The introductory biology sessions will be predominantly discussion centered. I will be the primary leader, although it does not take long before everyone is actively participating. The use of simple language, along with the acceptance of vernacular terms, will help build complex vocabularies eventually students should use the correct scientific terminology. I have found that by putting myself and other real people I know into many situations described I can generate excellent discussions. For example, I tell how I was sure I was dying of cancer when I started to menstruate, or how a former student I had practiced “having a baby with little pain” by not moving her bowels for days. She believed that this practice enlarged the opening through which the baby came. I clearly establish from the beginning that putting anyone on the spot will not be tolerated. Anyone may and is encouraged to volunteer experiences, but no one can be pumped for personal information or ridiculed. One of the initial guidelines in the class is that everyone agrees to respect each other’s confidentiality and to keep personal stories shared in class to themselves. No one wants to be labeled a “snitch” when they willingly agreed not to “tattle.” Extremely intimate experiences such as incest, homosexuality, and birth have been shared and kept within the walls of my classroom.
A situation that I deal with immediately at the beginning of the year is the namecalling problem. Most of our students are at the bottom of the pecking order in life, and they will seize any opportunity presented to put someone down. A sexual putdown, such as “fag,” “queer,” or “homo” implying homosexuality, is a powerful weapon that can sabotage my efforts to build an atmosphere of openness and trust. This appears to be a predominantly male problem, because it has been my experience that females rarely call each other or are called “fag,” “butch,” or “dike.” Because the accused male has no realistic way to disprove the claim, he usually resorts to more name calling or a physical fight as a way of defending his honor. I attempt to get ahead of the situation by discussing the problem as a group
before
an incident occurs. I bring up the problem of sexual namecalling and point out its unfairness. How can a male prove that he is not a homosexual? Would they have him pull down his pants and expose his genitals? Would they have him have intercourse with some girl in the class? Both of these acts would prove nothing. Since sexual acts are usually done in private, how can you establish that you are straight if you are? And if you are not straight, it is easy to find a cover. Just walk around with a person of the opposite sex on your arm.
I also point out that the use of sexual putdowns are very confusing and can cause misunderstandings. These labels have different meanings to different people in different situations. For example, “You fag!” is used many times when someone is fooling around or has done something stupid. A student using a term in jest may find himself punched in the nose because the other male took the name the wrong way.
In class discussions I talk about adolescence as a time of continual internal and external questioning about who they are and who they want to be. There are strong pressures put on teenage males to be machomen. One of the problems that many of our male students face is that they are exposed to adult female role models much more frequently than to male role models. A male who has no father or uncle around is at a disadvantage if he is unsure of his own orientation. Discussions on what makes a man a man or a woman a woman(masculinity and femininity) are very appropriate at this point. Frank and direct discussions about homosexuality are quite possible, if they are handled from the perspective of clarifying misinformation about homosexuality. Discuss the stereotype homosexual and then if possible have a guest speaker in from one of the local gay alliances. Discussions on this type of namecalling aid in focusing attention on other types of putdowns commonly used by teenagers. By working to eliminate these putdowns, a more positive selfimage is established and the individual is more receptive to learning because he feels better about himself.
Students know that they can ask any question without being put down and that all questions will be answered honestly. My establishment of a good rapport with the students, coupled with my reputation for openness and risk taking, helps to remove the embarrassment that prevents much of the factual information from being received. For example, I use simple dolls made from sanitary pads. After both male and female students have laughed at them and touched them, they are not nearly as self-conscious about menstrual blood. They are ready to hear about the importance of the cyclic changes that occur in females.
