[Source: Education Week]

Twice a month, 8th grade English teacher Stephany Copeland hosts what she calls a “gender assembly” for the 55 girls she teaches at the KIPP Rise Academy in Newark, N.J. They’re usually oriented around things that the girls want to talk about, and given their age, that often means the power dynamics between boys and girls.

“Little things will happen—a boy will take a picture of a girl after school, and she will say, ‘Delete that,’ and he’ll refuse, so we do things like address that,” Copeland said.

One of her most recent sessions focused on the lesson that it’s not OK for boys to grab or touch girls without asking—even if they mean it affectionately, or if they’ve gone out once or twice.

Copeland’s work predates the #MeToo movement, but her focus on relationships and consent, many advocates say, is uncommon: Both topics are frequently missing from whatever health or sex education U.S. students receive.

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