Professional Development

Consent is more than just asking before you touch someone. We can build a classroom culture in which students’ bodily autonomy is respected in every aspect of what we do. 

In this workshop, folks who work with young people will learn how to apply a consent culture framework to their own work. We will review best practices and practice applying them to various real-life scenarios.

All bodies deserve respect. However, our culture demonizes fatness, disability, and other body variations. How do you support young people in developing positive relationships with their own bodies in that context?

In this workshop, folks who work with young people will learn how to apply a body liberation framework to their own work. We will review best practices and practice applying them to various real-life scenarios.

Are you confused about the difference between sex, gender identity, gender expression, pronouns, and sexual orientation? Do you need support keeping up with the ever-changing language young people use to describe themselves? Do you want to learn more about supporting young people of all genders in being more authentically themselves and respecting each other?

In this workshop, we will review the above terms, and develop a deeper understanding of the intricacies of gender. We will review best practices with regard to youth and gender, and practice applying them to various real-life scenarios.

Young people are hearing lots of words and ideas that they might not totally understand – from “bathroom words” to news items about sexual harassment, from abortion laws to tiktoks about gender identity. When these topics and questions come up, how do you respond? 

In this training, we will use a step by step model for responding to difficult questions and situations with young people regarding sexuality, gender, and consent. We will discuss various scenarios and practice responding in ways that are supportive and consent-based.

What do you do when a student makes a comment rooted in misogyny, racism, transphobia, or anti-fatness? How do you address it directly without making the student feel ashamed of repeating what they’ve heard? How do you turn the moment into an opportunity for genuine learning and unlearning?

In this interactive discussion, participants will learn how to effectively address comments rooted in systems of oppression in loving, supportive ways that support learning and transformation. We will learn a framework for responding to these comments, and practice it using scenarios.

As teachers, we want to create positive, supportive environments for our students. We don’t want to yell or punish – so what can we do instead? This interactive workshop supports educators in responding to challenging behaviors from students. We will build a toolkit of proactive and responsive strategies for supporting learning with loud, rowdy, unfocused, or otherwise challenging groups in ways that are aligned with our anti-oppressive, consent-based values.

Education work can be liberatory, but only if we understand how to treat youth with respect and honor their autonomy. In this workshop, we will cover the basics of anti-oppressive and consent-based educational frameworks. We will review best practices, and practice applying them to various real-life scenarios.

How can healthcare providers build consent culture and respect patients’ bodily autonomy? In this workshop, participants will have opportunities to reflect on how consent played a role in their training (or didn’t) and how it shows up in their current practice. We will review best practices and practice applying them to various real-life scenarios.

The healthcare system has many structural inequities that prevent people from receiving the care they deserve. Anti-fatness in particular is very present throughout the healthcare system and has disastrous and dangerous effects on the lives of people in large bodies. In this workshop, folks who work within the healthcare system will challenge myths about fatness and health and learn how to apply a body liberation framework to their own work. We will review best practices and practice applying them to various real-life scenarios.

Trans and nonbinary folks often face major barriers to accessing safe and affirming healthcare. In this workshop, we will cover up-to-date gender language and best practices for gender-affirming healthcare. Participants will practice applying these practices to real-life scenarios and brainstorm how they can improve their own work to be more welcoming and effective for people of all genders.

What’s the right age to start having sex? How does an abortion work? Is it weird that I want bigger boobs? Why do I bleed?

All of these questions and more are regular occurrences in the sex ed classroom. We may feel uncomfortable when we hear certain questions, or feel unsure about how to respond supportively. In this interactive training, learn how to answer these questions – we will learn a step-by-step process for answering tough questions and have lots of time for practice.

Young people need information and skills regarding consent, bodies, gender, sexual orientation, pleasure, and more in order to thrive. But how do we teach these topics age-appropriately and engagingly for an elementary school audience?

In this interactive workshop, we will build skills and discuss techniques for teaching these topics for elementary school-aged children. Participants will practice using simple, age-appropriate language and designing play-based activities.

Young people (and all people) deserve to feel at home in their own bodies and to live in a world where all bodies are valued and have access to what they need to thrive. Incorporating the body liberation framework into our work lays the building blocks for students to begin to see bodies differently and help to build a culture of body liberation in their own communities.

In this interactive workshop, participants will gain a deeper understanding of body liberation and learn concrete practices for implementing it into various aspects of our work

Normative and damaging messages about bodies and health have always been entrenched in health education. In this workshop, we will introduce body liberation and fat liberation best practices and skills, as well as proactive and responsive strategies for building a culture of fat liberation into our sex ed practice. Participants will generate ideas for incorporating fat liberation into their existing lessons and will practice responding to real-life scenarios. Through liberatory sex ed, we can co-create a world where all people with all bodies see themselves as good and whole.

Sex ed can come with big challenges – unfortunately, sometimes one of the biggest challenges comes in the form of other adults in the room. They might not support sex ed, or overshare, or voice values misaligned with the curriculum you’re teaching. They may be harsh with students for laughing at the word ‘penis’ when you’re trying to encourage a playful, open environment.

At YES!, we’ve been working on how to share our approach and values with other adults who may be in the room during our sex ed workshops. We want to invite them to participate in helpful ways, set boundaries about certain comments, and figure out how to talk to students when their different teachers have very different perspectives.

In this interactive training, we will discuss difficult situations we have experienced and work together to brainstorm strategies for setting boundaries and communicating clearly about our goals and expectations for other adults.

In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of reproductive justice, and the details of how abortions work (both in-clinic and medication). They will also discuss strategies for talking about these topics with young people.