UUA: OWL:

Our Whole Lives

Praise

Comprehensive, Sensitive and Thoughtful...

Professional sexuality educators working in both secular settings and faith communities have been waiting for this resource for years. Our Whole Lives is truly the most comprehensive, sensitive, and thoughtful curriculum available, promoting sexual health and responsibility in a positive way.

--Barbara Kemp Huberman, Director of Sexuality Education and Training, Advocates for Youth

Promotes Compassion and Responsibility...

As a scholar and activist in the field of child welfare, and as a parent of a teenager who has participated in the program, I deeply appreciate the wisdom imparted by Our Whole Lives. Our Whole Lives transmits a great deal of valuable information, but more importantly, it promotes compassion and responsibility. As my 15-year-old told me, "Our Whole Lives does much more than teach us plumbing, Mom. It helps us to know what we should do in a difficult situation."

--Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Chair, National Parenting Association

Puts Children and Families First...

Finally, a responsible curriculum that puts the needs of children, teens and their families first. Our Whole Lives is comprehensive—meaning that it addresses all the questions children and teens have no matter what their age—paving the way for our youth to grow up to be healthy, caring, connected, and productive adults.

--Robie H. Harris, author, It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health and It's So Amazing! A Book About Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families.

Values-Based and Values-Aware...

It is wonderful to see a values-based and values-aware curriculum that handles sexuality with such sensitivity and respect. Our Whole Lives is a masterwork of sexuality education.

--Donald A. Dyson, MSS, LSW, Director of Education & Training, Planned Parenthood of Delaware

Comprehensive and Teacher-Friendly...

The Our Whole Lives curriculum guide is extremely well written and easy for professional educators to use. The program handles a variety of issues that are absent from many sexuality education programs—sexual orientation, body image, sexuality throughout the life-cycle—in creative and engaging ways. Most importantly, the program ensures that young people not only get the information they need but that they get the skills practice that evaluations show is critical to ensuring healthy choices and behaviors.

--Leslie M. Kantor, MPH, Vice President of Education, Planned Parenthood of New York City

Principles Woven Into the Fabric...

Our Unitarian Universalist Purposes and Principles are woven into the fabric of Our Whole Lives. They take on new meaning as they become the basis for decisions and taking actions.

--Chris Nelson and Holly Van Goor, Our Whole Lives for Grades 7-9 facilitators,
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, Bethesda, MD

Opens Lines of Communication Between Parents and Kids...

The most important part of the Our Whole Lives for Grades 4-6 curriculum was that it opened lines of communication between parents and young people. Parents of children in this age group sometimes need help in raising sexuality issues with their children. Not only were the children themselves eager to talk about the issues with their parents, they were able to 'check out' information they had received from peers or the media."

--Gail Forsythe-Vail, Director of Religious Education,
North Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, North Andover, MA

Our Whole Lives for Grades K-1 created a lot of good conversation in our home. The books I brought home for my kindergartner were seen and read by my ten-year-old, and we all had a healthy, constructive talk about sexuality.

--parent, Our Whole Lives for Grades K-l field test

Empowering, Challenging, and Community Building...

I feel more empowered as a result of participating in Our Whole Lives for Adults. This class gave thoughtful focus and clarity to a number of issues. Our group, familiar to each other for years via a variety of church committees and church events, has definitely bonded.

--participant, Our Whole Lives for Adults field test

"Teaching Our Whole Lives for Grades 7-9 was a powerful experience that challenged my sexual values to my inner core. It was a most enlightening experience, allowing me to witness young people as they grow through the struggles within themselves, their bodies, and their values about sexuality."

--Volker Thomas, Our Whole Lives for Grades 7-9 facilitator,
Unitarian Universalist Church of Lafayette, IN

"Our Whole Lives for Grades 10-12 was an incredible experience for all who participated. The youth were grateful to be treated as maturing young adults and not children who must be sheltered. For many it was the first time they had had such an experience. They felt respected and incredibly supported that a church would provide a safe space and safe adults to talk about the importance and beauty of their sexuality. Having an opportunity to be honest, open, and even emotionally vulnerable was something they cherished. Bonds were made, understanding occurred, and lives were positively touched. Youth and adults alike were brought closer to an understanding of the gift of our sexuality and responsibilities toward our community and ourselves."

--Cheri Britton, Our Whole Lives for Grades 10-12 facilitator,
Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville, NC

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100