Canada: Sex Education Is Often Left to Rookie Teachers, Conference Told

On Tuesday at the 28th annual Guelph Sexuality Conference at the University of Guelph, two educators reported that sex education classes often are assigned to inexperienced teachers who lack training in the subject. Cathie Penny, executive director of the Cape Breton Center for Sexual Health, and Mary Beth LeBlanc, director of the Network for Children and Youth of Eastern Nova Scotia, spoke on the topic "What Teachers Are Saying About Teaching Sexuality." The study, which was undertaken by the Sexuality Health Network, examined the factors that influence teachers' ability to present sex education.

LeBlanc said teachers typically are quite uncomfortable during their first few years teaching sex education, and many of them will avoid topics they do not wish to discuss. Often, said Penny, sex education is assigned to rookies and to teachers who normally preside over math, science or art classes. "Sometimes teachers were uncomfortable with where conversations should go and didn't know what the boundaries should be," Penny said.

B.J. Rye, an associate psychology professor at the University in Waterloo's St. Jerome's College, attended the workshop. She said that if students approach a favorite teacher from any discipline and request information about STDs, the teacher should be knowledgeable enough to help them. She also said students "are tuning out the teachers" because they are focusing too heavily on the negative aspects of sex. "How can we expect students to believe us when we're only telling one side of the story?" she asked.

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