By Magnus Bloom, Science and Technology Teacher, Grinabescolin, Upsala, Sweden
The possibility of engaging students in sexual health and relationship learning activities, which is often called comprehensive sexual education (CSE), can be a difficult experience at the beginning.
During the plan, you may be uncertain about the scope and attention of your lessons. Looking at the memories of your experience as a student in the 1990s, sex education was primarily focused on the physical aspects of sexual and reproductive, and the dangers associated with it, such as sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. In the Swedish curriculum, the latest updates have expanded the scope of the material to some extent. However, since the force has moved towards relationships, the teaching style and methods have also had to be adopted, towards gender principles, consent and equality. The CSE has turned into a multi -sophisticated article with numerous aspects of science, ‘biology’, which contains numerous aspects of touching numerous school subjects, each with his point of view and attention.
In other words, teachers need to have multi -faceted mentality when planning learning activities in sexual education. It calls for a degree cooperation within the boundaries of school subjects so that students can engage in learning using the entire ‘pedogical tool box’. The work has just been completed by UNESCO and global education monitoring reports through mapping countries’ policies and CSE laws, which shows that it is being taken into account. Three out of four countries integrate sexual education into various subjects, rather than understanding it as a standstone problem.
From my experience, the most important factor to consider when you are planning CSE and holding it is how do you prepare your ‘audience’ or in my case, how do you prepare my students? In my classroom, my point of view focuses on open conversation and collective education rather than lectures. It calls for open and legitimate climate in the classroom. In other words, if students feel safe and comfortable, they will engage in more conversation and consequently learn more and expand their own point of view.
It may seem trivial, but this process can be very difficult in terms of your class formation. In my school, our students come from a diverse social and economic and ethnic background. Factors such as different principles and religious beliefs can sometimes be a barrier that teachers need to be overcome.
Sometimes students can express clear signs of hesitation in participating in activities. In my experience this is the most common among young students. This can often be explained in the past due to the lack of experience of similar debates, or by the uncertainty that their parents and relatives are uncertain. For example, I have had cases in the past, where some students refrained from participating in classes systematically because they were afraid that their parents would not approve.
Regardless of this, from my experience, the way to go, is to start with a relatively ‘secure’ concept, to gradually familiarize the concept and form of debate.
In our school, we usually start discussing the meaning of ‘ordinary’ and non -written rules that determine what this word really means. As the students of these hesitation realize that there is no routine term, they usually begin to engage.
Once students are more acceptable to this topic, their curiosity usually ends and they dare to start asking questions. And this happens when magic begins. When students of silent or hesitating begin to open and give their natural curiosity, this is really one of the greatest joy for a teacher.
After crossing the first obstacle and adding their students to the debate, the next obstacle is to maintain a climate where everyone dares to raise their opinion. One of the major problems in some students’ groups is that when some students take all the place to communicate. This could silence other students who would probably be supported if they provided the opportunity. To avoid this, I believe you need to adopt a balanced approach where you moderate students without silence: encourage them to share their opinions and invite others to join and participate in the conversation.
As a teacher, I often get the question, “Why are we learning about it?” Usually, from my students, I bring different answers to specific reasons to more ordinary people as “you may not realize it right now, but this can be useful later and the process of learning it helps you learn complicated things in the future”. But when I get this question about CSE, my answer is more precise. I tell my students that they are learning this because this knowledge will be useful to them as soon as they catch it. On a physiological and psychological level, it will help them avoid harm to themselves and others around them. With this knowledge, they will learn more about having healthy relationships with other people, taking care of themselves and more openly and meditating.
See Magnus’s intervention as a speaker in a webinar, which has launched a report by UNESCO 50 new country profiles and a global education monitoring report on the website showing policies on each country’s comprehensive sexual education.
