So, Monkeyboy is deeply engrossed in his Gamecube game, trying to extend his few minutes of play time 'til I schlep him off to Sunday school. RFB is getting ready to go out grocery shopping.
In fairly quiet voices, not in the immediate vicinity of the Gamecube or the critter attached to it, I say:
"OK, I'm going to stay at shul all morning, I'll bring [Monkeyboy's real name redacted] home today too. I've got two meetings this morning. At 10 I'm in the bagel bar discussing the new preschool/extended care program. At 11 I'm going to the meeting about sex."
From deep in MarioCart Double Dash land I hear a 9-year-old voice:
"Meeting about sex? What meeting about sex?"
I opened my big mouth, so I explained it.
If you're interested, the meeting about sex is to discuss implementation of a new curriculum about sexual ethics in the upper grades at our religious school. It's been devised by the Union for Reform Judaism. It's called "Sacred Choices," and I think it's pretty good.
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9 comments:
Do you think you sound like this to him?: "Blah, blah, blah blah, Meeting about sex. Blah, blah."
Amazing what a kid can hear when they want to hear it. The magic 's' word seems to pique the ears of children. (adults too, aparently)
What is it about discussions about sex this weekend?
Boys learn how to tune out all but major key words in a discussion.
Men seem to retain that ability.
Churlita - yup, 'zactly.
E-E - It always makes my ears prick up. (Hee hee - I said prick.)
Rachel - Spring is in the air, I guess. I think you're right about the whole boy/man tune-out thing.
At least he didn't overhear something about Steak day. ;)
Bagels and then sex?...there goes my mind again. Think sex first, then tackle the bagel and cream cheese. Hard call. Opps..got off track here. I think Monkeyboy is gonna be normal.
Tara: At least there's that. Thanks for seeing the silver lining.
Moonbeam: bagel and cream cheese after sex, that's a new one on me. Reminds me of a terrible old joke (and what doesn't): In the throes of post-coital languor, a young gal asks her beau "Do you smoke after sex?"
After trying to puzzle this one out, the confused young man replies "I dunno. I never looked."
What's it like to bet yet another one-person cheering section for yet another piece of URJ deducational vaporware, designed by ivory tower academics clueless about real world classroom life?
I was shocked to discover that no one at the parents' meeting opposed the notion of talking about sexual ethics at religious school. I expected to have to fight that battle before we ever got to talking about the curriculum.
(You have some experience with this bunch and I'm here to tell you, the complaints one might have expected were simply not raised. And it wasn't a matter of the squeaky wheels not knowing about the meeting. They knew about it and their concern was not about teaching this stuff at all, but rather how it would be taught and who would teach it).
As to the curriculum, from what we could see, it's pretty open-ended and will rely much more on WHO teaches it than on the scripted questions and activities. I'm somewhat hopeful about the eventual results.
It looks like we've got a professional from the Jewish Social Services Agency to help with implementation, and not just inspired amatuers.
You've earned your cynicism honestly about "URJ deducational vaporware, designed by ivory tower academics clueless about real world classroom life" through painful experience and I wouldn't try to talk you out of that hard-won battle-armor.
But I hope I'm able to report, next year, that, in this case, good practices overwhelmed a questionable genesis.
Anyway, if I'm "yet another" I can't really be a "one person cheering section", can I?
Shabbat shalom, a couple of hours early.
I've got bimah duty tonight. I like it a lot better when I have bimah duty on a night you're helping lead the music. That service is one of my favorites, PLUS I get to sit in the congregation instead of up on high.
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