Interview: Nic Whitty - Sex Education in Catholic Schools.

Nic Whitty is the pseudonym for a pal of mine whom I interviewed about their experience as a queer educator teaching sexual health within the catholic school system in Alberta. Nic is someone who I have always admired to be informed, passionate, and engaged when it comes to matters of gender and sexuality and their thoughts on the state of sex-ed are incredibly valuable and important. We met via FaceTime for a loooonnggggg discussion about the state of sex-ed in AB, and I edited our convo down to this engaging piece below! Read on for Nic’s motivation to become an educator, for their thoughts on ways to change the curriculum to be more inclusive, and for hopeful messages for the future!

Erica: What motivated you to become a teacher?

Nic: I was influenced by a collection of good and bad teachers over the years. I wanted to be a teacher when I was a kid, who could say why - I liked to talk. Specifically in high school, I had a drama teacher who was so unbelievably good at his job and excellent at making people feel as passionately as he did about theatre. He made a safe space for kids to be themselves while pushing and challenging them. So I fell in love with theatre and got a drama degree! During my first year, I was teaching preschool and decided I wanted to work with younger kids and now I teach grades 5-8.

Recently, I have fallen in love with teaching health, I feel so strongly about it, kids get so into it too, and it is so important - like teaching sexual health is! I was a queer youth and nothing like that was ever taught or mentioned, I had only heard the word “gay” as an insult and didn’t even know what it meant! If I were a kid now I would have known a lot sooner and would have been able to identify myself. I knew what was up but I didn’t have the language.

E: Without education and being equipped with language it is hard to contextualize our experiences!


N: Yes! The catholic school system often worries that teaching about different identities will turn more students gay, and I don’t know how wrong that is! We aren’t going to turn kids - but I was always queer and didn’t know that was an option. Kids now can see themselves and their identity in what is taught, so yeah, more kids are going to identify if they know that option exists!

E: Well that argument is rooted in fear and homophobia anyways!


N: Totally, it’s not a choice. People often use that argument and say “well, they wouldn’t be gay if it were a choice” but that’s homophobic - there is nothing wrong with being gay, being gay is rad! And I didn’t get that in school and I feel so strongly about my kids seeing themselves in their learning.

E: What are some of your favorite aspects of being an educator?


N: I love getting excited about things with kids and helping them find things they are passionate about! It is powerful to get excited about learning and to take something “dry” and make it into something kids are having good discussions about. I also love the relationship element of teaching and building bonds with 45 tiny people. My school is small so I typically get to see all the same students from grades 5-8 and it is awesome to see their personalities develop and witness them grow into human people!

E: So today we will be chatting more specifically about the sexual health curriculum - what are your overall thoughts on teaching sex-ed within the Catholic School system?

N: I am disappointed in the quality of sexual health education in schools in Alberta generally! We do not have a progressive curriculum, it is completely put on teachers and assumed they know how to teach these really important and complex concepts. For my degree, there was only one sexual health course offered and it was an option - there are no mandatory education requirements for elementary. In high school.

CALM (career and life management) is typically put onto the shoulders of new teachers and is not something people go out of their way to teach. It is disappointing because sex ed is actually a cool, empowering, transformative part of people’s lives - I always tell my students “this is the most important thing I will be teaching you because it will effect your lives the most”.
I am excited about the progress though, even in catholic schools I see a lot of teachers pushing for what they know is right. Even the other day the pope made an announcement supporting same sex civil unions (which is obviously not progressive, but for the pope I’ll take it!). Changes are happening constantly.

E: It is amazing how many careers don’t require sexual health training but actively deal with issues that affect people’s sexuality on a day-to-day basis. People need education on the topic specifically.

N: There is no training in trauma-informed practice, I could pursue professional development on my own, but there is no money for this so I would have to pay for it out of pocket which is a big barrier to accessing information. With sexual health, it is not something people see the intersectionality of all the time - so it is easy to view as a separate thing. People are not qualified to be teaching this and aren’t comfortable either - good quality teaching does not come from that space.

E: So then who teaches sex-ed in schools? Each homeroom teacher or are there designated educators for this? What training and comfort level do these teachers typically have in regards to sexuality?

