Now that I have Heather's approval, I'll post my question in a fully authorized capacity.
I'm a documentary filmmaker working on a project about sexed. I've been very impressed by the discussions of sexed on this site, and I was wondering if you could help me get a sense of what curriculums are actually being used out there. (We're covering the whole historyof sexed, so we'd love info from anyone of any age.)
Was sexed part of your K-12 education? If it was, what grades was it taught in? Which classes was it taught in? (ie science, health, gym, guidance, etc) Did your teacher use a textbook or written curriculum? Do you remember the name of the actual curriculum or textbook used? Did your class incorporate any videos, and if so what were the titles? (If you can't remember a title, a description would be great.) Thumbs up or thumbs down on the program? (Any notes on any programs that were really great or glaringly terrible?) And finally, what year did you attend the class? (ie 2006, 1999, etc)
(Please note if your class did not take place in the US)
Thanks so much. I'm really hoping to draw some more attention to this issue with our project.
Posts: 2 | From: Los Angeles | Registered: Aug 2007
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Which classes was it taught in? (ie science, health, gym, guidance, etc)
Physical Education (Gym)
Did your teacher use a textbook or written curriculum?
No.
Do you remember the name of the actual curriculum or textbook used?
There wasn't one.
Did your class incorporate any videos, and if so what were the titles? (If you can't remember a title, a description would be great.)
No.
Thumbs up or thumbs down on the program? (Any notes on any programs that were really great or glaringly terrible?)
It had gaping holes in information, was not informative. The Ontario (provincial) Education Curriculum for physical education requires the teacher to bring up things that he did not. It was supposed to be month of class in each grade 9 and 10, instead, it was 1 week. I learned nothing useful and nothing valuable, as the one week of "Sex ed" was mostly "Don't have sex, you'll get STD's" (even though at the point, the scientific community was calling them STI's, our teacher, of course, wouldn't be that informed) and basic reproductive biology.
And finally, what year did you attend the class? (ie 2006, 1999, etc)
2002/2003
(Please note if your class did not take place in the US)
Class took place in Canada, Ontario. Thus, not the US.
Good luck.
-------------------- 19, male, interested in Sadomasochism (BDSM) and some bisexual tendancies. Posts: 157 | From: Canada | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
I've usually seen it referred to as Sex Ed or FLE (Family Life Education) not sexed. That confused me because sexed is actually a word meaning highly sexual (i.e. oversexed)
1. It was taught in 7th and 8th grade by P.E. teachers, but it was coupled with drugs and health, and they devoted a quarter to it. I think that 8th grade was FLE, and 7th grade was drugs and health (nutrition, etc)
I also had it in 9th and 10th grade. In 9th grade they had the bio teachers teach the mechanics of sex toward the end of the year, and I think that that was the most valuable of all the sex ed that I've gotten, because the Bio teachers really knew their stuff, not like the PE teachers. The PE teachers basically read from a booklet. The Bio teachers were very excited about it, and explained the mechanics very well, they also went in depth into how baby's were made, down to the cell to cell interactions.
No, sorry, I don't remember the curriculum used, but I think it was pretty old. The teachers had all these really weird restrictions, like they couldn't allow us to take home any papers or books from the class, and the PE teachers wern't allowed to draw diagrams.
Yes, there were a few videos, Let me see if I can remember the titles. One was in 8th grade called "Behind Locked Doors" and it was about child abuse. Another was called "The Merical of life" and it was about how baby's were born. I never saw that one, but it was a kind of legend in our school. I also remember they showed us breast and teste exam videos in 10th grade. The rest of the videos were really cheesy, 20 years old, and mainly focused on teaching us how to say no and wait. However, I don't think it was because of neglect that the videos were like that, the Drivers ed videos were the same way.
The program was ok. I now realize that they could have done a whole lot more than what they did, like there was no mention of dental dams, we never saw a condom, and they never mentioned anything other than heterosexual penis in vagina sex, other than in questions people asked. They had a good system of questins, though, in all of the programs. They would pass around note cards, and if someone had a question they would write it on the card, then at the end they would collect the cards and answer the questions next class. However, it wasn't Abstainance only, we did discuss other birth control methods and their reliability I attended 10th grade in 2006-07, 9th grade in 05-06, 8th grade in 04-05 and 7th grade in 03-04. My high school was TJHSST, if you are interested.
