Puberty Superstars

Today I taught a class on puberty and adolescence to a group on eighth graders, some of whom were my students last year. I apologized for the repetition; however, when they could only name “getting taller” and “more hair” as the changes pubescent teens experience, I felt less guilty for covering the subject a second time.

So we talked about body hair, wet dreams, and Justin Bieber as a case of voice changes (he can no longer sing the high notes of “Baby” in the original key, and also proving that the teen idol is universal). When we got to menstruation, we ran out of time. “Until next week, you guys!” I said.

That’s when Jonathan, one of my favorite students remarked, “Aww. You were just about to get to the good part with the necklace.”


My mouth dropped open. “You remembered that?” And suddenly breaking away from the Spanish, I exclaimed, “YES!!!” with the fist pump of a World Series pitcher who strikes out the side. They remembered the necklace (collar) with the 28 days of the menstrual cycle (also used for family planning in the rhythm method). Some of this teaching sticks!

Seño Katalina walked home happy today.