A teacher can successfully teach abstinence until marriage education by:

1) Using the directive teaching model. Remember that abstinence until marriage can be an effective behavioral objective!

2) Teaching risk elimination.

3) Reminding your class that most students are not sexually active.

4) Remembering that the most effective lesson is taught by role modeling behavior.

5) Encouraging sexually active students to begin over with secondary virginity.

6) Differentiating between consensual sexual activity and unwilling sexual abuse.

7) Encouraging parental involvement as primary sex educators of their children.

8) Including “marriage” as the appropriate place for sexual activity in classroom discussion.

9) Sharing the fact that actions have consequences.

10) Teaching the risks associated with condoms and contraceptives, rather than tacitly encouraging their use by instructing students on their usage.

11) Using medically accurate terminology, rather than slang terms.

12) Teaching the required topics as detailed in Ohio Law.

13) Being age appropriate in all conversation.

14) Protecting the modesty of those who are not ‘street smart’.

15) Discerning which questions should be answered in class and which should be discussed in private.

16) Remembering that exceptions should never be treated as the norm.

17) Refusing to discriminate against “at risk” students by teaching a lower standard for their behavior.