Project Sex Education

PROJECT SEX EDUCATION 

PREMISES

Affective Education- in the adolescence- inevitably involves a conscious activity of sex education. The age of adolescence, that once was seen as a "divide" , as a middle stage between childhood and adulthood- is a world that reveals more complex aspects and facets to the evolutionary psychology.  It's not a simple transitional period: this is a negative representation of the adolescence considered as a forced passage in the life of a human being and devoid of any pecualiarity.  The adolescence is the moment where the "Ego" of the subject is going to structure itself, to look for and find the key of its own identity, with the alternation of experiences of conformity and isolation. In such a situation specific evolutionary process are activated in a full psychophysical metamorphosis.The following stereotype "The  teenager is not more a child, but he isn't an adult yet" is an obsolete representation and it's important that the teenarger should be "conducted" towards a new vision of the age he is going to live. Adoloscence hasn't got any chronological limits, because its beginning is more precocious and its end more and more delayed. 

Sexuality  – from a physical and psychical point of view  – is one of the driving force of the metamorphosis that sees  teenagers as protagonists. Nevertheless, in this moment of their life, they feel confused, deeply insecure with a lot of doubts, questions and interests that he can't express so easily. Teenagers are ironic about sex but they are ashamed of talking to their parents, for a mutual form of embarassment or for a sort of old taboo; with their peers, because they want to lool like in a certain way, even though they aren't so yet: aware, expert, sensible. Teenagers live their "sex revolution" , but they aren't fully aware of what they are living.  In this way, their personality can be affected: disinformation, fear, the absenceof a contact person can lead teenagers to a process of dysmorphia concerning sex: to feel guilty, to have a lot of doubts, to build a ngative representation of themselves, not to feel at ease, even to feel "dirty". On the other hand, they can live experiences of self-learning and personal experimentation - that can be very dangerous- because the lack of knowledge respect to potential risks can lead to unpleasant - sometimes irreparable. consequences.  

Any professional in the educational field has to support young people, so that they will be able achieve knowledge and awareness of their own emotions - and of the others., together with the appreciation of their own resources of a proper interprersonal communication and of real relationships with peers and adults. 

This approach – that is holistic because it completes the personality of the individual  – allows a full development in the learning process, not only from a cognitive point of view, to solve problems, to make adequate decisions and to be protagonist of his own life plan, but also a process of emotional learning so that young people can realize as adults, as well.  

The moment of preadolescence and of adolescence includes the development of the sexual dimension, that then has got its implications on different aspects of personality, beyond a simple physical perspective.  

The project of Sex Education belongs to the project of  “Affective Education”, an important component of the Educational Plan Offer of our School, that complies with another project   “Networks of school promoting Healthcare” – in compliance with the Three Year Plan of the Educational Offer ( Italian: PTOF) of the Institute- in response to specific educational needs of students emerged in different classes of our school institution. It's about a project concerning the sphere of socio-emotional education whose aim consists in improving the psychorelational and sexual development of young people. 

 The legalisation of this educational offer is founded on a series of heterogeneous factors, but with a structural importance for the educational mission of the School: 

• The  MIUR request to approach the topics concerning affectivity (whose sexuality is an aspect of relevant importance from pubescence to the rest of life), on the basis of definition given by the WHO ( World Health Organization), i.e." wellbeing of the person from a physical, psychic and social point of view", regarding the health of the human being; 
• Our students' request, i.e. to break down with the taboo of sex ( especially for adults); 
• Education as a process of training, but in particular as a transmission of values, even during the project of “sex education ”. In different cultures sex is tied to symbols and rituals with a strong connotative meaning.According to Freudian psychoanalysis and the Jungian Analytical Psycologogy, these values belong to the inner substratum of the human psycho-life. The development of affectivity - through gestures, experiences and sharing activities - and the process of identification with the male and female models represent the basis of sex education. 

Generally speaking, teachers are educators, first of all. And this role implies the duty to offer and show adequate cultural, emotional and social motivation - in the context of health seen as psychophysical and social wellbeing- so that students can develop their potentials in full harmony.  This means to stand beside students- especially during the adolescence- in their process of growth in a full, global and genuine way, so that their identity can definitely be built and their personality can develop in a balanced way. Within their teaching activity, teachers collect the peculiarities of each student whose desire consists in asserting their healthy and natural need in order to take a path where he can feel as an adult among adults. . Young people want their process of life to be meaningful and this meaning cannot be separated from the sexual and emotional dimension. 

Sex Education doesn't mean to enhance - in young people- a gradual self-awareness concerning the somatic and physiologic features of both sexes, but also to extend this consciousness to all aspects concernig sexuality. How? By giving the young people the chance to compare their experiences in a climate of trust and of mutual understanding. This climate wants to prevent young people to close on  in their stereotyped positions, especially concerning the sexual sphere. Therefore, it is important that a proper project of sex education has to use socio-emotional methods, that will be able to improve the creation of a space of dialogue and comparison within the group. Through this comparison, young people can consider sexuality in the complexity of its facets and values that characterise the dimension of human beings.  We want to transmitt to young people the beauty and the richness of sexuality, so that they can have a positive and untroubled vision of it. In this way, during this difficut phase of their lives, they will be able to contribute to an adequate "building" of their self-image and self respect.  