N: So in the K-9 health curriculum there are specific outcomes which are tied to sexual health, which each elementary homeroom teacher covers. However they are quite general and this open-endedness can be a pro and con because the lessons can be taken different places but if someone is not comfortable talking about that outcome then nothing is really forcing them to cover it. We are also required to send out a consent form to parents when we will be covering these outcomes and they can choose to opt out their child. It becomes difficult to have ongoing conversations with students when you need to gain consent every time and because of that, some teachers choose to cover sexual health related outcomes in one day.

It is hard, you need to be educated as an educator or these topics will get swept under the rug, and not all adults automatically know how to teach about healthy relationships just because they are adults. Last teachers convention, there was a session on sex-ed and it was packed, which speaks to how much teachers want to know what to teach but still feel a lot of uncertainty. Additionally, there are no approved resources for teachers to refer to.

E: What messaging are you supposed to focus on when teaching sex-ed?


N: The emphasis is placed on the catholic perspective which is outlined as “valuing abstinence, responsibility, and respect in relationships”. Catholic schools get to take all the curriculum and put a catholic lens on it, but sex-ed is where you see the most push back because it becomes a political issue. Sometimes things are taught that are actively discriminatory and it is a very difficult and long process to challenge this through the Supreme Court, so it is not often that it is changed.

Teachers are also put at risk because you have to sign a Catholicity clause agreeing to be catholic and live according to the church. Some districts in Alberta will watch you and if they notice you live with your partner outside of marriage or are LGBTQ+, they will fire you. This is also a horrible process to fight, typically ending in people settling out of court or not filing charges or pursuing legal action in any way, even though it is a Charter right to not be discriminated against.

Some schools teach the full Alberta curriculum and then just address the catholic beliefs as they go, it really depends on the teacher, school board, principle, etc. There had not been any specific catholic sex education resources until a document called “Fully Alive” was introduced this year. I have looked through it (we are starting sex-ed soon) and it is already so problematic saying things like “We are created sexual - Male and Female” and that “the body is a temple and giving away your virginity is disrespecting yourself” - and this is a required resource going forward.

We had a PD session on sexual health education where they told us that we can’t pretend gay students don’t exist, and that they deserve respect just like anyone else but that sex is only for reproduction so gay people can’t have sex. That’s the messaging we are supposed to disseminate.

E: Are there any topics you are absolutely not allowed to discuss? What are some of the rules you have to follow?

N: There is no legislation about this, however sexual orientation and gender are contentious topics within the catholic church. They are coming around to the idea that they at the very least need to acknowledge sexual orientation but it is not part of the curriculum. If someone got upset at me for teaching this, they would be backed by the curriculum. Gender is also not in there, nor the difference between gender and sex. There is a banned resource, which I think the Alberta Teacher’s Association actually developed that has really great information which we are absolutely not allowed to utilize or share in the catholic district.

E: What are your professional perceptions of the effectiveness of the curriculum at achieving sexual health goals such as reducing negative outcomes (STIs, unplanned pregnancies) and increasing positive outcomes (healthy relationships)?

N: Overall I do not think it is effective. I have not seen any studies done on the impact of the curriculum on student sexual health in Alberta comparing the rates of STBBIs or unplanned pregnancies of students who received public education vs. catholic education.



E: I have seen many studies done in the U.S. comparing the two, nothing specific to Alberta. The results tend to indicate that abstinence-only education which is typically taught in catholic schools, leads to more of these negative sexual health outcomes.

N: There is a really good book called “Homophobia in the Hallways” which contains great research but doesn’t focus on the experience of all students. Personally, I noticed in my schooling there were many many unwanted pregnancies, people struggling with healthy relationships, and lots of shame. The quality of education greatly varied depending on the teacher. Now I try to think of what I needed as a student and I try to give my students that. I needed someone who was openly out, but I can’t be that for my students because I run the risk of losing my job, but I go out of my way to include queer voices in all lessons and subjects. I just want everyone to see themselves reflected in class, but a lot of teachers don’t know where to start or are fearful of getting in trouble, and these fears are unfortunately founded in reality because it is a controversial topic.

E: What do you view to be some (if any) of the benefits of a curriculum that focuses on abstinence promotion?

N: I do not think there is value in abstinence-only education, I think it damages kids to have only one perspective, but I think including abstinence as an option is potentially good! It is good for students to know that they don’t have to have sex before they are ready, that they are allowed to make their own decisions about their body. It is also inclusive of asexual people. Teaching abstinence doesn’t have to be promoted for moral or religious reasons, but students should be taught that not having sex at all is a valid option.

