The case in summary: Sexuality education in schools has long been criticized for being insufficient. The company Skolerom in Tønsberg has developed a new teaching scheme, supported by the Norwegian Directorate of Education, to improve sexuality education. The scheme includes videos, conversation cards and specialist articles, and is designed to be at eye level with the young people. Despite the new material, health nurses Inger Marie Otterdal and Ingvild Endestad in Sex og Samfunn believe that teachers must become more confident in teaching sexuality. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. For years, sexuality education has been too difficult to convey in schools. Both students and teachers complain about poor teaching about sexuality. Last year, the company Skolerom in Tønsberg received support from the Directorate of Education to create a new scheme, which is at eye level with the young. It should make teaching less difficult for both teachers and pupils from seventh grade to upper secondary pupils. This is what a video on “Sexflix” can look like. Photo: School room Taking up small topics 16-year-old Amalie Konstanse Solberg has just seen the short video clips on “Sexflix”. There are also professional articles and calling cards. – It seems that they take up small topics, she says. “How many people should I sleep with?” “How far can sperm squirt?” She wished there were similar videos, when she attended her first sexuality lesson at the end of primary school. Solberg thinks that even she has received too little and too little teaching about sexuality at primary school. Amalie Konstanse Solberg is a student at Færder upper secondary school in Tønsberg. Photo: Magnus Skatvedt Iversen / news She believes she did not have time to think about it, reflect or ask questions. Two out of three pupils also say that they missed more teaching, according to a survey carried out by Sex and Society. The students after her must receive more education in sexuality, she believes. The company Skolerom has developed a new teaching scheme to improve sexuality education. My own shyness set the limit Line Therkelsen is the general manager of Skolerom – a company that makes and sells teaching materials for primary and secondary schools. The new teaching material in sexuality that they have created is called “Sex i mente”. – At the start, my own shyness set the limit. We giggled and laughed, became 14 years old again and felt like crawling under the desk, says Therkelsen. Line Therkelsen, general manager of Skolerom, hopes their project contributes to safer young people. Photo: Magnus Skatvedt Iversen / news But as the months went by, they got a more relaxed relationship to talk about masturbation, feelings, abuse and everything else that goes with it. The aim is for the teachers to receive it in the same way, which in turn will make teaching less embarrassing for the pupils. The result has been playful video clips on “Sexflix”, calling cards and professional articles. Material is ready for use, but will also be developed further. The teachers must become more equipped It is always nice to have new resources to support sexuality education, but the teachers must become confident in that job. This is the opinion of both health nurse in Larvik, Inger Marie Otterdal, and Ingvild Endestad in Sex og Samfunn. Health nurse in Larvik, Inger Marie Otterdal. Photo: Hans Philip Hofgaard / news – It doesn’t help with good resources if you don’t spend time finding out what it is that makes adults think it’s scary and uncomfortable to talk about the body and sexuality in the classroom, says Otterdal. Teachers and today’s student teachers say that they do not learn enough through teaching to become confident, says Endestad. – They are the ones who should be with the students. It’s about everything from conversations, play, what happens during recess to giving concrete sex education. Experience that 16-year-olds still know little More than half of the 16- and 17-year-olds who took part in the survey for Sex and society miss teaching about emotions. Photo: Magnus Skatvedt Iversen / news The 16-year-old in Tønsberg believes that the videos are not enough in themselves. – The teachers must talk to the students about the topic, accept anonymous questions and give them time to reflect throughout the school year, she says. Despite the fact that Solberg is now a high school student, she experiences that many people at school believe in several sex myths and lack knowledge about boundary setting and what is normal sexual behaviour. Will kill the myths The criticism of Solberg is the same criticism that general manager Therkelsen has heard many times before. The “Skolerom” gang has been helped by the school’s competence goals and professionals to develop “Sex i mente”. Photo: Magnus Skatvedt Iversen / news – Sexuality education will be included in many subjects throughout the school year, explains Therkelsen. In the new teaching aids, Skolerom focuses a lot on “killing” myths and taboos. Solberg believes that is needed. – I think they are good topics. I like this, she says.
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School rooms in Tønsberg will make it easier for teachers to teach about sexuality – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
