Sexuality education
HVUUC offers responsible, inclusive sexuality education for people of all ages from kindergarten through older adult. We use the fact-based, means tested Our Whole Lives (OWL) program developed jointly by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Churches of Christ.
With guardian permission, OWL is a regular part of the curriculum for all HVUUC children kindergarten through 9th grade.
HVUUC also incubated the local nonproft RISE: Healthy for Life.
HVUUC’s next offering of OWL will be for 4-6th grade youth starting August 21, 2022. Please contact Sarah W. at DRE@hvuuc.org with any questions.
About the Our Whole Lives program
OWL is a sexuality education curriculum that has been highly recommended by Unitarian Universalist churches throughout the United States. It has been reported by NPR as “the best curriculum of its kind”.
Teachers must go through an intensive certification process. We are fortunate to have several church members who have taken the course to become OWL instructors.
Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives provides not only facts about anatomy and human development, but helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and helps them understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.
Our Whole Lives uses approaches that work. The curriculum is based on the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education produced by the National Guidelines Task Force, a group of leading health, education, and sexuality professionals assembled by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS).
Our Whole Lives covers topics and skills that both parents and students want to have available but schools are less likely to cover. The Our Whole Lives Values:
Self Worth
Sexual Health
Responsibility
Justice and Inclusivity
OWL offers:
Up-to-date information and honest, age-appropriate answers to all participants’ questions
Activities to help participants clarify values and improve decision-making skills
Effective group-building to create a safe and supportive peer group
Education about sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment
Opportunities to critique media messages about gender and sexuality
Acceptance of diversity
Encouragement to act for justice
Parent orientation program that affirm parents as the primary sexuality educators of their children
Although developed by two religious organizations, Our Whole Lives contains no religious references or doctrine. However, the values promoted in the program are consistent with our Unitarian Universalist faith.