Wellbeing – Talking about pornography with Matt Friedman

The world is rapidly changing, and classrooms today look very different from how they did only a generation ago. The Information and Communication Technologies available in this day and age have opened up a wealth of shared knowledge that was not readily available before. This has clear benefits for the students of the 21^st century, but there is a flipside. Not everything on the Internet is age appropriate.

Pornography is not a new concept, but the proliferation of pornographic content easily accessible through this platform is having a negative influence on the youth of today. Pornography is responsible for developing an unrealistic understanding of sex and sexuality in young people, while the increasingly coercive sexual behaviours depicted in much of the online content are normalising sexual violence.

Experts suggest age-appropriate education that delves more deeply than the simple mechanics of sex is an important tool to help young people understand and resist this dark side of pornography. Open and frank conversations with their parents are another important aspect for helping adolescents to make informed sexual decisions.

Matthew Friedman, an alumnus of Emanuel School, developed an interest on the impact of pornography on young people through his tertiary studies. He developed a presentation called XXXposed: Taking a second look at pornography, aimed at students in Year 10, which he describes as a talk he wishes he could have heard at that age. This week he addressed groups of boys and girls to discuss the misrepresentations of sexual behaviour prevalent in pornography, and the harm they have the potential to cause. Small groups of students, in a safe and supportive environment, were able to initiate conversations about cultural issues relating to pornography such as body image, gender roles, ‘sexpectations’ and neuroscience.

Matthew’s friendly and relaxed approach helped students feel comfortable and able to contribute to candid discussions about topics that are normally taboo for students in a school environment.

Further information can be found at https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/2016/05/04/children-and-young-peoples-exposure-pornography

Supervising teacher testimonial:

I found Matt’s presentation at times quite confronting and uplifting but at all times captivating. Matt created a safe, open forum where students felt comfortable to ask such frank questions that they wouldn’t have otherwise.

Wellbeing – Taking about risk with Brent Sanders 

This week the School welcomed Brent Sanders to talk to all Years 9-12 students about peer pressure, decision making, self-discipline, respect, motivation, date rape, aggression versus assertion, and legal definitions of actions and consequences. Brent brought a wealth of knowledge, experience and real life stories to highlight the potential dangers related with risk-taking behaviours. Coming from a distinguished career in the Police Force, Brent drew from past experiences to caution the students about potentially harmful situations that they could encounter.

I enjoyed learning about the many different rules and restrictions around the law and found it interesting when he spoke about different scenarios that he has experienced as a Police Officer.

Brent’s presentation to the young men at Emanuel included detailed discussions on all aspects of sexual crime. They talked at length about the key factors behind poor decision-making, including alcohol, peer pressure and fear of losing face in front of mates. 

It was interesting to learn about the difference between legal definitions and the definitions that people perceive.

Brent’s focus when presenting to the young women at Emanuel was highlighting strategies that work and those that are not effective in de-escalating a potentially volatile situation. He also spoke about the increased risks a girl faces when leaving a party with someone she thinks she knows.

I found the strategies he told us about really interesting and worthwhile. Learning about things that we can actually use, I think, is the most important and interesting information that we could possible receive.