KIDS’ PAGE

By Colleen McDonald                                                                      

Sex Education: Our Whole Lives          March 21, 2001

What is sex education?  I’ve been thinking about that question lately, since Phil and I began teaching a class called OWL.

OWL, which stands for Our Whole Lives, is a sex education course that is taught in many UU churches, as well as some other places.  Sex is one of those big, mysterious subjects that you can be curious about, and learn more about, as long as you live.  There are OWL classes for several different age groups: Kindergarten/1st grade, 4^th - 6^th grade, 7^th - 9^th grade, senior high, and adult.  (So far, in this church, we have had OWL classes for 5^th and 6^th graders and 8^th and 9^th graders.)

Some people will tell you that sex education means learning the “facts of life,” or the wonderful “secret” of how babies are made and come into the world.  When we are very little, we may be curious about this because we want to know more about how our parents got us, or our brothers or sisters.  As we get older, many of us start imagining what it would be like to be a mother or father ourselves; we want to learn even more about baby-making and birth, to help us decide whether we want to have a family of our own some day, and if so, when we will be ready. 

Sex education means learning more about our bodies and how they work-- particularly the parts that make girls, girls, and the parts that make boy, boys (what it means to have a female or a male body). Sex education also has to do with exploring our relationships with other people, because no one can make a baby all by him- or herself, and all parents need help to raise their children.  Understanding our feelings-- especially how we feel about our bodies, and about sharing them with other people-- is also a part of sex education.  Lastly, sex education includes discussing our beliefs about what is true and right in life, to help us answer these important questions: How will I use and take care of my body as a gift that can help me enjoy life, give and receive love and caring, and perhaps become a mother or father myself some day?  How can I show other people that I value my own body, and I respect theirs.

Next year, there will be an OWL class for 8^th and 9^th graders, and I hope we can also get a group started for Kindergarten/1st grade. 

Some adults who grew up as Unitarian Universalists remember their sex education class as one of the most important experiences they had as a young person at church.  I hope many of you will feel the same way.    

Love, Colleen