2003: what teachers want, need, and deserve.... As a human sexuality This article is about human sexual perceptions. For information about sexual activities and practices, see Human sexual behavior. Generally speaking, human sexuality is how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings. educator, I work with public school teachers, mostly in the Northeast, but also across the country, to help them feel more confident and competent teaching the young people with whom they work. Over the last 10 years, I have listened to the concerns, questions, and issues that teachers see as barriers to being successful sexuality educators. An informal survey of sexuality education professionals working with teachers found broad consensus about the questions and concerns most commonly expressed by teachers. The frequency and consistency with which [certain] questions are asked by those responsible for teaching sexuality education across the country reflect fear and uncertainty, and suggest a disconnect disconnect - SCSI reconnect between public opinion polls and the reality of the classroom. What I, and others who work with teachers, have found is that despite broad support for comprehensive sexuality education, there are a number of factors conspiring to limit the quantity and quality of sexuality education available across the nation ... Teachers Are Inadequately Prepared Woefully woe·ful also wo·ful adj. 1. Affected by or full of woe; mournful. 2. Causing or involving woe. 3. Deplorably bad or wretched: inadequate training available to both pre-service and in-service educators has left teachers feeling unprepared to teach anything but the most basic and "safe" topics--anatomy, STIs, and pregnancy-prevention. In addition to the chilling effect  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. brought on
by fear of controversy, the lack of training available to sexuality
educators results in teachers feeling incapable of addressing many of
the more challenging but critical topics such as sexual orientation sexual orientationn. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. , sexual behavior sexual behavior A person's sexual practices–ie, whether he/she engages in heterosexual or homosexual activity. See Sex life, Sexual life. , abortion, safer sex (particularly condom use), diversity, and gender roles. It has also left them feeling inadequately prepared to respond to concerns or criticisms from the community. The teachers I work with want two basic things: hands-on activities to use, particularly on more difficult topics; and help answering questions appropriately or facilitating discussions on topics that are raised by students, including guidance on self-disclosure, and what they can and cannot say in their classrooms.... Excerpted from SIECUS SIECUS Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States Report, Volume 31, Number 6, Fall 2003. Eva S. Goldfarb, Ph.D. |
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