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Original poster

Teaching sex ed to year 7 today

37 replies

Blandmum · 03/03/2006 17:26

THis was todays topic! Always exciting and today was a Friday, so the scope for a mini riot was considerable.

Bless them, the kids were fab. They were amazigly calm, interested and polite about the whole thing. They were all brave enough to use the correct words and asked all sorts of sensible quesions and were very open.

How much better than when this happened when I was that age! Parents are obviously more open about the whole thing and the kids have a much healtier attitude as a result.

They were great!

OP posts:
Littlefish · 03/03/2006 18:01

Do you do the boys and girls together MB?

stitch · 03/03/2006 18:04

did you get them to roll condoms on test tubes??

Original poster
Blandmum · 03/03/2006 18:32

A mixed class of 11 year olds. I was doing fertilisation and the menstrual cycle. So I didn't demo a condom, but did show them a sanitary pad and a tampon.

They were so goodnatured about the whole thing...a few laughes but there were so sensible about the whole thing. Far more sensible that my class was when I was 11!

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cece · 03/03/2006 18:46

ooohh I am starting this topic next week.

Have been talked into doing it with my colleagues class as well as she is too embarassed!

At the moment whenevr I mention their is hysterical giggling from some quarters in my class!

harpsichordcarrier · 03/03/2006 18:47

excellent
a friend of mine does this for her school
I wish we had had something like this at 11

Original poster
Blandmum · 03/03/2006 18:49

tbh, I was expecting that, but they were great. We have buit up fron 'naming of the parts' to fertilisation, doing pregnancy and contraception next, and the last lesson is changes at puberty.

I don't get embarased, and I think that once they arelise this, they just get drawn in by their interest.

They have also got very open parents. They were talking about how old their mums were when they first started their periods! My mum would have eaten her armpit before she would have told me this Grin

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cece · 03/03/2006 18:51

I too do not get embarassed!

Hence being volunteered to do it with 2 classes!

Once we have done the first lesson I'm sure they will get over it - they usually do.

Did you have a lot withdrawn?

Original poster
Blandmum · 03/03/2006 18:53

None in this class. I've never had any kids withdrawn , thinking about it.

At least this time no-one has fainted....yet.

Last time a boy fainted over the film footage (the Robert winston series which is excellent if you can get it) of an ejaculation happening!

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cece · 03/03/2006 18:56

lol!!!

I have one withdrawn this year and I am anticiaptin another before we astart next week.

Last time I did it I had one withdrawn too...

Do you do question and answer sessions. The stories I could tell with the anon questions put in the box!!!!

twinsetandpearls · 03/03/2006 18:57

My year ten sex ed class - listing types of contraception - the most common was "taking up the arse" and a lot of confusion between diahrrea and ghonnarea! (sorry can't spell either of those words.!)

Original poster
Blandmum · 03/03/2006 18:58

Ah yes!

I also do that written so I can 'vet' them a bit.

Mind you I am utterly shameless having worked in the medical info departemnt of a company that made contraceptives....You wouldn't believe the questions we used to be asked there! I'm pretty bomb proof Grin

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cece · 03/03/2006 19:04

re 'anon' questions....

"if you have ginger hair do you get ginger pubes?"

answer "yes"

whole class turns to look at the only ginger boy in class....

Original poster
Blandmum · 03/03/2006 19:16

I had the wuestion 'Do circumcised men feel the same pleasure as uncircumcised?'

Durrr How could I know? And how many men can compare???

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cece · 03/03/2006 19:18

"if you have sex more than once in day what happens?"

"you might feel a bit tired"

lol

harpsichordcarrier · 03/03/2006 21:20

actually mb I could answer that question for you
hearsay/reportage of course but a reliable source.... Blush

Pruni · 03/03/2006 21:23

I am deeply worried about the boy who fainted at the sight of an ejaculation...
I suppose it could be traumatic if you had no idea...?
Poor lamb

starlover · 03/03/2006 21:27

Mind you I am utterly shameless having worked in the medical info departemnt of a company that made contraceptives....You wouldn't believe the questions we used to be asked there! I'm pretty bomb proof

oh do spill MB... i could do with a laugh!

harpsichordcarrier · 03/03/2006 21:30

my mate's mum complained about her sex education class, that the teacher hadn't even mentioned the word clitoris...
how can this be sex ed, says she, if she didn't mention female pleasure
all well and good except my mate was then called Cathy Clitoris from that day on....

TinyGang · 03/03/2006 21:40

Oh phew..I completely misunderstood the title and thought this was for 7 year olds.

Gosh harpsichordcarrier! Of all the things to go and have it out with the teacher about...I think I might just've given that one a bit of a swerveWink

harpsichordcarrier · 03/03/2006 21:41

she had a point though, but glad it wasn't my mum

TinyGang · 03/03/2006 21:43

Yes a good point..but I bet your mate could've killed her!

HelloMama · 03/03/2006 21:47

I teach sex ed to a range of ages. The year 10 kids all seem to want us to show them (porno?) videos to give them 'tips' about positions etc (as if!!)! We have had some amazing and interesting questions asked in our anonymous Q&A box. I can't remember them all now, but here are a few, you may find them helpful for your sessions as I'm sure a lot of young people are wondering the same thing.

Does an orgasm feel the same for a girl as it does for a boy?
Can you masturbate too much?
What does sex feel like?
Why does one 'ball' hang lower than the other and is this normal?
Why are some boys circumcised and not others - and does it make sex feel better if you are?
What is the best position for sex?
When will I know I am ready for sex?

My experience is that there is usually a bit of giggling at the beginning, but once they know you are not embarrassed, then they are really interested and I have never had a serious behavioural problem in any of the lessons.

Original poster
Blandmum · 04/03/2006 08:44

To be fair the Y 7 questions do centre on a 'persinal' understanding of sex, so much at any rate.

Questions I was asked at the Pharma company

From a partner of a transexual, 'If I rub the oestrogen creme into his breasts to make them grow, will I grow them too?' Ans possibly yess, wear gloves

Frm an organic farmer, 'Can I use spermicide to keep aphids off my hop plants'.......And I have no idea, but you would need a lot and I don't think it could be considered organic

From a menopausal woman asking about the origin of the hormone in her HRT (most people were worried if it came from Pregnant horses, ours didn't it was syntesised in a lab from plant extracts) 'Can this chemical have affected my picking up psychic vibrations as my psychic church tells me that they can see it killing my cells' Ans we have no clinical trials on this

I had a very worried lady on the mini pill who was b/f and used to phone me evey month so I could re-assure her that she probably wasn't pg.....she was actualy very nice but used to ring me once a month for ages

I also had a regular lady who used to phone up and tell us she was planning a dirty weekend with her'other man' and would plan her contraception with us!

Some people were shameless Grin

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cece · 04/03/2006 08:46

What an unusual job you had! LOL

Original poster
Blandmum · 04/03/2006 08:52

It was great fun, if I am honest. We used to field questions form doctors, nurses, pharmacists andmembers of the public on any of their drugs. I also had to scan journals and the internet to find interesting papers on our drugs. I was paid to read for the time I worked there and it was quite an education! I picked up all sorts of stuff that I use in lessons, I know loads of stuff about diseases et that let me inject factoids into lessosn.

There was a serios side tho, Had questions on usind Epo on someone, and I had 30 minuted to find the answer before the person went into surgery, life and death stuff. It was quite exciting.

THe HRT phone call lasted almost an hour and I was brought coffee and had an audience by the end! Grin

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