It is equally important that students give attention to the other systems in their bodies along with the reproductive system. This enables them to establish a sense of completeness about themselves. Students are sincerely interested in prenatal development, how they grew from an egg and sperm to be who they are today. Prenatal nutrition is a natural lead into discussions about what they as teenagers eat. This sparks serious treatment of nutrition and the digestive system, which easily connects with the circulatory, respiratory, and excretory systems. Students have walked around all their lives inside their bodies which they do not understand. They look at the outside only in mirrors as they style hair or apply makeup. They spend enormous amounts of money and time covering their bodies in the latest style, yet what goes on INSIDE their bodies is a complete mystery to them. They are extremely receptive to information on how their bodies work. This interest is the spark that can ignite the flame of learning. I leave many different books out in the classroom that contain a wide variety of pictures and sketches of anatomy, contraceptives, instruments, fetal development and the birth process. The pictures are handled by students in many different manners, but the pictures are not enough. It becomes quite clear to students that a picture is T always worth a thousand words. They need to know how to read to find out more.
I have found that students with poor communication skills have not been able to cope with the usually difficult scientific terminology of human anatomy and physiology. These students, because of their limited speaking skills, have not been able to discuss their feelings about sexuality except in crude street terms. The abundance of words of Latin origin in much of the vocabulary associated with previous science classes was too difficult for poor communicators to handle. The factual, straightforward style in which most science text books are written is discouraging for poor readers. Students have found science reading to be dry, dull, and monotonous. They have been overwhelmed by the continual parade of factual information without a story line.
To help the students in
Reading, Writing and Relating
master the difficult vocabulary associated with anatomy, physiology and sexuality, we have developed exercises that use “Words in Color” sound codes. Students will master the sound charts which color code all the different spellings of each sound. New science vocabulary words that are not found on the “Words in Color’” charts will be introduced by presenting them on specially prepared dittos. Students will color in the letters of the word with the correct color for each sound. For example, the words will appear on the dittos like this:
(figure available in print form)
Students will check their coloring of the letters in the word against master sheets for correctness and they will make any necessary color changes. Students will now have the correct coloring of the letters in the word, thereby giving them the correct sounds in that word and they will be able to pronounce the word.
I will develop in the students a strong scientific vocabulary by first expecting correct spoken usage and then requiring written competency as well. Many times students are unwilling to even try to pronounce or to repeat difficult appearing or sounding words or sexually related words, but I have found that making sillysingsongs out of such words helps to get them over their embarrassment.
Students will use the local newspaper for articles that pertain to sexuality. They will summarize the articles, explain why they think the articles were written and finally react to the articles. They will review newspaper articles first as a group oral activity and then as an individual written assignment. School and homework assignments will focus on the use of sexuality in the students’ high interest leisuretime activities involving recordstapes, radiotelevision, movies and magazines.
I have found that most high school students are popular music nuts. They listen to music as much as, if not more than they watch television. Many have very elaborate “boxes”(music machines which are combinations of radios, tape players and recorders.) They also have extensive sound systems at home. They spend a great deal of money to purchase and maintain these items. For example, the average single song record costs approximately $1.15 and albums run $5$15, with tapes running slightly higher.
Many people such as Rev. Jesse Jackson are not so critical of the cost of today’s popular music as they are outraged at the “obscene” messages contained in the music to which teenagers are constantly exposed. For example, “Dynamo Hum” and “” by Frank Zap use street language to refer to orgasms, oral sex, and genitals. It was only two decades ago that “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tommy James and the Condoles was banned from many radio stations because of its sexual implications. “Tonight’s the Night” by Rod Steward in 1976 left very little to the listener’s imagination.
In class I will examine with the students the obvious references to sex in much of the popular music today. We will talk about both the subtle and the obvious references to sexuality in popular songs. How do the students feel about these references? Do they listen to the words/lyrics or mainly to melody and the rhythm? Are their parents aware of the wording and the meaning of these type of songs? Can they discuss a sexually explicit song with their parents? Would their parents approve or disapprove of the message o£ such songs? Do the students themselves approve or disapprove of the message of such songs?