E: That is a great point. Similarly, in the study I completed about abstinence-only education, most respondents shared that they could see the value in teaching about abstinence, but that it should be taught from a more holistic perspective.

N: I definitely think that abstinence could be approached from a more sex-positive perspective which centres knowing yourself, what you’re ready for, and what you’re comfortable with.

E: Are the any topics that students seem to be extra curious about these days?

N: Students are very interested in learning about sexual orientation and gender because they hear about it but don’t necessarily know what it means. We utilize an anonymous question jar and most of the questions are some variant of “am I normal?” such as, “when do people usually have sex?” or “what’s the typical size of a penis?” Some of the questions are funny, but then we use that as a teaching moment and break down why they think that is funny, but that is also good because sex shouldn’t always be super serious, and it is often funny!

E: What do you wish you could teach your students?

N: Consent isn’t in the curriculum at all, and I wish we could teach that from kindergarten upwards. I would like to have more conversations about queer identities, not even just in the context of health class, but Stonewall for example, or historical RCMP relationships with the LGBTQ+ community. I would also like to focus on a narrative of queer success and that queer identities have existed for centuries. I wish we could have pleasure based education and discuss why it is important that people are having a nice time during sex. And functional skills like putting on a condom, how to use a dental dam, WHY use a dental dam, etc.! I also wish the curriculum were more sex-positive and inclusive.

E: What else is missing from the curriculum that you think should be included? How can we advocate for sex-ed that is inclusive, trauma-informed, and intersectional while still staying within the catholic guidelines?

N: All the things mentioned in the previous answer should be part of the curriculum, queer sexual health, queer history is not included whatsoever. Teachers need training! If as a teacher, I don’t know what it means to be non-binary then I can’t include that in my teaching. Catholic schools need to be held accountable to follow the law and not be actively discriminatory.

I am paraphrasing, but there is a message in the bible where someone asks Jesus what the most important rule is, and he responds to love one-another and love God, and this should be part of catholic education without a caveat, where we treat all people with respect and dignity. Historically, there are many examples where the catholic church has not followed it’s own doctrine and neglected to treated people with respect and dignity, such as Residential Schools, and going forward we need to question how to address that and make sure people of all orientations and communities are treated with equity.

E: Can you tell me about your experience with GSAs (initially meaning Gay-Straight Alliance, but now a general acronym used for any student-run, teacher-supported school-based club that works to make safe spaces for students of all orientations) and advocacy for LGBTQ2S+ students and staff?

N: There is really cool working happening in the province because of the great need for it. Alberta is one of the remaining few provinces with a publicly funded catholic system. Traditionally the needs of students who are not straight or cis have been ignored and innumerable school staff have felt like they need to hide their identity for their entire career. Now there is an Alberta GSA network and an online conference coming up (Nov. 2020) with a variety of workshops, some led by youth for youth, some for educators specifically, some about how to start a GSA, and some about intersectionality in education.

There is a teacher GSA in Elk Island starting soon which will create a really important space for staff to come together and advocate for their needs. A lot of teachers are doing important work finding community for staff in catholic school settings which is necessary because in the public system you are protected and your job is not at risk if you are LGBTQ+. It is really high stakes to be vulnerable and change your pronouns or come out to your staff, so the work being done is really cool and impactful. It is powerful to have spaces where people can share their experiences, advice, and look into legislation together.

E: How do you see this further changing in the future?

N: So many young people and educators are doing such amazing work and there are many steps forward - there are more GSAs now than ever before! If students ask for a GSA there is a legal obligation for schools to support that so I hope this continues to grow and that students continue to advocate for themselves. It is cyclical - teachers are afraid of losing their jobs, so they don’t say anything, but this perpetuates shame because it is seen as something that needs to be hidden. Now, more staff are coming out and being brave and vulnerable despite the risk. If no one does this work then nothing will change. I hope people keep advocating for themselves and others. It is very hopeful.

E: What are your additional hopes and dreams for sexual health education within the catholic school system?

N: For it to be trauma-informed, evidence-based, not optional, sex-positive, inclusive, and not taboo - it should be something to get excited about rather than it feeling like a horrible undertaking. I think we should also discuss how sexual health intersects with other social determinants. There is a TedTalk called “The Danger of a Single Story” which discusses how if we only give one perspective and you don’t see yourself reflected, then you don’t recognize yourself in your learning. We say a lot with what we don’t say and when we don’t talk about sexual health we are showing students that it is something to be hidden away. xxx