Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Madison Gordon

Date: October 25th, 2022
Teacher: Ms. Lacroix
Capstone strand I have chosen is The project Strand
Proposed title for my project: For a Better Future (Version Sex Education)

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that connects
with a purpose, passion or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that you cannot just
google an answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:
How can sex education within secondary schools be changed, and adapted to better meet the needs of
students?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are
choosing to investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect to your
passion(s), purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

The past two years I have learned a significant amount about systems, whether it be education or
political systems. I have learned that unfortunately many of the systems within society and the
government are designed to make minority groups fail. Some of these minority groups include: ethnic,
racial, religious, sexual, and disability. This makes up most of the country’s population, meaning we are
setting up over half our population to fail or encounter challenges that others don’t. Personally, I
experience this issue first hand as a woman (although I hold a lot of privilege), and as a sister who has a
younger brother with a disability. The goal of my capstone was to make an actual difference, something
that could carry on in up and coming years. Right away I knew I wanted to make a change in the
education system, as I believe knowledge holds great power, and what better way to teach then in
schools. I am also extremely passionate about womans rights, and within that abortion rights. I believe
that every woman has the right to choose regardless of the situation. Therefore, it makes me angry to
see that just across the border womans rights are being taken away, our neighbors have a very different
reality then we do here in Canada. With this I want to change the Sex Education system, because in
order to stop abortions and prevent STI’s knowledge and recourses are the main and most effective
solution. Therefore, for my capstone I decided to Change or adapt the current Sex Education
curriculum, as well as create an effective way to present the information.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this area of

inquiry?

Prior to learning about this area of inquiry, I already knew a bit due to Social Justice, having
conversations with teachers, and from my own research, whether it be from news sights, the media, or
articles. Some of the information I already knew about this topic includes; there is a lack of sex
education, reasons why sex education is so important, sex education is not required past grade 10, the
risks of having unsafe abortions, what unsafe relationships can look like, and the difficulty of accessing

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 birth control if you don’t know how to. These are just some of the topics that I know about sex
education, and why we need to change it within schools.

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What connections does
this inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

As of right now I don’t have a specific career that I want to pursue, although I do want to complete a
degree in Sociology, and then get a masters or go to law school. I would like to go into some form of
public policy. Meaning I want to make changes in the systems or policies that are already created to
enforce more equality. I think this correlates with my capstone because I want to make a change in the
systems that do no benefit majority of the population. Therefore, by doing this as my capstone, I can get
experience in what I might do as a career in the future, and how I can help others.

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Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core competencies
will be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

Core Competencies
Personal Awareness & Responsibility
Strengths;
1. I am personally responsible, self-motivated, and can advocate for myself.
The past two years I have really learned what it means to advocate for myself, whether it means saying
no to something that I am uncomfortable with, expressing my needs, or simply using my voice to share
what I have to say. I have learned that I have to be the best advocate for myself, before I can be for
others. In addition, I am personally responsible and self-motivated. For example, as a high-level Track
and Field athlete I can take responsibility for the way I react after winning or losing a race, I am self-
motivated when it comes to continuing through difficult training periods, and I can have a professional
conversation with my coaches regarding what is and isn't working for me in training and competition.
2. I can set goals, regulate my emotions and persevere in difficult situations.
As a very organized person, setting goals, writing them on paper is one of the ways I can stay
motivated. Whether these goals be academic, financial, or athletic, I try to set them all. I also believe
that I am able to persevere through difficult situations, in both school, life and athletics. For example, I
have persevered through difficult challenges such as COVID, burnout, and when I don’t want to do a
school project because I am too tired. Lastly, I can regulate my emotions in the most necessary times,
but apart from that I do not believe emotions should be regulated. Emotions are meant to be felt, they
are the bodies was of distinguishing if something is wrong. Thus, the phrase, “regulating my emotions,”
is controversial because it suggests that emotions should be bottled up, and not talked about.
Weaknesses;
1. I understand learning takes patience and time.
This can be one of my weaknesses because I understand that learning can take patience and time, but
that doesn’t mean I am patient when I am learning new things. In fact, I can be very hard on myself, and
become frustrated that I am not getting it right away, even though the thing I am leaning is new. An
example of this is math, math is one of my weaker subjects, meaning it can take me a little bit more

