Sex Talk on the Carpet, Incorporating gender and sexuality into 5th-grade curriculum Authored By Valdine Ciwko

Sex Talk on the Carpet: Incorporating gender and sexuality into 5th-grade curriculum, V. Ciwko

Ciwko, a 5th grade language arts teacher discusses the accidental conversation that occurred in her class one day regarding gender, transgender actually.  Typically, topics like this are left to the school nurse to teach, but Ciwko believes questions come when they come, and to "table" them or dismiss these questions sends a message to all students, especially those that don't fit neatly into the heterosexual box, that certain topics are taboo, not to be discussed openly. 

“Can you change from a boy to a girl?” I could ignore the question, but it is a fair and important question, and deserves a fair and important response.  As teachers we make choices every day. What we leave in a lesson, what we take out. What we make time for, what we make disappear.

As I imagined how this scenario would play out in a typical classroom setting, I could see the teacher justifying a "re-direction" of this conversation as way off topic for the limited time allotted per class period.  I could also relate to a teacher who might feel completely unprepared to address this topic, particularly in light of the fact that most teachers have a pre-planned, minute by minute lesson plan that follows are defined curriculum.  I think it is also fair to say that many topics are beyond a particular teacher's repertoire and gender identify questions or issues is likely unchartered territory for many.

I then thought of myself as a school nurse-teacher and thought this topic is something I would need to be well-acquainted with and prepared for in my role as a nurse-teacher and my responsibility for teaching about health and puberty.  I should also anticipate the need to provide support and resources for students in crisis with regard to gender issues.  This also brings me back to Allan Johnson's  Privilege, Power, and Difference when he states....

"You can't deal with a problem if you don't name it; once you name it, you can think, talk and write about it."  

 Issues of race and class, for example have been discussed and taught in schools for decades.  It is my experience that issues of gender identity are not spoken about as freely and for older adults, such as myself, I honestly have never really had many conversations about it.  I certainly would need to do my homework in this regard and educate myself and then start talking about "it".  As teachers we need to be comfortable listening and talking about gender identity issues in order to support our students.   

"It is a shame for the students in our classes who are questioning, trying to figure out who they are, and how they fit in this world. We need to open up the doors to talk about gender, sexuality, sexual identity, and acceptance of people for who they are."

This comment from Ciwko really resonated with me as I contemplate my future role as a school nurse teacher.  If there is one place in the school where a student should feel safe, it's the nurse's health room.  It is not just a band-aid and tylenol distribution center, but a place where community members, including staff and faculty can convalesce, or take refuge if needed, for emotional distress as well as stomach cramps.  The nurse may be the only person a student feels safe sharing feelings with as he/she is questioning or in preparation for coming out to family and friends.  I want to make my health office that safe space, and will decorate my room with symbols that would designate that space as welcoming.

I hope that as the course proceeds, we can talk about this more.  I hope to gain a few tools that will equip me to first of all, be educated and enlightened about what transgender people may experience and secondly, be able to convey my acceptance of others as they are, or as they want to transition someday.