Walk the Talk

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Walk the Talk Overview

High School Sexuality Education Program

The Walk the Talk program is a sex education curriculum, delivered to high school students across Greater Boston.  The 5-session program combines skill-building activities with medically accurate information about sexual health to promote effective communication and responsible decision making in relationships.

Walk the Talk includes the following topics:

  • Dispelling myths and understanding facts about sex and sexuality
  • Building effective communication skills
  • Preventing STDs, including HIV
  • Accessing health services
  • Negotiating healthy relationships
  • Understanding available protection methods including abstinence

The third lesson of Walk the Talk includes a presentation by a trained educator who is HIV+ and gives their personal perspective about living with HIV/AIDS.  The educator reinforces the importance of making responsible decisions about relationships and helps teens learn to avoid behaviors that can lead to STDs, including HIV.

After Walk the Talk, students will be able to:

  • Identify themselves as individuals who can benefit from making choices that include  abstinence or practicing safer sex to avoid HIV, other STDs and/or unintended pregnancy
  • Develop empathy and compassion for, and feel less fearful of people living with HIV/AIDS
  • Better understand how personal and societal pressures influence their sexual behavior
  • Communicate more effectively to protect themselves in sexual decision making
  • Know how to use a condom correctly

 Walk the Talk recognizes that there are many diverse and valid points of view.  The following values are integral to Walk the Talk:  the importance of maintaining one’s health, adolescents’ right to accurate information, respect for oneself and others, equality for everyone and open communication to ensure learning.

Walk the Talk

Lesson One: Consent as a Foundation for Healthy Relationships and Communication

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Define Consent, Free and Informed Consent,
  • Explain the purpose and application of Age of Consent Law
  • Describe 2 ways to communicate about boundaries and safety

Lesson Two: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Explain how infections are spread through “risky behaviors”
  • List methods of STD prevention
  • Describe what to do if someone suspected an STD

Lesson Three: Living with HIV/AIDS

 Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Identify at least three issues faced by people living with HIV
  • State two myths that are often perpetuated about people living with HIV
  • State two behaviors that may lead to HIV infection
  • State at least two ways that young people can reduce their risk for HIV infection

This lesson includes a speaker living with HIV/AIDS who addresses the class.

Lesson Four: Protection Methods

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Identify steps for correct use of abstinence and protection methods
  • Identify the methods that are effective for HIV and STD prevention, and explain the reasons why they are effective

Lesson Five: Relationships and Communication

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Identify signs of a healthy or unhealthy relationship
  • Describe what someone could do if they were in an unhealthy relationship
  • Identify personal resources and sources of health information