Written by Eugene Hazzard, Chicago educator
One of the reasons I became a teacher, many years ago, was to provide young people with a space to engage in free thinking — to teach them how to develop and share their own ideas and perspectives. In my film studies class, I encouraged students to draft a screenplay that engaged with social issues, based on activities from the non-profit Scenarios USA. I told them to write freely about whichever topic they wished. I told them that there was no wrong focus for the piece.
The result?
When these teenagers were able to freely write about whatever topic they desired, students turned in writing projects that ranged from personal issues played out through composite characters of themselves all the way to *insert hand over mouth emoji* sex and sexuality. The stories ranged from those likely based on personal experience, set in high schools and featuring the lives of students, to Hollywood-inspired dramas. It was quite astonishing to witness these young people discover their voices, but what was more astonishing was what I learned from them: how much was missing in their information and learning about sex and sexuality. The disconnect was clear in one arena in particular — for while they demonstrated detesting the idea of sexually dehumanizing individuals, they also had no idea what sexual abuse was.
We need sexuality education which encourages students by providing an environment that fosters a safe place for allowing their voices to be heard.
We are failing our young people. We need comprehensive sexuality education to become a reality in schools across the country. We need sexuality education which encourages students by providing an environment that fosters a safe place for allowing their voices to be heard. As educators, we need to speak up and correct misconceptions as they arise in our classrooms or otherwise risk a generation of millennials who learn about sexual etiquette from social media Memes.
Often, arguments against comprehensive sexuality education make the case for an abstinence-only-until- marriage curriculum, based on the myth that when young people know more about sex they are more likely to have it. But as many of us have seen through working with young people, withholding information does not protect young people’s health or prevent sexual activity. Instead, it allows misinformation about consent and what constitutes sexual abuse to abound and cuts off young people from critical information about their health.
Through comprehensive sexuality education we can bridge these gaps and actually support the young people we guide and house in our classrooms. One of the most troubling and fundamental aspects of sexual violence is the removal of power through theft of the voice. Speaking up in a culture which protects and reinforces abuse is a struggle, for young people and adults alike. In our classrooms, we can include information that can help prevent sexual assault and empower students to understand and handle sexual abuse that may have already happened, or which they find themselves needing to cope with (Get the Asking for Help & Healing lesson plan). When you provide space for young people to talk through sex, sexuality and consent (Get the Consent lesson plan), they’ll tell you exactly what they need to learn about respect and safety, and begin to own their power through listening and being heard. Without these conversations, we dismiss the real questions and experiences of students.
When you provide space for young people to talk through sex, sexuality and consent, they’ll tell you exactly what they need to learn about respect and safety, and begin to own their power through listening and being heard.
The curricula and accompanying films created by Scenarios USA answer this call. The short films and curricula work in tandem, and the films are directed by accomplished filmmakers and written by young people (chosen as a part of a writing contest) just like the teens in my classroom about their own lives and struggles. When young people see these stories, they see young people whose voices are valued. They see their peers working toward relationships based on consent, mutual respect and dignity, and they watch as their peers recognize and name violence. The struggles around sex and sexuality portrayed in the films are struggles that any group of students would recognize. The lesson plans and activities focus on areas students may never have had the chance to discuss in school using the films to reflect their learning; things like power, consent, empathy, sexual identity, gender expression, respect, control and violence. Most importantly, they see that with their stories, ideas and words, they are not powerless but instead can — like the students who wrote these films and inspired these curricula — be heard and make an impact in their world.
This is a critical time. While movements to end sexual violence grow online, opportunities to reinforce abuse also thrive in these spaces. As young people’s presence on social media continues to skyrocket, social platforms can become a megaphone through which shame, stigma and misinformation is amplified, reinforcing a culture of violence. Young people may learn of (or even share photos and videos of) incidents of sexual violence online. Aside from issues of privacy, spreading information about sexual assault on social media often manifests as victim blaming and shaming, furthering the trauma experienced by young survivors. Without safe spaces to answer questions about sex, and without inclusive curricula that understands the needs and experiences of young people, violence may extend beyond social media and transform into real life threats to the safety and agency of our youth. Sexual violence prevention, online and offline, is possible when students are given space in which they are affirmed and in which they are encouraged to ask critical questions. It’s empowering for young people to learn through the stories shared by people just like them.
Students understand Scenarios curricula because they feel understood and represented by it. One Scenarios film, Speechless, written by high school Junior Roxanne Lasker-Hall and directed by Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation) deals directly with sexual violence in a way that is accessible and intuitive. Speechless tells the story of a boy who hides his sexual assault out of shame and fear. Ultimately, with support, he is able to tell his story of being sexually assaulted and end the cycle of abuse. The film was featured as a part of a keynote at the National Sexual Assault Conference hosted by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and was the central piece of a youth-led multimedia campaign featured in the Huffington Post. It is through this kind of storytelling and online activism that we encourage students to stick up for one another, report insensitive and demeaning communication or posting on social media, and support peers who are fighting to find or protect their voice.
Comprehensive sexuality education — which is respectful of young people’s autonomy and inclusive across race, gender, sexual orientation and class — is crucial, but it’s not the only solution. Educators can do even more outside the classroom to serve as resources and establish affirming spaces in schools. This means fostering young people’s confidence in academic and extracurricular contexts, and leading by example by communicating love, support and unity. We must promote respect for one another as individuals and be accountable for how we use language and power to both lift up and potentially hurt others. It also means supporting organizations and community partners that provide resources for our young people.
Education has the potential to do more than meet quotas on reproductive biology. It can lift up young people’s voices. It can provide real answers, questions and safe places for young people to speak and think about the issues they live with every day. It can also help us work toward a culture in which sexual assault does not threaten the safety and dignity of so many young people. I became a teacher because I wanted to ensure the future was full of creative and confident thinkers. I want my students to become those types of thinkers, and I want to equip them with all the tools they need to fight violence and promote respect.
ScenariosUSA is a nonprofit that uses film and writing to amplify youth voices on social justice issues.
Learn more here.
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