuality are 50 percent less likely to report a pregnancy than those who receive abstinence-only education. " (siecus.org) The class will cover the following topics: Class 1: Influence of the media on sexuality and body image, male and female reproductive systems, sexual intercourse and its relationship to reproduction, sexual response cycle, signs and symptoms of pregnancy. Class 2: The use of contraception, the effect of alcohol and other substances on sexual activity, the signs and symptoms of sexually transmitted infections. Class 3: Effective communication skills and decision-making, sex and social media, sexploitation - what is it and how to protect yourself. My teaching style is very interactive. Nothing is more boring, especially for teens, than simply being lectured to. Therefore I aim for as much class participation as possible. However, since this topic is a sensitive one I will also give them opportunities to submit questions anonymously. Above all I aim to create a safe environment where my students can learn this important material in a healthy way. This course is meant to give teens the information they need to make healthy and informed decisions regarding their sexual activity. It will be taught from the perspective that heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality are all natural and acceptable lifestyles that can be practiced in a healthy way.
Learning Goals
The learning goals we will cover have been lifted from the National Sexuality Education Standards and are as follows:
Analyze how friends, family, media, society, and culture can influence self-concept and body image.
Apply a decision-making model to various sexual health decisions.
Describe the male and female sexual and reproductive systems and their functions.
Define sexual intercourse and its relationship to human reproduction.
Define sexual abstinence as it relates to pregnancy prevention
Describe the human sexual response cycle, including the role hormones can play.
Demonstrate the use of effective communication skills to support one's decision to abstain from sexual behaviors.
Examine how alcohol and other substances, friends, family, media, and culture influence decisions about engaging in sexual behaviors.
Explain the criteria for evaluating the health of a relationship.
Develop a plan to stay safe while using social media.
Explain the health benefits, risks, and effectiveness rates of various contraception, including abstinence and condoms.
Define the steps to using a condom correctly.
Define emergency contraception and its use.
Describe the signs and symptoms of pregnancy.
Define STIs and how they are transmitted.
Describe the signs, symptoms, and potential impacts of STIs including HIV.
Compare and contrast behaviors, including abstinence, to determine the potential risk of STI/HIV transmission from each.
Develop a plan to eliminate or reduce risk for STIs, including HIV.
Apply a decision-making model to various sexual health decisions.
Use effective communication and negotiation skills about the use of contraception including abstinence and condoms.
Describe sexploitation and know what to do if confronted with it.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Because this course is addresses sex education and is meant to be relatable to teens, we will not only be using medical terms but likely slang terms so that students can feel free to communicate and ask questions. These terms will likely sound vulgar (especially out of context) but the purpose is to foster learning so that teens know what they are talking about in social situations. The use of this language is to eliminate any ignorance, not to disrupt.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
The curriculum standards are taken directly from the following source:
https://siecus.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/National-Sexuality-Education-Standards.pdf
Joined September, 2020
5.0
2reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I have a masters degree in Science Education from the University of Texas at Austin. I taught Biology for 8 years, and I also had the opportunity to teach the Sex Education unit to middle school science students.Reviews
Live Group Class
$38
for 3 classes3x per week, 1 week
60 min
Completed by 2 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 14-17
3-18 learners per class
