Need creative ideas for my internship this summer.

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>This summer, I will be working at a juvenile detention center. I will be teaching a class (!) rotating between 50 kids on health issues that predominantly African American, disadvantaged teenagers face. A lot of them will be forced to take my class, so I bet many would not like to be there. </p>

<p>Thus, it brings me here, a forum full of bright and creative college students who can help me brainstorm. Do you guys and gals have any ideas that can allow me to make my class fun, yet informative?</p>

<p>I know I will need to establish rapport... somehow. Many of these kids have never interacted in a significant way with an Asian person. I don't want to be some priveledged college kid preaching to a bunch of people who have more hands on experience than me. Somehow, I feel like I should be learning from them, not the other way around.</p>

<p>I'm thinking of doing something about STDs. However, I'm not sure if I am qualified on the subject (never had an intimate relationship before... haha). I think I will cover general health issues as well.</p>

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<p>Before I turn on my thinking machine, would you please specify a bit more?</p>

<p>Obviously the class will be at the detention center, but where exactly; outdoors- indoors? Will you be teaching the class by yourself? ect…</p>

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<p>that sounds amazing! i could help you out a lot with STI training–i work with planned parenthood & sexual health stuff is right up my alley.</p>

<p>first things first, buy a copy of “our bodies, ourselves” from the boston women’s health collective. imperative. copy things out of that book and pass them out. also make a handout with a listing of anatomically correct words for areas of the genitalia (along with common slang words for those areas).</p>

<p>so once you’re done actually explanining how the body works during sex, go into how pregnancy occurs (fertilization, etc.) also set straight all of the myths about pregnancy (can’t get pregnant while she’s on her period, can’t get pregnant if you pull out, etc.) and teach them all about the different types of birth control, specifically condoms, diaphragms, oral BC, the patch and IUDs. if they are mostly men, emphasize that they too should be concerned with birth control–it’s not just the woman’s job.</p>

<p>for STIs, you should probably do something similar. you might even want to show graphic pictures (there are some in our bodies, ourselves). go into the differences between all of the STIs (some can be cured with anitbiotics, some can only be treated for symptoms, some can develop into far more serious illnesses in the future), and make sure to emphasize the ones you can get from oral sex as well as vaginal sex. </p>

<p>now it’s important to have a session about CONSENT and the extreme frequency of sexual violence (mostly date rape) among young people. there are great resources online about all of these things. you also might want to show jackson katz’s video about violence and masculinity–it’s amazing, will resound with african-american men from the inner city, and it’s on google video for free (about 50 minutes long).</p>

<p>and naturally, pass out tons of free condoms (you can get them from places like planned parenthood–just go in, tell them what your project is and i guarantee they’d be happy to help out!). i think the most important thing here is to let them talk about sex openly and unashamedly. that might be kind of awkward for you since you’ve never had sex (it’s probably pretty safe to assume most of these students will not be virgins), but don’t let on. haha</p>

<p>that sounds kind of rough, though. good luck! feel free to PM me for more resources/ideas if you want.</p>

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<p>It’s basically a jail, so it will take place indoors. I will be teaching the class by myself.</p>

<p>@Leah, thanks for the great suggestions, I will take it to heart. </p>

<p>I realize I have some roadblocks to overcome. I keep getting images from my high school health class, where none of the kids wanted to be there and, as a result, didn’t learn anything. At the center, some of the kids can’t even read, I have to emphasize verbal communication.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I thought Leah’s advice was good. But make sure, whatever you end up doing, to try and stay as real as possible. The last thing you want to do is come across as some privileged kid who’s had it easy all life long. If you try your best to treat them as equals, I think they will get a lot more out of the class. </p>

<p>Sorry to be vague, but I think you get the point…</p>

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<p>What is the purpose of this class? How often do people come there?
Personally - but I’m not sure if it fits into your job description - I’d do a Howto-class on health issues, talking about real things.</p>

<p>Not: Use condoms. But: Where do get free condoms? Where can I get STD testing, anonymously?
Not: Don’t do drugs or alcohol. But: What is the usual span for getting addicted and dying? How do I get help, how much does it cost? How much alcohol can kill you?<br>
Not: You do CPR like this. But: How do I know when to call the ambulance when somebody faints? What do I do when I’m hurt/pregnant/sick?
What do I do when I want to improve my health? Where can I turn to if I want to lose weight/stop smoking/ am depressed/…?</p>

<p>Most people - and that includes your underprivileged teenagers (although that depends on their age, but I assume that they are not children any more)- know that they shouldn’t have unprotected sex or smoke. I don’t think you can change anybody by telling them that certain things are bad and dangerous (which they already know)- but you may give some of them tools they didn’t have before.</p>

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<p>That’s really solid advice, I’ll try to make my course as practical as possible.</p>

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<p>what alexander said is great–prepare a list of valuable resources. places like planned parenthood can provide anonymous testing and services on a sliding pay scale, and there are clinics located all over the country. also there are organizations in my town like the family violence prevention center, the orange county rape crisis center, etc. research some that are nearby and hand out a list to everyone.</p>