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In the spring of 2005, the Life Committee composed of administrators and parents formed to study how Judah should address God’s intent for boys and girls to relate with one another now and in the future. After much research and discussion, the Life Committee recommended that a K-12 curriculum on healthy sexuality and relationships be developed.
Two years later, in 2007, the Judah School Board and Judah Christian School administrators approved the recommendation and hired Pat Clark to begin the curriculum development process. Since then, Pat has met with youth pastors, parents, students from churches in the community, professionals, and Judah administrators and staff to outline a curriculum that might best meet the needs of Judah’s students.
The purpose of the Life curriculum is to give students the knowledge and skills to build positive relationships and develop a healthy sexuality that honors God. Understanding what God’s Word says about sexuality and relationships is a primary focus of the curriculum. In addition, knowledge and skills are organized through three areas of the curriculum:
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Growth and development
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Personal integrity
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Relationship skills
The Curriculum has been broken into three sections:
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Grades 4-6: Changes and Challenges
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Grades 7-8: Relating, Dating, and Waiting
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Grades 9-11: Pursuing Purity
A Partnership with Parents
You, as parents, are the primary educators of your children. You impart your values, attitudes, and beliefs to your children by teaching and modeling. As one of the most influential people in your children’s lives, you impact the choices your children make.
Although parents are the primary sex educators of their children and adolescents, Judah’s educators are in a unique position to support parents and teach about God’s design for sexuality and relationships.
Adolescents tend to receive most of their information about sex from friends, siblings, or a sex education/health class. 1 Some information from friends and siblings may not be accurate. Working together, we can communicate information accurately and make an even greater impact on encouraging young people to make healthy choices that honor God.
Our teachers will use the following premises when teaching pre-adolescents and adolescents about sexuality and relationships:
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God designed sex for the marriage partnership.
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God condemns deviant sexual behavior.
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God designed sex to be a beautiful expression of love between a husband and a wife.
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God gives us instruction on how to develop personal integrity and build healthy relationships through his Word.
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God is full of mercy and grace for those who believe and have sinned, even through the sin of sexual immorality.2
It’s often difficult to keep up with the current information needed to teach about sexuality and relationships. Young people also have their own cultural twist on information. So we are all better informed, we will offer educational workshops on communicating with your sons and daughters about sexuality and relationship issues throughout the school year. We will include relevant information, practical strategies, and resources to use in talking with your child.
Teaching Team
Pat Clark, Life Curriculum Coordinator - Pat develops, coordinates, and teaches the Life Curriculum. Her experience in teaching family and consumer science classes, implementing and teaching an in-school program for pregnant and parenting teens, developing community education programs, leading Bible studies, and authoring numerous educational materials and curriculum has given her much expertise in teaching the content from a Biblical worldview. Pat teaches the girls in grades 4-8 and co-teaches the high school classes.
Other Team Members:
Tim Hays, Administrator—Boys classes for grades 4-6
Tom Zielke, Junior High Social Studies Teacher—Boys classes for grades 7-8
Happy Davis, Senior High Bible Teacher—Co-teaches classes for grades 9-11
Sheila Kirby, Junior High Science Teacher & Greg Dykstra, Senior High Science Teacher—Assist teaching reproductive systems and sexuality
As part of the Life Curriculum teaching team our responsibilities are to educate students about healthy sexuality and relationships according to God’s design by:
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Presenting information that is relevant and accurate, distinguishing between the world’s view and God’s view.
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Creating honest, open discussions that build trust and encourage students to ask questions and discuss concerns. (We are not counselors. We will guide and encourage students to seek answers to their concerns through prayer, reading Scripture, talking with parents and other trusted adults, and developing accountability.)
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Not meeting with students individually because of the sensitive nature of the topics discussed. If a student desires confidentiality in a discussion, we will not promise to abide by that. In fact, we will tell the student that legally we must report anything that he or she tells us if it is illegal or hurtful to the student or someone else.
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Talking with the administrative staff and/or the student’s parents when we become concerned about a student’s attitude or behavior.
Why Do Students Need the Life Curriculum?
