This is a dreaded subject of discussion for any teacher. When I was in school, this was a taboo topic at home and at school. I remember that my sister bought me a "What girls want to know" book one Christmas and I was too ashamed to read it. At night I would read it with a flashlight under my duvet cover so that nobody would know, but I was curious to find out what goes on in the world of boys as I did not have any brothers.

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As a teacher I had to discuss how AIDS is spread from one person to another with Grade 6 learners years ago. My cheeks were on fire! Unfortunately, many parents fail to educate their children about sexual matters and in some cultures, parents (especially mothers) are afraid that "sex-talks" with their daughters might make them more eager to engage in sexual activities at a young age.

The fact remains that more and more teenagers (and even younger) are becoming sexually active, unwanted pregnancies are on the rise and diseases are spreading like wildfire.

Without proper sex education, they will depend on the information they receive from friends and experiment for themselves, but by then it might be too late. Parents also tip-toe around it and confuse them with lots of stories that doesn't make sense to them.

I'm sorry, what?
Unfortunately, most teenagers live only from one moment to the next without realizing the implications or their behavior. Although they may feel that they are physically mature enough, they do not want to accept that they are not yet emotionally ready for adult activities.

As a teacher, you don't want to just jump in and educate them though. What you think they know and what they already know might be two totally different things. You'll want to keep it as comfortable as possible as there will be clowns and lots of giggles but what else would you expect? It may even take the edge off. There should be set objectives laid out by the curriculum already but even so, for you to find out what they know will be a great ice-breaker.

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Ask them to write a question or a statement on a piece of paper. No one should see it and it should be anonymous too. After writing, they should fold the paper 4 times. Each paper goes into a box that will be shuffled and then the teacher will draw one-by-one from there.

The thing is, you want to find out what they know without embarrassing yourself or them. As you open each paper, decide for yourself if it's appropriate or not. If not, shred it with the "excuse" that you were unable to make out the handwriting or something. You decide. Your focus is on educating according to curriculum standards, but most importantly, abstinence! Not going in to graphic information or even illustrations. Avoid those and put away the bananas!

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Stick to their level

What they learn next year is luckily not your problem!

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