Sex Ed 101
I have agreed to help co-facilitate a "bible study/class" for 8-10 grade girls at the church I have been attending. (Different from the church I work/worked for.) When the priest mention this to me, it was more of a "hey I am teaching this class and I am going to use this funny sex ed book from the 60s. What do you think about it?" After reading part of the book online - which you can check out here - I thought this would be hilarious. (Please note that we ordered a clean copy of this book so the girls will never read the comments from this website.)
Now, I should forewarn you this book is exactly what the lady says on the website, "offensive and outdated." In fact some of you may really be offended by the book. For instance, the idea that there is such a thing as a "walkie-talkie" date. I guess I may still be single because I haven't found the joy of a good walkie-talkie date? Also, the book explains to women all the different ways they can go about getting what they want from their men - depending on your level of socialization. Notice it never says any of these are bad methods, just different. It also has a check list for those engagements that need to be "re-evaluated". All I can say is - poor Jim.
Anyway, the book is supposed to be funny and break the ice into discussing friendship, dates, dating, petting, and what not....
Here in lies the problem - I AM SO NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS DISCUSSION. Just talking about how we are going to broach these subjects has made me uncomfortable. The other co-facilitator keeps assuring me that we are going to make a difference. She wants to tackle the issues of catty girls, drinking, and dating and all that goes along with that subject. Oh, and of course we are going to talk about Jesus in all of this - I mean this may be an Episcopal church, but they do love Jesus.
The thing is, I have already asked one of my friends to talk to my daughter, if I have a daughter, about all of this. I really don't think I am comfortable with this, I even mentioned to the priest today that I might have to have a drink before we have some of these discussions. I feel like I took a leap of faith into this without thinking through the fact that I was going way out of my comfort zone. I guess God does that to you sometimes.
Oddly enough our discussion today at lunch did go back to the idea that we need to help these girls realize that they should be building friendships with each other and that they should look out for each other. We both were talking about how many people we knew who had bad things happen to them and how maybe we can help these girls be aware of some of the dangers out there. For this, I will press forward and hope God gives me the words to help answer the difficult questions. In the meantime I am saying special prayers tonight for all health teachers and sex ed teachers who do this every day. God bless you!
Now, I should forewarn you this book is exactly what the lady says on the website, "offensive and outdated." In fact some of you may really be offended by the book. For instance, the idea that there is such a thing as a "walkie-talkie" date. I guess I may still be single because I haven't found the joy of a good walkie-talkie date? Also, the book explains to women all the different ways they can go about getting what they want from their men - depending on your level of socialization. Notice it never says any of these are bad methods, just different. It also has a check list for those engagements that need to be "re-evaluated". All I can say is - poor Jim.
Anyway, the book is supposed to be funny and break the ice into discussing friendship, dates, dating, petting, and what not....
Here in lies the problem - I AM SO NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS DISCUSSION. Just talking about how we are going to broach these subjects has made me uncomfortable. The other co-facilitator keeps assuring me that we are going to make a difference. She wants to tackle the issues of catty girls, drinking, and dating and all that goes along with that subject. Oh, and of course we are going to talk about Jesus in all of this - I mean this may be an Episcopal church, but they do love Jesus.
The thing is, I have already asked one of my friends to talk to my daughter, if I have a daughter, about all of this. I really don't think I am comfortable with this, I even mentioned to the priest today that I might have to have a drink before we have some of these discussions. I feel like I took a leap of faith into this without thinking through the fact that I was going way out of my comfort zone. I guess God does that to you sometimes.
Oddly enough our discussion today at lunch did go back to the idea that we need to help these girls realize that they should be building friendships with each other and that they should look out for each other. We both were talking about how many people we knew who had bad things happen to them and how maybe we can help these girls be aware of some of the dangers out there. For this, I will press forward and hope God gives me the words to help answer the difficult questions. In the meantime I am saying special prayers tonight for all health teachers and sex ed teachers who do this every day. God bless you!
Comments