The basics of sex education may not have changed, what with biology remaining very much the same as it was all those years ago, but the landscape for teaching it certainly has evolved. Children and teenagers have far more access to pornography and drugs than every before, from their smartphones giving them constant access to the internet, leading to an increase in teenage pregnancies and STIs. It’s for this reason that sex education is so vital now, more so than ever, in order to educate children and young adults about the dangers of unsafe sex and the ways to navigate this hormone-fuelled subject. Teaching teens about sex needn’t be a shameful or embarrassing situation – it all depends on the resources you have and the way in which you navigate it. For example, you may be worried about mentioning pornography in your lessons, but the truth is that it is a prominent feature of young peoples lives now and as such needs to b mentioned.
The Pornography Issue is a great resource for tackling this subject without difficulty, offering a guide on broaching the controversial subject, providing lesson ideas and also helping you to combat taboo subjects which need mentioning, but can be difficult to know how to begin. For older students, it could also be useful to point them in the direction of the site’s honest and frank take on the subject of porn versus reality, which offers an interesting insight into the subject that students may find useful.
To help teach primary school students about the body confidence issues, there are Powerpoint presentations available for 10 to 11 year olds which highlight the techniques used in post-production of images. It will help youngsters to think about the images they see each day in magazines, on TV and online. There are also additional worksheets and a teacher’s notes guide which may be useful.
Likewise, the Sex Education Forum is a site which looks at the role parents play in Sex and Relationship Education, and the various opportunities there are for educators to work with them. There is a practical guide to teaching sex and relationships in primary schools, as well as the terminology required for teaching SRE. Primary school teachers may also like to use the Let’s Get It Right toolkit, which is a method for helping children review the subject of sex, including a great icebreaking activity.