Oh those 6th graders...

I realized today that my job involves two very sensitive topics: talking to kids about sex and telling parents how to raise their children. It is no wonder, then, that I am filled with adrenaline and nervous energy before every appointment and come home wiped out many nights . You'd think I'd get used to it, but nope, still agitated and flushed most of the time.

Last week was ... something. I did Learning About Me all week, although only for one class period.This is the program for 6th graders and it was fun, as usual. By the end of the week i was in love with the kids, I felt like i really knew them individually. The highlight of the week was Thursday.. At this point, we've talked about puberty and the kids are warming up, they usually begin tot realize that I will take them seriously by this point. We were talking about types of contraception, and the group was really fixated on whether a woman can get pregnant in specific scenarios. One young lady had just asked about homosexual couples and a boy in the back raised his hand. Thankfully, i walked back to his desk and he asked "what about if two men and a woman are having sex and one man is in the front and another is in the back, can she get pregnant?"
The other kids did not hear his question(they were still in a bit of an uproar about the idea of homosexuality) and honestly, I addressed only the minimum the question required. I usually pride myself on answering any and all questions truthfully and openly, but I don't usually get threesome questions asked to my face. I have gotten them before, but always on a piece of paper. The hardest part was the kid's sincerity, he was not asking to get a reaction out of me, but genuinely wanted to know. In case you were wondering, my answer was walking to the front of the room, shouting "OK, Brian asked a question about a woman getting pregnant during a very specific sex act and I want to explain this to you guys again." I got out my Female Reproductive System Poster(to the groans of the class) and pointed out that anytime sperm gets near a vagina, pregnancy can occur. I freaked them out with the old 'even if you don't have sex!" story and and got a debate started about whether sperm are alive. A successful diversion, I think.