Some songs are more romantic than sexual such as the Commodore’s hit “Three Times a Lady” or Smoky Robin son’s “Cruising.” In our discussions we will work on using metaphors to describe feelings and emotions. The currently very popular theme song from the movie,
The Rose
, sung by Bet Milder gives four beautiful metaphorical definitions of love.
The Rose
Some say love it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love it is a razor
That leaves a soul to bleed.
Some say love it is a hunger
An endless aching need.
I say love it is a flower
And you its only seed.
2
These excellent examples of metaphors act as the catalyst that stimulates students to write their own metaphors defining love. This lesson will be done in conjunction with the “Love is...” activity included in the section of sample lessons.
I will also ask students to bring in records and tapes of songs that we will examine. Students who hate to write in other circumstances will work very hard to transcribe neatly and exactly the words to a song that intrigues them, especially if the song is romantic or sexual or both. After the students have transcribed, we will review the content of the song. The students will then write a paragraph where they will describe their reactions to the song and its wording.
As an educator who comes in contact with a large number of teenagers and as a parent I have been deeply disturbed by the ramifications that result from the increasingly high number of teenage pregnancies. The act of conception has such rippling effects on so many people, the mothertobe, the father, both of their parents and families, their education, their futures, as well as on “The Baby.” So many of these effects are permanent in nature. Conception always leads to a series of immediate decisions that have LIFELONG effects. I use the following flow chart in discussions with students:
(figure available in print form)
Students need to think and talk about the possible span of their lives to gain the proper perspective to view these different decisions in terms of the overall effect each would have on their lives. See the “TimeLife Span” activity. I stress with both female and male students that the three immediate choices to conception, abortion, adoption, and raising the child, represent decisions that will stay with you for the rest of your life no matter which one you choose. Our students live in a timewarp. They think in terms of NOW and have no real sense of the future. They need help in standing back to look at the whole picture of life.
I work on trying to prevent teenage pregnancies. To do this the students must have a sound knowledge of how BOTH the male and female reproductive systems work and how conception occurs. Students must receive this information about how their “plumbing” works in a manner that they can hear. If the listener/learner (teenager or adult) is too embarrassed at the nature of the information being presented, this material will fall on deaf ears. The instructor must be able to break down that shield of discomfort. My style of teaching combines personalization, honesty, directness and humor as the means for penetrating the barriers that prevent teenagers from learning this fundamental information.
Students who understand their anatomy, physiology and how conception occurs are ready to look at the fuller scope of their sexuality. I have found that
The Teenage Body Book
by Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman, which has been ordered to accompany this unit, covers all these points. Its many chapters deal with a wide spectrum of topics, “Woman’s Body/ Woman’s Experience,” “Man’s Body/Man’s Experience,” “Healthy Body/Healthy Mind,” “I Need Help to Be Beautiful,” “The Truth About Venereal Disease,” and “Birth Control: An Ounce of Prevention,” always include a great many of actual questions that adolescents want answered and the book does just that’ It is very readable. The diagrams, such as the ones that accompany the description of a pelvic exam, are very clear. It has an outstanding section on how to get help and what to ask, as well as a statebystate guide of many different agencies that teenagers might wish to contact. I will introduce the section on sanitary products by having my sanitary pad dolls and vials of red dyed water that we will use to test different brands of tampons.
Nan and I feel that students in
Reading, Writing and Relating
who complete the full unit of study will have participated in a reading, writing and sexuality course that will have a significant impact on their emotional, social and intellectual development, both as high school students and as members of their families and community. We believe that our students will be able to utilize their newly developed skills in reading, writing and sexuality in such a way as to begin taking charge over their own lives rather than allowing life to roll over them. Not all of our students will succeed in conventional terms—finishing high school, getting a good job, having a planned family. But they will have a chance to achieve some of these goals or to plan and achieve other less conventional goals. By the end of the course they will read and write on a far higher level than before, and they will have a much better understanding of their own and other people’s sexuality. And most important—they will still be trying.