2010 Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Paul Joannides, Psy.D.
Tuesday, April 13th, 8:45 AM - 10:00 AM
Why ‘Best Practices’ for Sex Educators Are Not Always the Best Practices for Our Young
As sex educators, we have our own challenges in dealing with school boards, administrators, and tenuous parents. We also have our own personal comfort zones when it comes to talking about sex. As a result, our interpretations of ”comprehensive” and “best practices” are often shaped by the political and personal realities we face rather than the realities of the youth who we hope to help. In his keynote address,
Dr. Joannides will present some of the facts of life that today’s youth would benefit in hearing from us as opposed to those which we sometimes tell.
From explaining why we need to teach girlfriends how to check for cancer of the testicles to the importance of teaching young males about periods and period gear--Dr. Joannides will try to outline ways of approaching sex education that will help our young to leave behind some of the stereotypes that they are currently carrying with them into adulthood. We will cover a full range of subjects, such as why we help young women to say “No!” to sex, but offer them little help in feeling more comfortable with how to say “Yes!” and how to explore with a partner what feels good. We will look at how we mislead today’s youth by telling them to wear condoms while not explaining about how to find the size and style of condom that feels best for them or how to make using condoms part of a lovemaking turn-on instead of it being an interruption and a turn-off. We will talk about how not all erections mean a young man is aroused, and why researchers are finding that IUDs are some of the best forms of birth control for young women.
Paul Joannides, Psy.D. is the author and publisher of the “Guide To Getting It On.” Paul is a research psychoanalyst who writes the “As You Like It” blog on sex for Psychology Today. He was an original member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Sexuality Education. He speaks at colleges and is also an NCAA College Health & Safety Grant speaker. He lives on a remote bay in the beautiful Northwest with his wife, daughter, dogs and livestock.
David C. Wiley, Ph.D.
Wednesday, April 14th, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Ending the Conspiracy of Silence: Lessons Learned about Advocating for Quality Sexuality Education
The purpose of this presentation is to highlight "lessons learned" and strategies used to advocate for quality sexuality education in public schools. Using Oregon's House Bill 259 and the Oregon Youth Sexual Health Plan as examples of reasonable, common-sense approaches to addressing this issue, comparison to other state mandates will be examined. In addition, a summary of the future for sexuality education funding at the federal level will be presented. Finally, given that most of the decisions about sexuality education instruction occur at the local level, a discussion of the different "types" of school board members, how school boards ought to operate vs. how they commonly do, and specific strategies for addressing sexuality education with school board trustees will be presented.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1) Identify four national trends related to sexuality education instruction.
2) Identify five strategies for advocating for quality evidence-based sexuality education with local school board trustees.
3) Identify where Oregon (specifically in regards to House Bill 259 and the Oregon Youth Sexual Health Plan) is at with relation to what is happening on the national stage and at the Federal level.
David Wiley, Ph.D., Chair of the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and Professor of Health Education at Texas State University, is a lifelong health educator who has focused his professional life on addressing health issues of adolescents. Dr. Wiley has authored over 35 peer-reviewed articles and presented over 150 keynote addresses and workshops across the United States on the role of schools in creating healthy children and healthy communities. His most recent publication is entitled, “Just Say Don’t Know: The Status of Sexuality Education in Texas Public Schools.” The Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (TAHPERD) recognized Dr. Wiley in 1996 as the Outstanding College Health Educator in Texas for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, presented the Distinguished Service Award by the American School Health Association (ASHA) in 1999, and in 2002 was awarded the Martha Licata Service Award by the Texas School Health Association (TSHA). In 2005 he received the John P. McGovern Award from the Texas School Health Association. Dr. Wiley is the Past-President of TSHA and currently serves as President of ASHA. He is also a former school board member for the Hays Consolidated I.S.D. in Kyle, Texas.
Special Attractions
Gorge Teen Theater Troupe Targets High Self-Esteem to Prevent Entitlement and Control in
Teen Dating
Tuesday, April 13th, 7:00 PM
A powerful team of youth play lead roles in health education in Hood River County. The Gorge Teen Theater Troupe (GTTT) stimulates dialogue about issues of oppression, bystander intervention, and healthy sexuality by engaging the audience in interactive skits. The teens enact a true-to-life scenario and invite the audience to stop the scene at a critical point to then act out different solutions. Role-playing serves as a vehicle for analyzing power dynamics, stimulating public debate and searching for creative solutions for dealing with complex situations. The goal is to change the norms, attitudes and behaviors around sexual violence.
GTTT looks at how YOU, your conscious choices and your attitude are the primary forces shaping your life when faced with external challenges. When triumphed, external circumstances are not the primary determiners of one’s life, but attitude of mind is. We will look to understand how self-image (judgment you make of yourself as you compare to externals in the world) affects self-esteem. Improving self-esteem is the heart of creating radical change to prevent issues of dating violence – control and entitlement.
GTTT is a program of Helping Hands Against Violence Inc., a non-profit organization serving victims of sexual and domestic violence.
Youth play lead roles in health education in local schools across Hood River County. GTTT stimulates dialogue about provocative issues such as sexual violence, teen pregnancy, and substance abuse by engaging classmates in interactive skits. In a typical skit, the nine-member team enacts a true-to-life scenario and invites the audience to stop the scene at a critical point and act out potential solutions. Role-playing challenges audiences to analyze power dynamics and explore creative options for dealing with complex situations. Troupe members develop leadership skills while educating peers and helping to change community norms. Director Loraine Madian founded GTTT two years ago with support of the high school health teacher and a community collation, the Sexual Health Intercommunity Focus Team (SHIFT).
Teen Panel Discussion
Wednesday, April 14th, 8:45 AM - 10:00 AM
Facilitated discussion by a panel of youth regarding issues impacting teens in today’s world.