Answering Student Questions When Teaching Sexual Health
Submitted by: Teaching Sexual Health, Alberta Health Services
Teaching sexual health can be intimidating,
whether this is your first or twentieth year of teaching. A common fear is how
to handle questions, especially ones you may not know the answer to.
TeachingSexualHealth.ca is here to help!
Making time for and responding to student
questions is an important part of sexual health education. Encourage your
students to ask questions during class and to use the Question Box.
The Question Box is a tool that enhances
learning by allowing students to ask questions anonymously. Using a Question
Box gives you time to review the questions to make sure that that you know the
answers and that you’re comfortable answering them appropriately for the grade
level you’re teaching.
To use a Question Box effectively, consider
these tips:
·
Have every student write a
question on identical slips of paper.
· If someone doesn’t have
anything to ask, they can write a comment about the lesson, draw a happy face
or just write “No Question” on their
slip of paper.
· Collect the questions at the
end of each lesson.
· Read through the questions after class and prepare to answer them
during the next lesson. This gives
you a chance to confirm the answers, and get your own giggles or embarrassment
out of the way beforehand.
When answering questions during the next
class, or anytime a student asks a question in class:
· Give affirmation to students
for asking questions.
· Define words, including slang
and continue on using the correct terminology. For example, if a student’s
question is “What is a homo?” you
could say, “A homo or homosexual is a
hurtful slang word used to put down people who have sexual or romantic
attraction to people of the same sex.”
· Answer the question clearly,
objectively, factually and appropriately for each grade level. If the question
is values-based, like “When is a good
time to have sex?” talk about the many things that a person might consider
when coming to their own decision about this issue, instead of imposing your
own values on students.
· Assume all questions, even
shocking ones, are real questions. After all, they came from somewhere. It’s
likely a genuine request for information, no matter how shocking it may be!
· Check back in with students
about how well your answers have answered the question. Consider finishing each
answer with “If you still have questions
about this topic, or I didn’t quite answer what you meant to ask, please ask
again in today’s question box”.
If personal
questions are asked, there is no need to read the question out loud or answer
it. Say something like “There are two
questions here about my personal sexual experience. I want to remind everyone
of the ground rules we made on the first day about not discussing our personal
experiences. I expect you all to follow that rule when submitting questions as
well.”
For more about the types of questions asked
by students, and strategies to answer them, see Responding
to Student Questions.
For answers to commonly asked student questions,
see our FAQs
page.
And finally, consider signing up for a FREE
online workshop to increase your comfort and confidence in teaching sexual
health. These are offered four times a year for all Alberta teachers.
Follow us!
