What the HOOT is OWL good for?
Article and Testimonials
Sex Ed: Why is this a UU Youth Issue?
Inspired by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Washington Office for Advocacy.Comprehensive lifespan sexuality education has been something important to the UUA and Young Religious Unitarian Universalism (YRUU) for years. The UUA has displayed its commitment to sexuality education through its partnership with the United Church of Christ in the creation of the Our Whole Lives (OWL) program and its predecessor About Your Sexuality (AYS). As Unitarian Universalists (UUs), it is important to live out our faith and not just accept traditional sexuality education, but promote real comprehensive sexuality education which is inclusive of queer folks and people who identify outside the gender binary, which teaches youth about different options on abstinence and safer sex, and which recognizes sexuality as a normal, healthy, lifelong aspect of human development. YRUU's commitment to issues surrounding sexuality are evident in our Policy on Sexuality and Community, which affirms that "sexuality is an important part of young people's lives" and discourages sexuality in conference communities, not because sex is bad, but because it breaks down community.
Why is this a youth issue? Who are the ones being taught? Youth. We should have a say in what we are taught and how it's taught. We deserve to learn not just the facts (although those are important) but to understand our own sexuality and how it has an effect upon our lives. Sex and our own sexuality are incredibly important aspects of our lives and we should not be subjected to watered-down curricula that do not meet our needs. It is important that we pay attention and are involved in how sexuality education is implemented across the U.S. and Canada because this issue affects us more than anyone else, and no one can speak for us as youth, except ourselves.
Here are testimonials from UU youth across the continent, sharing their feelings on sexuality education within their congregations, schools, families, and communities:
Florence Dickerson, Follen UU Church, Lexington, MA
I participated in the OWL (Our Whole Lives) program at my church when I was in eighth grade, three years ago. In my school system one must take "health" class—sex ed, drug ed, depression ed, etc. Basically the same topics covered by OWL, only the school's spin on it was more like if you do any of these things you will die. By the time I took OWL I'd had "health" twice, and since then I've had it three more times. One year alone of OWL taught me far more than those five classes at school. Maybe I feel like I learned more because it was taught by two amazing people from my community who I trusted more than any health teacher I've ever had. Maybe it was because I was with my friends, or because we did things like have overnights and eat dinner together every week. Maybe it was because instead of being fed abstinence over and over, I was given useful information, in a setting where I felt free to ask any question I had. My experience with the OWL program was an extremely good one—when I took it my church had made the switch from AYS (About Your Sexuality) to OWL a few years before and the program was so praised by those who had taken it that our class not only had twenty-seven people, but at least four or five of them were people who didn't normally go to Religious Education classes, at least six didn't regularly go to our church, and one or two weren't even UU! All of the people I know who took OWL at my church have wished over and over again that the program could count instead of health at school, but as yet that's not possible. I know that in many places the program still needs work, and I'm not saying that my experience was flawless, but I had fun, I talked to some people I would have otherwise never approached, and I learned. We were treated as mature people who deserved to be told the truth, and therefore we told the truth in return, sharing stories that affected us personally. My experience with OWL was a very good one. My experience doesn't speak for that of any one else, but for me OWL was so much better than anything the school has ever provided, and every once in a while I'll be talking to a group of people including someone who was in my OWL class about something, and both of us will know the answer to a question, laugh and say, "Oh right, we learned that in OWL!"
Mary Sonne, UU Church of Fort Wayne, IN
My school has what's called a senior project. All seniors are required to pick a topic, submit a letter of intent, write a report, do a physical project, present an oral presentation, and attend a project fair on any subject of our choice. After many topic changes and mind-boggling sessions, I decided to do my project on sexual education in public schools. It is my belief that sex ed should start at kindergarten with a focus on respect for the body. All throughout elementary, middle, and high school students should have a sexuality class/lesson. AIDS should not be presented to junior and senior high for only a half hour once a year. Algebra is not taught in a half hour, and neither should AIDS. I have read studies showing that half of all North American teenagers are sexually active. This is why an abstinence-only curriculum is a naive approach to handling teen pregnancy. Just a little thought...
Elisabeth Moore, UU Meetinghouse of Chatham, MA
"Sex." Yes, That’s right, I said it, SEX! This is what goes through the minds of many young middle school youth; a giggle, a gasp. Why are we so afraid of sex? Why is it that some people are uncomfortable even uttering the word?
It’s because we (or they) are afraid our children will become too involved too soon. I myself have gone through the toned-down sexual education class at school. It's amazing that the whole sexual anatomy can be taught in two class periods of about fifty-five minutes. I found that they were not telling us the complete truth 100% of the time. So why do they even try? If they're not giving us all of the information, why tell us anything? A teacher at my 5th grade school got suspended from teaching health because he gave the kids “too much information". Too much. Whenever I wonder about it it gets me really upset that we would punish someone for trying to educate our children. Wouldn't they have learned it eventually? Why would we penalize someone for answering a few questions?
So why is it that we feel the need to preach abstinence? I am fourteen and I know I don't like people telling me what not to do because it just makes me more curious. So maybe it would be a good idea to not just teach about abstinence but about safe sex and protection too. Youth are not always going to be abstinent so why don't we make them safe at least. Wouldn't that be a good solution to teen pregnancies?
I have also gone through the OWL program (Our Whole Lives) at my neighboring church. The information I got out of that class was unbelievable. It taught me how to make the right choices and take care of my self better than I ever could have imagined. I realized more about me and people around me and that I was going through the same struggles as everyone else. I was not alone in the dark.
Education. That's what we need. We don't need to be punishing others for teaching and educating the minds of the youth of our world. Why can't everyone just loosen up a bit? I wonder...
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
