Knowledge is Power

Wow… I have to say that today was pretty intense, and not at all in a bad way. The current session is Will Power, Won’t Power with the 5th and 6th graders, which is all about knowing your body and your rights. This week I had the pleasure of sitting in on what amounted to a “birds and bees” talk between Ms. Jessie and the girls. I was pretty uneasy about it at first but I quickly decided that the discussion was incredibly beneficial. Ms. Jessie was very straightforward about everything we talked about, and encouraged the girls to ask lots of questions about anything they’d heard, seen on TV or in movies, or observed in their lives. Ms. Jessie even shared a lot of her experiences, which the girls really appreciated.

I was amazed at how respectful the girls acted and how relevant their questions were. They were so engaged in what we had to say, especially when it was clear that they were learning more about things they’d heard of but didn’t quite understand before. There is so much talk about sex and sexuality in the media, and even on the playground (we had a little chat on the phrase, “that’s so gay,” and discussed what it actually meant to be gay), that I felt like the girls gained an immense amount of wisdom from having the chance to have that discussion in such a safe and welcoming forum. Too many teen pregnancies and risky relationships occur because girls don’t know the facts, and the sooner our girls become knowledgeable about their rights and their voice, the more empowered they are for life. Days like these I’m reminded why I absolutely love being a part of Girls Inc.

On a side note, last week we learned about anatomy and pregnancies, which I always laugh about because since I never took biology (chemical engineering didn’t require it) I always manage to learn something new during those sessions. Ms. Jessie looks so shocked when she asks me a question (like, how do birds mate?) and I look at her with a blank stare. Aren’t I supposed to be the scientist in the room? Note to self, perhaps I should study up on this stuff before next year’s session…