Posts: 70 | From: Nova | Registered: Jan 2007
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posted
Was sexed part of your K-12 education? yes Which classes was it taught in? (ie science, health, gym, guidance, etc) um...health, and then in 6th grade we just sort of took time out from regular class time Did your teacher use a textbook or written curriculum? I remember using sheets copied from a book in 6th, and then the health textbook in 10th Do you remember the name of the actual curriculum or textbook used? no, but it was just a general health book with a small section on reproduction Did your class incorporate any videos, and if so what were the titles? (If you can't remember a title, a description would be great.) oh yeah. The Miracle Of Life. Thumbs up or thumbs down on the program? (Any notes on any programs that were really great or glaringly terrible?) It was all mainly reproduction. We never focused on protection, contraception,testing... and the Stds were basically "here, everyone pick one and research it, give a 3 minute oral presentation, and thats it." And finally, what year did you attend the class? (ie 2006, 1999, etc) 1998-6th grade (I lived overseas at this time, on an Army compound...) We went over the basics of reproduction. Girls/guys were separated.
2002-10th grade health. It was the last subject of the semester, so we used what little time we had left (i think maybe 2 weeks, and we only had class 3 times a week). It was very rushed.
posted
Was sexed part of your K-12 education? Yes If it was, what grades was it taught in? In some way, k-2, 7-9, 10 and 11 Which classes was it taught in? (ie science, health, gym, guidance, etc) K-2 was part of class (no classes in elem), Health was a class in 7-9, 10 was CALM (Career and Life Management) and Sci 10, 11 was Bio 20 and 30. Did your teacher use a textbook or written curriculum? Biology textbook for bio unit. Calm must have had a curriculum we followed, but I don't know the name of it. In elementary, it was a curriculum involving a puppet and a bunch of posters. We named him Barney. Do you remember the name of the actual curriculum or textbook used? See above Did your class incorporate any videos, and if so what were the titles? (If you can't remember a title, a description would be great.) In grade 8 or 9 health, we watched a fairly graphic video that followed a sperm through it's journey right to the point of birth. Kinda grossed most of us out. Alot of videos on peer pressure and stuff, Degrassi tv series. Thumbs up or thumbs down on the program? (Any notes on any programs that were really great or glaringly terrible?) Elem program was fantastic. Very basic program of "bathing suit areas", "inappropriate touching", who to go to if ... , all presented light-hearted enough that we weren't scared, but seriously enough that we took it seriously. My mom and my best friend's mom taught the program (volunteered). JHS program was OK. We were given condoms to play with and other contraceptives, definitely wasn't abstinence only. Holes in the program, but generally pretty good. High school CALM and BIO programs were both great. Very impressed by the level of info and the knowledge of the teachers. We had presenters come in in CALM to talk about PP and how to get help, etc. Bio was all the physical stuff, but included contraception, what BCP does to the body, and more! And finally, what year did you attend the class? (ie 2006, 1999, etc) I graduated in 2005, and skipped grade 3, so you can figure out all the dates from there.
If you have more questions, let me know. I can give you info on the specific schools if you want. K-2 was BC, Canada. All others were Alberta, Canada.
posted
Was sexed part of your K-12 education? Yes.
If it was, what grades was it taught in? Elementary school grade 5, middle school grades 6 and 8, none in high school.
Which classes was it taught in? (ie science, health, gym, guidance, etc) Elementary school was just divided between girls and boys. Middle school classes were taught in science classes.
Did your teacher use a textbook or written curriculum? Yes. The 5th and 6th grade classes ONLY covered puberty and periods, and the curriculum and pamplets entirely sponsored by the makers of Always/Tampax products.
Do you remember the name of the actual curriculum or textbook used? No, but the 8th grade (the one that actually talked about sex versus puberty) instruction was done through a rep from the local Planned Parenthood.
