Health Education

SATURN IN THE 1RST HOUSE
Saturn, planet of health, sits in the 1rst House, the house of self. People will be focusing more on themselves with regard to their diet, exercise, and overall health. Especially with the influence of Virgo.

Health is a recent issue for me due to the class I took this week. This is large part of why I've been blogless this week. I know, you've been desolate without new Sign In Ink to read, but it's been a long week, trust me. A large part of that was because of my Teaching Health for Special Education Students class. This has to be the most depressing class I've ever had the misfortune to attend. Of course it's a required class! No one would take it otherwise.

It takes me back to middle school, when they first started teaching health, especially sex education. It lacks the incredible awkwardness of those first years of learning about sex from a gym teacher, but I'll be damned if it doesn't make up for it in story after story involving injury or death. The class is only a week long, so they're clearly trying to shove as much insanity into these 2.5 hour classes and they succeed. Fortunately, the teacher is a very nice and somewhat humorous older man who has a lighthearted attitude about his age and a somewhat feminist outlook on life.

We began with child abuse. I learned all about the horrendous things that can happen to a child and what to do if I should encounter or suspect it. The laws are extremely strict regarding the treatment of children. I am all for the protection of children, but did we have to go through and detail the countless ways that a parent or guardian can harm a child? Really, I didn't need to know what "sock burns" are. (If you really want to know, it involves scalding water.) The class has gone downhill from there.

We moved on to school violence. As if child abuse wasn't bad enough, let's talk about when the danger comes from inside the school. Children, parents, and strangers have been known to bring in weaponry, putting each attendee in jeopardy. It's a terrifying prospect. My professor was quick to reassure us that most of us would not encounter something like that, but now that he's declared that, it's fairly certain that I'm going to be one of those teachers. Beyond the gun issue, school violence also traverses the wild world of bullying.

Day three brought the most tumultuous subject: sexual education. Of course, it involves none of the joys; just the possible effects (STD and pregnancy) and how to prevent them. Ah, yes. There's nothing like American education to take all the pleasure out of sexual education.

Yesterday, we began forays into drugs, or as my professor likes to call it, "Better Living Through Chemistry." This time, there were none of the fun details to make us go, "Oooh." It was just a brief overview of the kinds of drugs and the ways that they enter our bodies. Of course, our professor was kind enough not to gloss over physical effects that could be detrimental. For someone who tends to have MSS (Medical Student Syndrome), that is NOT a good thing.

Monday, the last class will delve into nutrition. At this rate, the class will be exploring all eating disorders and the ways that food can negatively affect us. I know I can't wait.

I'm sure everyone is jealous that they don't get to take this class with me. If you really want to know how it feels, on Monday, June 22nd, from 430-7pm EST, just go back in your mind to your 6th grade health class. Remember sitting there with all of the other students, listening to a middle-aged teacher who usually forces you into dodgeball on rainy days, showing you the most revolting pictures they can find to scare you away from drugs and sex.

This is worse.

That Low-Down Fire

FIRE IN THE SKY
The moon, Venus, and Mars are all in fire signs right now. Passion, creativity, sexuality is going to be prevalent. We'll see a lot of initiative, especially on the romance front. Personal expression is going to show up throughout. This may be a wonderful thing, or it could be an onrush of hedonistic activity.

Are you a fire sign? Find out what that means here.

Fire is an apropos element to explore during this time as the Pagan festival of Beltane was yesterday. Beltane fires are lit throughout the world as a celebration of life and the beginning of summer. A Maypole is erected with ribbons attached and a dance occurs, which ends with the pole entwined with decorative ribbons. Beltane, as a celebration of life, is sexually oriented and the pole is an obvious phallic symbol.

I find it interesting that a ritual that celebrates life is so sexually oriented. Sex is everywhere: on tv, in movies, in music, in books, on the net, even in certain schools. Ironically, it may not always be discussed in homes. I can understand the reluctance of a parent to speak to their child about sex. There is something that suggests a loss of innocence once a child learns about sex. Yet, if sex is such a powerful part of life (in fact, it's life-giving), why do we avoid it when it comes to children? There are so many negative connotations regarding sex (especially with the focus on STDs), yet it's everywhere. After all, sex sells, doesn't it? Else, why would Abercrombie and Fitch have catalogues with naked models? Interesting that a place that sells clothing is advertising by using pictures of people without them.

Is sex the opposite of innocence? As the age old complaint of children goes, "why does everything that tastes or feels good have to be bad for you?" Sex isn't necessarily bad for you. And it certainly feels good. Whatever designed the human body certainly made sure of that. Let's be honest. It's not exactly the most attractive part of the human body, is it? If it didn't feel good, most people would never go near it. Still, is it at odds with innocence? We try to shield our children from sex, drugs, violence, and back in the day, rock and roll. Granted, we wouldn't want to hear of any children using guns or drugs and certainly, not having sex, but should they be aware of it? Does telling a child about sex negate a belief in Santa Claus?

Which begs the question - at what age is it okay to talk to a child about sex? There are numerous commercials that say talk to your kids before they come to you. Do you wait for puberty to set in? Oh, yeah, I broke out the big "p" word. I think most would agree that they don't want their children to come to them first, but many would want an open discourse with regards to sex. At least, they'd rather that than to find out that their children have been experimenting. Children and sex is a volatile combination of topics.

I don't think that sex, while a volatile topic, is necessarily bad. The constant exposure to it can be difficult to handle, but in today's society, it's available at almost every turn. In the spirit of Beltane, far from being purely life-giving, it's life-affirming. It's part of what it means to be alive. We should celebrate it.

Happy Beltane to all!