Progressive Sex Ed and Comprehensive Support for Modern Families
My name is Sara Sophia Rose, and I’m a trauma-informed radical holistic educator who’s been teaching in the field since 2003.
My sexuality education practice is informed by my experiences co-teaching sex ed workshops with the University of Michigan’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center; certification as an Our Whole Lives (OWL) sexuality educator for grades 7-12; and training as a trauma-informed equity-centered educator through the University of Michigan Marsal School of Education.
In addition, I’ve been employed in higher ed institutions, preschools, and K-12 institutions for a cumulative total of seven years, with even more years volunteering, coaching, and teaching extra-curricular enrichment activities for youth of all ages.
I’ve taught physical education, dance, and meditation; acted as a 1:1 classroom support person for children on the autism spectrum; and worked as a general all-around support staff person for preschool classrooms through college age. The tenets of trauma-informed and equity-centered pedagogy guide my work and teaching style.
I believe that learning should be joyful and that all children are naturally curious and enjoy learning as part of their evolutionary makeup.
I excel at social-emotional learning and conflict resolution in real-time and believe wholeheartedly in the power of relationships to buffer stress and build resiliency.
You could say I’m a fanatic about best practices of childhood development, unraveling systemic oppression, and crafting secure attachments.
These values guide all my work and offerings.
I love being a mom and aunty, taking my daughter on adventures, finding God on the dance floor and in shared moments of collective joyful awe, and building relationships with the trees, flowers, rocks, roots, and mycelial networks that surround my home.
I practice tai chi and chi gung, write poetry and essays, and connect with people like you to fill my cup.
Welcome to my world. I’m glad you’re here!
I believe that progressive sex ed changes lives.
Working Together
In this work, I hold certain values very highly. These include curiosity, responsibility, and respectful relating.
Educating young people about their bodies, relationships, and their sexuality in honest, empowering ways helps to create a more equitable and just society. It enriches our spiritual lives and helps to foster communities of mutual care.
I strongly believe that sex education is a foundational pillar of social justice.
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Focusing on a specific topic, announced via monthly e-mail newsletter and social media.
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Live-taught classes; virtual classroom community; anonymous submissions to the question box (so students feel safe and empowered to ask all of their most embarrassing questions!); and the entire library of evidence-based and research-backed video recordings.
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My current rate is $125 for the initial session and $75 per hour for sessions thereafter. Payment plans available upon request.
Why Sex Ed Programming Is So Important:
Less than half of US states require sex ed in schools, and with ones who do require it, less than half of those require medically accurate information.
Young people are often left without critical tools to navigate their sexual health and wellness, and to fill this gap, adolescents are increasingly relying on pornography as their primary source of information and education about sex.
However, research demonstrates that exposure to pornography as a primary mode of sexuality education leads to increased instances of gender-based sexual violence, propagation of harmful racialized sexual violence and stereotypes, and lower sexual satisfaction in marriage.
I have seen personally that Internet pornography can depict the absolute worst of human nature, including aggression, coercion, oppression, and brutality.
Academic research confirms my findings; according to Alessia Tranchese at the University of Portsmouth, research has demonstrated that exposure to any repeated type of Internet pornography fosters adolescent attitudes supportive of sexual aggression and rape. And according to the research of Dr. Michael Flood at La Trobe University, in normalizing sexual violence, pornography also fuels it.
Where I stand
I got into sex education because I want to do my part to eliminate sexual and gender-based violence in all forms. My initial training as an educator at University of Michigan’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, and then later through the Love Is Not Abuse initiative, cemented my beliefs in the importance of the work and shone a light on the silent epidemic of sexual violence.
Furthermore, the Our Whole Lives curriculum teaches that respect, pleasure, embodied consent, emotional and spiritual safety, and mutual care are foundational elements of healthy sexuality.
Therefore, as a staunch advocate against sexual violence, my stance on pornography is that it is dangerous and harmful for adolescents to be left to their own devices when it comes to learning about sex, relationships, and sexuality through sexualized media & Internet pornography.
My stance is that families deserve to have wise and compassionately supportive guides and educators in their corner, and that parents are their children’s best advocates and guides.
I believe that sexuality is an inherent part of our humanity, our divinity, our creativity, and our indwelling connection to the Benevolent force that some of us call Goddess/God.
Since all of life exists and is created through the sexual impulse (for the science nerds like me, I’m talking pistils and stamens, too!), I believe that honoring our sexuality is one of the most natural aspects of celebrating our humanity and divinity.
Through experiencing self-connected, respectful, consensual, mutually-caring, mutually pleasurable, developmentally-appropriate, healthy and safe sexual practices and relationships, we can learn to tap into our abundant creative power and cultivate an embodiment of our most authentic, real, empowered and instinctually whole selves.
FAQ’s
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Through educational content, videos, interactive activities, discussion, and resources, students will examine their values and feelings, practice responding to potential situations, and critically consider their decision-making for present and future situations with the goal of creating healthy relationships with themselves and others throughout the rest of their lives.
Information is up-to-date, culturally relevant, as inclusive as possible (and constantly evolving, to keep up with researched best practices), and honest.
Participants are encouraged to ask questions and explore topics in class with curiosity, which ultimately fosters the capacity to make decisions from a place of self-connection and wholeness.
In addition to information on sex, OWL is intended to help children, youth, and adults to be emotionally healthy and responsible in terms of their sexuality. -
Sexual expression is a positive and life-enhancing experience when it is consensual, non-exploitative, mutually pleasurable, safe, developmentally appropriate, based on mutual expectations and caring, and respectful.
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At the outset of our work together, I’ll send over a “commitment contract” for parents/guardians and students/participants to review and sign. This helps to ensure we are all on the same page together for the work.
Parents/guardians are also invited to attend information sessions and to e-mail me with questions, information, feedback, or concerns at any point. -
This is not “abstinence-only” sex ed.
This is a space for justice-oriented education and mentorship that respects and acknowledges intersectionalities.With that said, abstinence is presented as one option to consider for safe and healthy sexual relating.
OWL strives to be unbiased and teaches about heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, asexual, and transgender sexual health.
Our curriculum is up-to-date, honest, medically accurate, and value-neutral.
We discuss abortion, adoption, and live birth as medically viable options for pregnancy and pregnancy termination. -
Self-acceptance and self-responsibility are the takeaways.
Participants are guided to affirm themselves as lifelong gatekeepers of their own health and wellness.
“Deconstructing oppressive systems is a collective responsibility.”
“A love ethic presupposes that everyone has the right to be free, to live fully and well.”
Let’s work together!
Let me know how I can help you!