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time to learn the unit or mat topic, despite knowing this I can become frustrated and forget that I need to
put time in practicing in order to improve this specific skill.
Social Responsibility
Strengths;
1. I value diversity, defend human rights, advocate for others, and act ethically in all my
interactions, including online.
This is one of my greatest strengths of all, because one of my strongest values is equality. Everyone
deserves to be treated equally no matter their race, sexual identity or preference, or religion. This past
year I have been able to take many socials classes where we talk about human rights issues. I have also
used my social media as a platform to spread knowledge about issues around the world.
2. I have positive peer and intergenerational relationships.
Although I have a small circle of friends and family, I am able to create positive peer and
intergenerational relationships. I can connect with people of all different ages, whether it be young
children, teens or adults. For example, while working at New Balance I connected with my co-workers
who range from ages 17-55, as well as customers I help who can have children who are much younger.
Weaknesses;
1. I am aware of my community and environment and work independently and collaboratively for
the benefit of others.
This is one of my strengths as well, but in the past, it has turned into a weakness because in many
situations I would rather work alone or with a small group. It is one of the ways I work best, now this
doesn’t mean I can’t work in a group setting but rather I would prefer not to. For example, when it
comes to a project at the end of a unit typically, I choose to work alone or with one other person,
instead of with a big group, even if it would benefit others to work in a bigger group.
Critical Thinking
Strengths;
1. I can explore and create new ways to represent my learning around a variety of problems,
events, issues, and needs.
I can show my different ways of learning and understanding through being creative and using different
platforms to show what I have learned. I am able to show my work through a variety of different things
such as; posters, power points, poems, writing a report, creating a collage, flow charts, and an
interactive presentation. In addition to this I am always open to new ideas and ways of showing my
learning.
2. I can assess my progress.
I can assess my progress through the goals I set because they can help measure how much closer I am to
my goal, and how far I have come. For example, I have kept some of my Favorite pieces of writing I
have done throughout high school and compared them to see how much progress I have made. I also
have a Track and Field book that has all my workouts and competition marks and measurements, which
can show my progress over a short or long period of time.
Weaknesses;
1. I can analyze and critique my work and my learning.

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Analyzing and critiquing my work and learning is a skill that I do too much. I am often hard on myself
and the work I produce, because I want it to be “perfect.” In the past I have re-done projects because
they are not up to my standards, or because one thing is off. I am working on being more patient with
myself and the work I produce because nothing is perfect. An example of this is last year at the end of
the semester I had to create a social justice action plan as my final project, which I ended up starting
over a few times, instead of just making improvements because I was hard on myself. In this moment I
had to remind myself that I will make mistakes, and the work I have produced shows strong
understanding of the overall course.
Creative Thinking
Strengths;
1. I can create new and unique ideas that may provide new perspectives that influence how people
think about topics.
I can create new ideas that may provide new perspectives when it comes to human rights issues, or
systems that should be changed. This year I plan to change the curriculum for sex education within
school systems. I believe there is a change that needs to be made, that the curriculum is outdated, and
therefore I am going to change it. I have also been able to have many powerful conversations with
teachers about different systems that need to be changed.
2. I can take my ideas, evaluate, develop, and refine them and make something productive out of
them.
This is one of my strengths because I take my ideas, evaluate, develop, and refine them when I create
track workouts for the younger athletes, I coach at my track club. At the beginning of the spring season,
I brainstorm what my goal is, and how the kids can improve, and then I try it out and evaluate if the
program I created worked, then lastly, I make changes based off how the kids respond both physically
and mentally.
Weaknesses;
1. I can persevere and understand that failure can be productive.
This skill has always been difficult for me because when I fail, I don’t feel like failure is productive,
sometimes it can even feel discouraging or disappointing. I am typically able to persevere through most
challenges, but when it comes to something I am not confident with or insecure about it becomes much
more difficult. For example, in a science class when I fail to get the right answer in front of the class, it
would take me a long time and a lot of courage for me to speak up in that particular class again, because
I am not as confident with myself in that setting.
Communication
Strengths;
1. I can listen, learn to contribute meaningfully to discussion and debate, consider different
perspectives, and build consensus.
Whether it be in the classroom, at practice, or in a social setting, I am able to listen and contribute to
discussion and debate. For example, in my social justice class I listened to other people's opinions and
ideas, and then I would share my opinion, and talk about what I think in a respectful manner.
2. I can reflect on the processes of learning and share what I have learned.
I recently completed the WAVE program where I volunteered at sunrise speech pathology for one year.
Part of the WAVE program was to reflect on my learning and write a journal every 7- 10 hours of
volunteering. Thus, everything that I had learned from the speech pathologists I wrote down physically,

