(Warning: longer post)
I love teaching; I love every aspect of teaching. There is so much more to teaching than what many realize (an entirely separate post that I will probably never write about). I'm very passionate and dedicated to my teaching.
Let me rephrase that.
I'm dedicated and passionate about the safety, well-being and learning environment that I provide for my students.
What kind of teacher I am doesn't matter...it's all about my students. What kind of students I have, what their interests are, where they come from, what their background is, how they learn, what they like to learn about, what they don't like to learn about...Who they really are is what matters because once the time has been taken to figure that out (which is also a constant work in progress), everything else falls into place. I love this about my job (and I'm trying to not get teary-eyed about my students right now as another year is coming to an end).
However, nothing can prepare a teacher, absolutely NOTHING, for what 6th graders know or don't know about health/sex-ed/HIV-AIDS.
It's that time of year. I love this time of year (Of course, because I already stated that I love every aspect of teaching.)
Last year I was terrified to teach 6th grade Health. Partly because I giggle like a 6th grader when the word "penis" is said aloud (Come on...it's a funny word.), but also scared to teach health because it is a subject that seems to be (between student and teacher) unspoken and taboo, but then all of a sudden the subject matter is allowed to be discussed (within fairly-detailed-reason).
What should a 6th grader already know about health/sex-ed/HIV-AIDS? Well, they know A LOT more than what many parents, I'm sure, want to believe their children already know. I find this scary, yet also somewhat sad...and then it somewhat angers me.
Whenever sharing so-called-parental-advice I feel as if I have absolutely zero room to talk because I'm not a parent, but frankly speaking I probably spend more time with my 6th graders in a given school day than most parents spend with their kids in a given day. I don't expect, and I understand that not everyone carries all their emotions on their sleeve, is an open book like I usually am and feels relatively comfortable talking about most subjects, but it really baffles me to hear that many, not just one or two or five, but MANY of my 6th graders have never talked to their parents about health/sex-ed. Which, I think, leads to potentail unsafe means to learning about the topic.
Parents! Hello! Wake-up! Please talk to your child about sex-ed.
In the 6th grade, here are the topics discussed (keep in mind that these topics are also discussed with both genders in the classroom at the same time):
- Good hygiene practices
- Puberty (and all the changes that go along with it)
- Female reproductive system
- Male reproductive system
- Conception, fertilization and the gestation process from 0-9 months
- HIV/AIDS, communicable and non-communicable diseases
- Emotional maturity vs. physical maturity
- Overall health and well-being of your body, and what role this plays in the well-being of a mother and baby
- ...and a few other topics that aren't coming to mind right now.
I also introduce the question box. As I teach, all students are given scratch paper where they can write questions down. I openly suggest that they write any and all questions down that they may have; however, it doesn't mean that I will be answering all of their questions (because I'm not allowed to). They also have to write their name on their questions. I do this for a couple of reasons, 1) If I can't answer a question aloud, then in private I let the student know that they need to redirect their question to their parents (or more likely an older sibling,cousin or other family member), and 2) this usually eliminates the jokesters in the class who will try to ask the most direct and dirty questions (wishful thinking on my part anyway). I do not share with the class the names on the questions, it is for my knowledge only. At the end of each lesson I collect all the scratch paper, even if it is blank and dump it into the question box. Then I proceed to pull questions out of the box, and if the subject matter is permissable for me to discuss then I will answer the question.
The first day the students are shy...well, the girls are anyway. However, after the first day the students become progressively braver.
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So, I had typed a huge list of questions that were asked by 6th graders, but then, honestly, some of the questions were making me feel uncomfortable....and, I feel it is inappropriate to share because my students have disclosed information (basically in confidence) because they feel safe in their classroom environment and are too embarrassed to ask aloud in front of the class so they write them down. I've already shared with my students whether or not (more "nots" than "whethers") if I can answer their questions and have directed them accordingly.
Please. Please. Please! Please talk to your kids about health, sex-ed, and communicable and non-communicable diseases.
There are potentially more posts to come regarding this topic...it's after 11:00 and I've got twenty-four 6th graders that I need to be ready for tomorrow morning.
Good night all.