Thumbs up or thumbs down on the program? (Any notes on any programs that were really great or glaringly terrible?) I loved the PP program. It was very informative and the woman instructing us was very cool. Major thumbs down on the so-called "Sex ed" before then -- it was just puberty education with plugs for multimillion dollar industries looking for a continued market.
And finally, what year did you attend the class? (ie 2006, 1999, etc) 2002.
(And if it helps you any since you're semi-local, I'm in Riverside, and the PP partnership was called the PALS Program:
Which classes was it taught in? (ie science, health, gym, guidance, etc)
5th and 6th, being elementary school, they split us into girls and boys. 7th grade, it was an optional part of biology, 9th grade, we covered basics in Biology and STIs in Health class.
Did your teacher use a textbook or written curriculum?
There was a binder of information for the teacher in 5th/6th grade, and probably 7th as well if my memory serves. 9th grade, anything we learned was out of our normal Biology and Healthy textbooks.
Do you remember the name of the actual curriculum or textbook used?
I only know that it was called "Family Life" in elementary school (5th and 6th), and that the videos were sponsored by the company that made pads. I unfortunately cannot find my Biology or Health textbooks online to tell you the name; they were quite old.
Thumbs up or thumbs down on the program? (Any notes on any programs that were really great or glaringly terrible?)
Thumbs very down. I never heard the phrase "abstinence-only," but I'm sure that we never saw/heard about condoms, the pill, or other contraceptives. Nothing about safe sex, or about homosexuality, or even as someone mentioned above "inappropriate touching." It was all menstruation/AIDs in 5th and 6th, strictly focused on STIs and how horrible they were in 7th, and with some mechanical information about anatomy, sperm, egg, etc, in 9th grade. There was a heavy sense of shame and grossness hanging over the whole thing; no one ever asked any questions, and teachers wanted it over with ASAP. Especially unhelpful, in a school district where tons of kids were having unsafe sex and I knew of at least 3 pregnant high school girls.
And finally, what year did you attend the class? (ie 2006, 1999, etc)
5th: 2000, 6th: 2001, 7th: 2002, 9th: 2004
-------------------- What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it's curved like a road through mountains.
~Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, 1947 Posts: 18 | From: California | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
Was sexed part of your K-12 education? Yep.
If it was, what grades was it taught in? 1st (I think, or maybe 2nd)--the basic "good touching, bad touching" program 5th, 8th, 9th, and 10th. Oddly, I don't recall any significant sex ed in my 11th grade health class, but that could be because it was overshadowed by a personal issue.
Which classes was it taught in? The early class was taught in an assembly in the school gym. The 5th grade one was, I think, part of health class, as was the one in 8th. In 9th grade it was part of a unit in Biology, in 10th grade it was a special program in the school auditorium about STI prevention.
Did your teacher use a textbook or written curriculum?
I don't remember clearly about the 1st grade program, but I think it was taught by someone from outside our school. We had to do a role playing session where we practiced saying no to "bad touching." In fifth grade, we got little pamphlets, and I guess the teacher probably had a book too, but I don't remember noticing it. 8th grade, I don't think there was a written curriculum, unless there was something in the teacher edition of the textbook. 9th grade, we had what our textbook said about reproduction, and some handouts our teacher gave us that he had made himself. It was all accurate information, the guy had a PhD in biology. But he had a habit of randomly drawing uterus-and-ovary diagrams on the white board, it kind of weirded me out at the time. 10th grade, there wasn't a written curriculum of any kind. We had a guest speaker at our school who had kind of a personal mission to stop the spread of STIs, I think her brother had had AIDS and died from it, so the basic message was: don't do it, but if you do, use clean needles and a condom. (Not at the same time or anything, but she talked about IV drugs as well as sex). It was the first real mention we had of safer sex practices.
Do you remember the name of the actual curriculum or textbook used? I don't remember actual names of textbooks. When I took the 9th grade class we had some British book, and I had a college biology textbook at home which I also read through.
