By Shafia Zaloom | Setpember 10, 2019
Health Educator, Urban School, San Francisco

When talking about sexuality with adolescents, it's often easier to get the message across when you take the sex out of it. This is counterintuitive, I know. So here’s a story, a classroom activity and some examples of classroom discussions with my class that explain the concept.

By Ahna Suleiman, DrPH | May 29, 2019
AYSRH, Developmental Science & Youth Engagement Consultant

Consent is complicated. And learning about consent is even more so. Thinking back over conversations and experiences I’ve had the last six months, I am struck by how truly complicated it is.

By Barb Flis | May 23, 2019
Founder, Parent Action for Healthy Kids

I am approaching my 15th year of helping parents talk to their kids about sex. It’s hard for me to fathom that this equates to several hundred workshops, impacting thousands of parents and supportive adults. The parents from those early years now have adult children and, in many cases, even grandchildren.

I’ve been fortunate to have had contact with some alum who tell me how much our workshop affected them. 

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | May 8, 2019
Senior Editor, ETR

One measure of a successful training or conference is whether you learned something useful. Did you change your thinking? Get inspired by leaders in the field? Will you do anything differently when you get back to your work?

By any of those measures, 2019’s YTH Live conference was simply dazzling for me. 

By Tracy Wright, MAEd | April 15, 2019
Program Manager, ETR

Think about a sexuality educator you know. Think about something brilliant or inspired or compassionate they’ve done in their teaching. Think about the students they serve and what those students need in the classroom. Think about the challenges that educator faces in their school or district, community or state.

If you’re like me, what you get when you think through these things is one highly dedicated, deeply committed individual. 

By Teagan Drawbridge-Quealy, MEd & MSW | April 4, 2019
Get Real Trainer, Planned Parenthood League of MA

Here in the Northeast, it feels like winter might just be fading. Spring is coming, and with spring, the end of the school year is just around the corner. For many educators the start of spring also means the start of sex education in their health classes, coinciding with the changing of seasons. Maybe there is something to the “birds and the bees” after all!

By Clint Bruess, EdD and Elizabeth Schroeder, EdD, MSW | March 19, 2019
Dean Emeritus, University of Alabama at Birmingham (CB) and Sexuality Educator, Trainer and Consultant, Elizabeth Schroeder Consulting (ES)

Although sexuality education has changed significantly since the early 20th century, many of the goals still focus primarily on public health outcomes. Federal and state-level funding streams tend to focus, for example, on reducing unplanned pregnancy and avoiding STIs.

Now, don’t get us wrong—these are important parts of many sexuality education programs. If these are the only goals, however, they exclude other vital parts of who we are as human beings. 

By Christopher Pepper | March 6, 2019
Health Education Content Specialist, San Francisco Unified School District

Comprehensive sexuality education helps young people make informed decisions, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and reduce their risks for sexually transmitted infections. But can it actually help prevent rape? A groundbreaking new study says it can.