Three Sex Education Lessons From The Teen Pep Stories

One of the oft-repeated comments by characters in my novel, The Sex Ed Chronicles is that, in the absence of sex education, children learn about sex from their friends. However, the novel was based in 1980, before New Jersey high schools started to involve students in peer counseling.

On Valentines Day 2008, I read about a mini-controversy involving peer counseling on a New Jersey radio news Web site. The news coverage came out of one New Jersey high school: Clearview Regional High School in Harrison Township in the southern part of the state. There, parents object to peer counselors, high school juniors and seniors, counseling freshmen on a variety of topics related to sex education. The counseling model comes from a program called Teen Pep. Designed by the Princeton Center for Leadership Training (not affiliated with Princeton University), Teen Pep has been implemented in over 50 Garden State high schools for the past eight years. Therefore, Teen Pep is not a new program and school districts have had time to investigate its merits-only now, one school has made the news.

Teen Pep trains not only students, but also faculty advisors, to work one-to-one, but also as a team in various counseling situations. Schools contracting for Teen Pep work with the Princeton Center for a minimum of two years and there are supervisory field visits by qualified professionals to help ensure the program is running smoothly. A school that engages in Teen Pep makes a considerable intellectual investment, as well as a financial investment, to make it work. Part of this investment is to explain this program to parents.

Which takes me to lesson number one: if you are not ready to take these investments seriously, don’t make them.

As I read about the incident at Clearview High, it became clear to me that the fault is not with the program, but with the school administration. It would have been easier for them to consult parents and clergy from the get-go, as they are supposed to do. I realize that teachers have objected to this-they did back in 1980 as well-but sex education is a subject where parents and clergy believe they have important opinions and knowledge.

I found it interesting to read that an advisory board would be formed after parents objected to individual aspects of the program. That should have been in place from day one.

Which takes me to lesson number two: after consulting parents, decide which topics students are qualified to discuss with peers.

Parental objections at Clearview stemmed from the idea that “kids were teaching kids to have sex. But there had to be clear differences between the topics teen peer counselors were allowed to teach, and those that had to be covered by a qualified sex education teacher-but they didn’t make it in the press. Parents deserved to know, if they asked before school started. I realize that pro-abstinence organizations also use young speakers; their programs should be subject to the same parental review as the peer-counseling program.

Then I get to lesson number three: make sure you have qualified teachers.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act emphasizes a need for qualified teachers, meaning that a teacher should be certified in the subject they teach. That applies as much to sex education as any other subject. In the example of Clearview High, the program leader was an English teacher. When I reached family life education, I learned that sex education instructors were most likely to come from health education, home economics or social studies as well as nursing. I would also assume that guidance counselors could become qualified sex educators; they handle personal student issues as part of their job description.

It appears Teen Pep is working in most schools; only one school is in the news complaining, but those involved with this program should consider offering an alternative: to use degree candidates in counseling and education to counsel students.

This would not be peer counseling, but it would appease parents who worry about kids teaching kids about sex. It would also help provide professional development for sex educators.

Stuart Nachbar operates EducatedQuest.com, a blog on education politics, policy and technology. He has been involved with education politics and economic development as an urban planner, government affairs manager, software executive, and now as a writer. His first novel, The Sex Ed Chronicles, about sex education and school politics in 1980 New Jersey, earned a coveted “Publishers Choice” selection from iUniverse.

Sex Education in Schools Pros and Cons

Sex education is the act of informing younger and adult generations about everything they need to know about sex. Sex education is one of the most controversial issues in education, which has been floating on educational institutions since ages.

Sex education is not just about sex. It includes other sensitive issues like sexual health, sexual reproduction, sexuality and others that parents often feel uncomfortable talking with their children. Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of schools to address this issue, and inform and educate students about it as much as possible.

Often, sexual education in schools is considered as a recreational course rather than a serious issue. There are many pros and cons of sexual education being taught in the public schools.