As children grow into teenagers they begin to develop their independence, including their own identity, personality, values, and beliefs. They are also bombarded by many cultural messages much different from God’s will and design. They need to hear consistent words of truth through God’s Word and His people.
During these teen years, sexuality is often misused and misunderstood. This misuse can cause pre-adolescents and adolescents much pain, damaging them emotionally, physically and spiritually. Embracing lies and misconceptions related to sexuality creates hurt in relationships and more separation from God. Split moment decisions may have life and death implications.
Pre-adolescents and adolescents need to learn about God’s design for sex and His love for them. With God’s help, adolescents can learn to handle the intimacy and power of their developing sexuality. They can learn to protect themselves from lies and pain by
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Understanding their growth and development.
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Setting boundaries.
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Developing self-control and other godly character traits.
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Building relationship skills.
If they stray from these protective skills, they will experience shame, guilt, or doubt and need to seek forgiveness and healing. If they stay the course, they will most likely have true intimacy and love in their marriage.
A Christ-Centered Approach
The approach of the Life Curriculum is not just about learning facts and reading Scripture related to sexuality and relationships. It’s also about life transformation. The curriculum will include information on:
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Understanding God’s design for sex and relationships.
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Building healthy relationships and communicating effectively.
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Listening and obeying God in making decisions regarding sexuality and relationships.
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Making commitments to develop healthy relationships and sexual purity.
Our goal is to take students from a character-based sex education approach to a Christ-centered sex education approach as outlined below.
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Character-Based Sex Education |
Christ-Centered Sex Education |
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• Sociological and Psychological |
• Spiritual and Biblical |
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• Traditional Authorities |
• Final Authority |
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• “Good of Man” |
• “Kingdom Good” |
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• Based on Social Research |
• Based on a Biblical Mandate |
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• Changes over Time |
• Never Changes |
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• Moral “Suggestions” |
• Moral “Absolutes” |
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• Focus on Measurable Behavior |
• Focus on Motives and Attitudes |
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• Only Public Behavior Matters |
• Public and Private Behavior Matter |
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• All about Observable Behaviors |
• Motives of the Heart |
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• Supremacy of Mankind |
• Lordship of Christ |
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• Educational and Medical |
• Relationship and Spiritual |
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• How Close to the Edge Can I Get? |
• Where Does God Want Me to Stand? |
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• Freedom From… |
• Freedom to… |
Class Format
•Classes will be taught in same-gender, same-grade groups in grades 4-8. In grades 9-11 classes are taught in same-gender, same-grade groups unless noted on the yearly syllabus. As the students move into higher grades, more classes are taught coed than same-gendered.
•Educators recognize that students have varying degrees of interest and maturity in dealing with the topics. They will seek to protect students’ modesty and innocence while also being honest, gentle, and straightforward about what students need to know.
•Some topics may not be discussed, depending on students’ needs and maturity. Topics may also be taught out of sequence, depending on the school schedule. Topics for students in 11th grade are determined through student input.
•The specific schedule of topics and other information for each specific grade and school year will be posted on RenWeb. Go to the parents’ web link on RenWeb and click on “Teacher’s Web Page” beside Life Curriculum.
•We, as administrators and teachers, believe that the Life Curriculum will greatly benefit your son or daughter, teaching them God’s desire for healthy relationships. However, we understand that you, as parents, may have reasons for not wanting your son or daughter to participate in a particular Life Lesson. If that should be the case, we ask that you follow a specific opt-out procedure that requires a written parent request at least a week prior to the class, specific objections as to why you do not want your son/daughter to participate, and student participation in an alternative assignment in grades 7-11.
•Students will be encouraged to continue discussion of these topics with parents and/or other trusted adults. At times, there may be assignments to encourage communication between students and their parents.
Source: Scherrer, D.L. and L.M. Klepacki. How to talk to your kids About Sexuality. Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004, p. 70.
Other social and health issues (e.g., drugs, alcohol, body image, eating disorders, suicide, depression) may be discussed in the context of sexual health and relationships as age appropriate.
1- Where and How Teens Get Advice on Talking About Sex. National Survey of Teens: Teens Talk about Dating, Intimacy, and Their Sexual Experiences. March 27, 1998. Kaiser Family Foundation . 7 March 2007.
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