Last year I advocated to my local school board to increase funding for sexual health education. However, I was also in the midst of finishing my sexual health educator course so my ability to advocate fully was challenged. I wrote the following letter to the school board which outlined that I hoped for a sexual health educator position to be reinstated in our district because it wasn’t right to have PAC’s (Parent Advisory Committees) pay for curriculum content: https://sd22bc.civicweb.net/document/30256/D%20Ansdell%20budget%20submission.pdf?handle=65F869ACF0E34355B6C52710E7BCAB99
I managed to get the board to fund $15000 towards teacher education. While that seems like a win, I’m not entirely sure where that money has gone (or will go). Additionally, the teachers choosing to be educated about this content are not the teachers who actually need the education!! I wanted to ensure that the teachers who are not comfortable with the content are accessing education so they can begin teaching it. I mean, ideally, I’d like a sexual health educator delivering the content, but I’ll take whatever I can get for the kids of this district.
This year I managed to get organized and put together a presentation to the board on the 19th of January prior to budget decision time (click this link to then scroll into the agender to click on the Sexual Health Education presentation for a look at my presentation https://sd22bc.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=303 ). I was initially supposed to get 10 minutes but via zoom I had to whittle it down to 5minutes. I tried my best to give my key points and I woke the next day to a phone call from a friend of mine linking me to this: https://vernonmatters.ca/2022/01/20/review-finds-sex-health-education-in-vernon-school-district-is-not-meeting-the-standard/
I was shocked and delighted an article had been written essentially recounting my entire presentation. Plus the local radio made it the headline news story at 8 & 9am. It spread quickly amongst my local friends and beyond. That day I was contacted by many people who were happy I was taking on the cause. I was also contacted by a sexual health educator from adjacent district looking to advocate in the same way; it was really nice to connect to others who value this in the same way! I asked for 3 things: 1) a sexual health policy so teachers could feel supported by the district to teach this content according to the curriculum, 2) Books and resources for students and teachers to access accurate, curriculum-appropriate educational content to support their curiosity and learning 3) To reinstate a sexual health educator and or a consultant to keep teachers current and serve as a resource to help teachers feel comfortable teaching this content. While math or English can be taught by anyone who has a grasp, you really do need to have done individual self exploration about your beliefs you unknowingly pass on in when teaching about sexual health. You need to be current with terms and be able to direct students accurately to community resources and sensitively deliver content that may not align with your value set.
As a result of this advocating, a teacher who was really upset with me for saying teachers weren’t doing an adequate job (although I didn’t actually say that, but I did say they needed updating) contacted me via social media. We began a long-winded conversation via FB messenger (the best of all communication platforms I know!) Unfortunately, this teacher seemed to feel threatened by the prospect of someone else teaching his student’s who he had built a relationship with. I really value that he has developed a passion for teaching sexual health and does so with connection to his students at the core of his lessons; it shows care and concern. However, he also still shows birth videos! For those who remember birth videos and for those who don’t understand the harm….birth videos should only be shown to people who are going to be giving birth themselves (it’s not an experience we all have to or will go through)! Birth videos can be very traumatic and are generally shown as a way to scare kids away from pregnancy and subsequently utilize a fear-based approach to sex. While I accept birth is a beautiful experience for some, there is a rare young person who fondly remembers watching a video of a sweaty, screaming woman squeeze a human out of her vagina! This visual can be sex-negative inadvertently. I did not call attention to this glaring fact as he did not see the harm in it (and felt attacked enough already). He stated he updated his content annually and felt he was using accurate terminology. But this is exactly why I’m advocating for this…. People don’t know what they don’t know (oh Johari!)
Hopefully I haven’t alienated those people I wish to support. Hopefully, I haven’t inadvertently vilified teachers who haven’t been given the education and support they need to teach a very delicate subject. Hopefully, parents are behind this initiative and want their children educated about their bodies, bodily autonomy, consent, puberty, healthy relationships and healthy sexual decision-making. Hopefully we can take steps to becoming a sexually mature society where we can see books about the reproductive system in the same way as we get to see the digestive system. Hopefully we can envision a future where gender equality, inclusivity and connection build the bridges between the divisions that have been created.