Pros of sex education in schools:

- Classes are gender-exclusive. This saves embarrassment among students and teach them only what they need to know based on their gender.

- Properly taught, sexual education could become a regular and ongoing Human Anatomy and Biology complete with tests and grading that goes toward graduation credits.

- Students can be taught the correct terms of the reproductive system of sexually transmitted diseases and contraception birth instead of “street slang.”

- Myths surrounding sex can be dispelled (for example, can not get pregnant the first time).

- Studies show that many teenagers become sexually active before the inclusion of educational classes. Principles of inclusion of classes has been shown to help students stay or to abstain or at least be responsible if they are active.

- Proper education can have an impact on the prevention of sexual problems in adulthood.

Cons of sex education in schools:

- Students may still be subject to embarrassment or excitable by subject matter. This can make for out of control classrooms if students take to laugh or make inappropriate comments.

- Most education is taught as a brief interlude in physical education or health class. This is not enough time to relate effectively to serious material.

- Often, sexual education can go against moral or religious beliefs of an individual. Many schools do not teach abstinence-only, but to teach how to have sex safely, while many of the religious and family stress marriage before intercourse.

- Sex education is often seen as a “recreational” course and not a serious issue (this is a direct correlation with the fact that there are no grades or scores to be derived from class).

- Teachers are not always adequately trained to teach sexual education and may violate their own beliefs or morals on the subject rather than continuing with the facts.

- The attitudes of parents, educators and religious leaders in the community can make the stuff that vary from state to state or even school-to-school.

Reusable Adult Diapers

What are some of the ways in which you are managing your problems with incontinence? Are you using adult diapers to help you discretely manage your problem? One of the things you need to consider is the type of adult diaper you are using. Some people like the disposable diapers where others like the reusable adult diapers. The reusable adult diapers are great as they cost less and they come with a number of different styles, making them look quite similar to the regular underwear you are used to wearing all the time.

Not only will you a difference with the cost factor of your reusable adult diapers you will also be able to see a big difference in the comfort level of these products. The washable products are often form fitting and quite comfortable. Athletes often prefer them because they fit better and hold in more urine from the disposable adult diapers.

Compared to the incontinence products that used to be offered, the new advancements in reusable adult diapers and even the disposable ones have come a long way. You have the option to choose between incontinence products that are made specifically for women or incontinence supplies for men. This gives you the right type of protection that you need in order to be sure you can go out in public with confidence. It is a smart decision to find a variety of incontinence products to try out so you can find the incontinence supplies that fit you well and give you the comfort that you are looking for.

Reusable incontinence products will need to be washed often, which can cause them to age quicker. You need to make sure that you are purchasing a large supply so you are stocked up with the right supplies so you don’t feel unprotected.

One of the other things that makes reusable diapers beneficial to the wearer is how easy they are to change out. Depending upon which brand you choose, you can opt for diapers that have button sides or Velcro sides so you can easily take them on or off. Caregivers will appreciate how easy these adult diapers are to change out and helping you to cleanse the skin as they will pull the urine away from the skin, helping to reduce rashes and infections.

The disposable products you see in the supermarket often come in a one size fits all and they rarely have multiple options to choose from as far as the padding goes. This is why the reusable adult diapers are great because they give you the form fitting that you need. Where can you find such high quality incontinence supplies? The best way to find incontinence supplies is to search for them online. The online stores have a larger selection, lower costs, and give you the ability to buy your supplies in a discrete way.

If you are focused on staying “green” with the products you use and other things, you will greatly benefit from the reusable diapers. You are not contributing to the trash in the landfills when you opt for the reusable adult diapers. The other benefit is that you can take them off when they are wet and toss them right into the washing machine or clean them by hand instead of leaving the adult diapers in a garbage can where an odor can start and you have to worry about sanitary issues. Thanks to the large variety of reusable adult diapers on the market, you don’t need to be embarrassed about your condition anymore and you can easily manage it without others noticing that you are dealing with incontinence.