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT 

Here are the macro-objectives this project wants to achieve:

• To promote the inclusion of the group of the addressees in a peaceful, neutral and non-judicial climate, able to simplify the comparison and the debate by respecting everyone. 
• To promote the communication and the interaction with the peers and with the adults, by respecting the times and the means of communication of each participant. Therefore, every member can be free of express his own emotions and needs in full harmony.  
• To simplify the approach of the single participants with the emotions they have already lived, to reach to a connection between the world of their personal emotions and the dimension of the others, gradually and without any forcing, but on the contrary by taking care in "building" an emphatic relationship. 
• To promote the ( verbal and non-verbal) communication from the perspective of “presenting themselves ” and from the point of view of ’“understanding them and the others”.
• To give information to create a real culture of prevention. 
• To lead their participants towards a preliminary process of the meanings inherent in their emotional experiences- either on an individual and in a group level- by promoting a consideration that enhances a critical sense of responsibility and an insight  process. 
• Identify- with self awareness- the changes taking place from a physical, psychological and relational point of view. 
• To promote a positive and untroubled attitude towards sexuality - by living it consciounsly- and the achievement of good knowledge of their body, by learning technical terms as well ( in relation to the body, to the sexual intercourse, to contraception, to pregnancy).
• To promote an harmonious development of the personality and put into practice a  decisional form of responsible and counscious independence.
   

METHODS

The educational approach will consists in valorizing the debate in a climate of mutual respect. It will be an active method, even by using  role-playing activities, simulations and recreational situations in order to promote an open, relaxed and positive attitude towards the given topics. The preliminary meeting will be considered as a sort of educational introduction, by delivering anonymous tests for a a preventive data recording, that will be useful to create the specific contents of the single sessions.  

In consideration of the aims and objectives below, it will be necessary that the following conditions are fullfilled:  

• The possible request of non participation of a given school component ( the teachers or a member of the school's staff) - that is not directly involved in the project- wants to simplify the openness of the young people towards the dialogue and the debate. 
• Information measure of families by the School Institution, through the delivery of informative brochures  and the introduction of the project. 
• Worksheets for the comparison of the opinions.
  Each worksheet includes a list of statements reflecting clichèes and common opinions among young people. Its target won't consist  in finding the correct option, but in expressing agree or disagree, by motivating the choice, so that the degrree of self-awareness and critical sense can be gradually increased and developed. The formulated sentences will be inferred from the direct experience with the young people, apart from studies and researches. 
• The process implies an individual phase of reflection, an intermediate phase of debate in subgroups and a final phase in plenary. This instrument will allow young people to express their ideas and to strenghten the comparison with their peers
• Self- assessment tests, i.e a list of questions that want to highlight attitudes and behaviours concerning different topics of sexuality and affectivity. The reason of these questions is to suggest a reflection on its way of thinking and acting. These tests are individual and filled in an anonymous way. Then, there will be a debate in plenary. 
   
• Stories of life, i.e. the utilization of short stories with preadolescents or young people as protagonists, in situation where the participants can be identified ( process of empathy). They have to work in subgroups and their homework will consists in coming up with an adeguate conclusion of the story. At the end there will be a debate in plenary where the personal contents of the young people will emerge, without their direct intervention. 
• Flashcards: in each card there is a key-word, an image to trigger, a statement on a specific topic or anonymous sentences written by the students. These cards and sheets will be casually extracted and read on rotation by the young people and at the end commented by the group. 
• Slides and videos, useful to explain the basis of anatomy and physiology of the human body.  

PROJECT OF AFFECTIVE EDUCATION 

The process of the development of affective education in the evolutionary age ( childhood, preadolescence and adolescence) plays a very important role in the lifetime of a human being. There is a series of evolutional steps that must be achieved - even though with a personal rhythm- so that the individual can healthily relate to the human environment he belongs to and so that he can acquire the process of identification with the male and female models for an adult and conscious couple's life. This personal process takes place within family, from the relationship between parents and children ( the quality and the category of this relation represents a predictive factor to understand the characteristics of the adult relationship of the young person). The objective consists in supporting the individual - during the evolutive age- to build a specific identity and a balanced personality. Teachers- with the support of psycolologists- can give their contribution to this educational process by offering cultural, emotional and social motvation.  

Aims 

The suggested activities have the main goal to support teenagers in their autonomous process of development respect to:  

1. to take responsible choices concerning their own relational behaviours and with the others, as well; 

2. to respect the others by, considering them as "value";  

3. to acquire a positive awareness of their body; 

4. to improve their knowledge on several aspects of relationship with the others;  

Objectives 

• To enhance interest and consciousness on the specific topics .
• To arouse curiosity and participation to the project.