by Austen Petersen, Director of Religious Education
Please join me in congratulating the dozen teens who completed the Get Real program this month!
WUU teens gathered to practice parsing through pop culture’s messaging about body image, communication, sex, sexuality, sexual identity, gender identity, and more. The group practiced discussing what their values are as Unitarian Universalists, and used their critical thinking skills to look at advertisements, music, and more.
Virginia League of Planned Parenthood, in collaboration with WUU Religious Education, offered a 9 session science based sexuality education class at WUU beginning in January and concluding in March 2022. One parent said, “I was pleasantly surprised at some of the conversations it led me to have with my son, including how infrequently people on TV shows and in movies have a conversation about their sexual desires, intent or consent, and we had several interesting conversations as a result.” This program helped participants learn to have those difficult conversations.
The teens gathered every Sunday for eight Zoom sessions from January to March. We concluded with an in person celebration on the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalist playground. Together, we shared community, delicious donuts, and the teens received their certificates. Many thanks go to the teens and their adults who helped make this program possible.
Honest, accurate information about sexuality changes lives. It dismantles stereotypes and assumptions, builds self-acceptance and self-esteem, fosters healthy relationships, improves decision making, and has the potential to save lives. For these reasons and more, our religious education department is committed to finding a way to offer science based comprehensive sexuality education. We have found our program in partnership with the Virginia League of Planned Parenthood and their Get Real curriculum.
Get Real emphasizes social and emotional skills as a key component of healthy relationships and responsible decision making. Information provided is medically accurate and age-appropriate. Get Real supports parents and other caregivers to communicate their values and beliefs about sex and sexuality.