Did your class incorporate any videos, and if so what were the titles? The 5th grade class had The Cheesiest Video EVER. I think the title was "I Got It!" and it was about this girl who goes to a sleepover where they camp out in her friend's back yard, and she gets her first period in the middle of the night and goes inside and her friend's mom gives her pads and everybody is super duper happy and excited.
Thumbs up or thumbs down on the program?
Thumbs down on cheesy fifth grade video: the whole program was sponsored by Always, so it was like advertising to a captive audience.
The other years were not astonishingly bad, but I wish I had gotten more comprehensive sex ed. In particular, none of the classes talked about communication and consent, and I think this left me ill-prepared for some situations I encountered in my teens. I was fortunate not to have any really bad consequences from this, but I would be afraid if my young niece went out armed only with the information I had.
And finally, what year did you attend the class? 1st grade: 1989 5th grade: 1993 8th grade: 1996 9th grade: 1997 10th grade: 1998 (Please note if your class did not take place in the US) My ninth grade class took place in Egypt, in a private school with a British curriculum, if that matters. The rest were in the US.
I'd be interested in seeing the film when it's done. Do you have a title yet? Will you post here when the film comes out?
EDIT: In my 10th grade health class, there was a unit that could be considered sex ed in a way. We had to take home those plastic babies that cry and you stick a key in their back to get them to stop, did anyone else have those? The idea was to discourage everyone from making real babies, I guess. It sucked big time because my mom had just had a real baby, and I had a two year old sister as well, so I'd be helping with one of the real kids and this dumb plastic baby would start crying, and wake up my brother in the middle of the night My mom took the baby back to the school and told my health teacher in no uncertain terms that I would not be participating any further in that project.
If it was, what grades was it taught in? Females - 4th grade Males - 6th grade Both- 9th grade
Which classes was it taught in? (ie science, health, gym, guidance, etc) Health
Did your teacher use a textbook or written curriculum? Written curriculum
Do you remember the name of the actual curriculum or textbook used? No, sorry.
Did your class incorporate any videos, and if so what were the titles? (If you can't remember a title, a description would be great.) In 4th grade we watched a video about our female cycles. What to expect, why they happen, that sort of thing. Then freshman year we watched one video on exactly how a baby is concieved.
Thumbs up or thumbs down on the program? (Any notes on any programs that were really great or glaringly terrible?) Thumbs down.
And finally, what year did you attend the class? (ie 2006, 1999, etc) 4th grade: 2000 9th grade: 2005
Posts: 78 | From: wisconsin | Registered: Aug 2007
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Yes, if K-12 refers to the numbered grades of elementary through high school.
If it was, what grades was it taught in? Which classes was it taught in? (ie science, health, gym, guidance, etc)
It was taught in Health class, with some attendant information shown in Biology. I believe the years were grades 7, 8, and 9, with some biology things being shown in later grades.
Did your teacher use a textbook or written curriculum?
The curriculum wasn't shown to the students, but I gather from how short the actual 'speach' was, it was written, and poorly.
Do you remember the name of the actual curriculum or textbook used?
As the curriculum was never shown to the students, I cannot say for certain.
Did your class incorporate any videos, and if so what were the titles? (If you can't remember a title, a description would be great.)
We were shown several, mostly on the mechanics of pregnancy and menstruation, independantly of the Health Class. The Health class had a video that we were told dates from the 70's that was abstinance only, but the speaker, with a disdainful shake of his head, neglected to show it to us.
Thumbs up or thumbs down on the program? (Any notes on any programs that were really great or glaringly terrible?)
The curriculum was terrible. The teacher was not, and took a long time going over the glaring holes in what the curriculum had to offer. Further, the school I went to for grade 1 had absolutely no 'bad touch' information at all.
And finally, what year did you attend the class? (ie 2006, 1999, etc)
(Please note if your class did not take place in the US)
This took place in Prince Edward Island, Canada.
-------------------- "And you're really asking me if I prefer injury to embarrassment? That's not even a choice. I don't know anybody who's literally died of embarrassment."
People are annoying sometimes. Posts: 78 | From: Summerside, PEI, Canada | Registered: Jan 2007
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My mom took the baby back to the school and told my health teacher in no uncertain terms that I would not be participating any further in that project.![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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