This is an installment of the Stories Teachers Share podcast. Listen above or on iTunes to hear how the story unfolds.
Sex education is a delicate and often embarrassing topic for many kids and adults. It’s often relegated to PE or biology class if it’s taught at all. Let’s face it, the conversations can be awkward.
Pediatric nurse Julie Metzger saw how hard it was for parents to have engaging conversations with their kids about puberty and sex, so she started a sex ed course for girls and their female caregivers 27 years ago. She makes the conversation fun and silly, and most importantly, she models for the adults how to treat a child’s questions respectfully and not appear to dodge the tricky ones.
Listen to Julie Metzger describe what it’s like to teach girls and their mothers about sex and reproductive health in episode three of Stories Teachers Share, a new podcast from MindShift.
Metzger’s class has helped girls like Elaine — who at 10 would run out of the room screaming if her mom mentioned puberty — blossom into a confident teen advocate and teacher for her peers. Learn more about Elaine’s transition and how it felt to her mom, Sally, who was raised in a Catholic household.