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 which I then was able to share with my WAVE teacher in my exit interview. During my exit interview I
spoke about everything that I learned and the significance of it all.
Weaknesses;
1. I can work with other students to plan, inquire, and solve problems.
One of my weaknesses is that I don’t always enjoy group work, because in the past I have had negative
experiences with them. Therefore, because I have gotten used to working individually, I don’t want to
work with a group of peers as often. For example, if there is a final group project at school I will choose
to work alone or with one other person only.
Personal & Cultural Identity
Strengths;
1. I understand that culture is a broad concept that includes things like my geographic region,
nationality, sex/gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality, language, and religion.
This is one of my skills that I am still learning about, I have taken many social classes where we discuss
topics and issues such as these. Over the past two years I have fallen in love with the idea of studying
equality across gender, race, and religion, which is why I want to pursue a degree in sociology.
Sociology will help me further learn about these issues and see the world through a different lens.
2. I understand what is important to me.
My values have always been something that I hold close to my heart, I have always had a very clear
vision of what means the most to me. My mom has always told me it is important to know what you
value, and fight for what you love. Some of the things I love most in this world are; my family and
friends, having independence, being financially stable, equality, the outdoors, and love. These are just
some of the things that make up who I am, and that have an influence on my life.
Weaknesses;
1. I can define myself in terms of my relationship to others and to the world.
At first, I didn’t understand what this skill meant, but after thinking about it I realized that I don’t define
myself just in terms of my relationship to others and the world. I believe that one-person isn't defined
by only their relationships but by a series of things put together. I also believe that as I grow the things
that define me also change, thus although I know what is important to me, I don’t think I realize every
little thing that makes me who I am.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to present
your project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once completed. You
may use a combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o imovie presentation
o YouTube channel

The project itself will be a physical portfolio because I am re-creating the Sex Education curriculum, as
well as creating a resource board for the school regarding sex education. In addition I will be making a
document on how teachers and educators can better inform students or peers. My presentation will be

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 an electronic portfolio; a power point, where I will have headings, and provide physical copy's and
examples of my capstone.

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what will you
research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced at the end of this
project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your proposal.

Research/ Study/ Investigate

I will be researching the current sex education system, and studying how it can be changed. Meaning once
I understand the current curriculum and have analyzed it I will take what I learned and re-create it. For
example, my main idea is: How can sex education within secondary schools be changed, and adapted to
better meet the needs of students? I will also have a part two of my capstone, which will include studying
and researching what professionals think is the best way to present this information; this will be done
through interviews. Lastly, I will investigate how I can improve my capstone, as well as how I can bring
this vision to life in the future.

Create
For my capstone I decided to Change or adapt the current Sex Education curriculum, as well as create an
effective way to present the information, and a resource board for the school. Therefore, I will create a
physical copy of what I think the sex education curriculum should look like, in the same format as the one
currently. I will also create an education guide on how to best provide this information to students. This
will force me to ask questions such as; “Is it more effective for students to be taught sex education by
teachers or by nurses.” The guide will act as a tool for teachers to use, because the curriculum itself is very
generalized.

Produce/ What product will be produced at the end of this project for evaluation.
In the end I am hoping to produce three main things split up into two parts. For part one I want to
produce/ modify the sex education curriculum. For part two I want to create a resource board for
school, so that students can have access to help if they have questions or are in crisis. In addition to
the second part I will produce an efficient way to teach students about sex education, in a way that
benefits them. This will look like a guide book/ page.

Solve
By doing this for my capstone I am hoping to help solve or contribute to solving issues around sex
education, as well as bring more knowledge and awareness to the topic. Unfortunately, we live in a
world where nobody wants to talk about sex education because it is uncomfortable, We live in a
world where sex education is only mandatory until grade 10 even though the majority of sexually
active teens will be in grade 11 and 12. Adolescents should not be getting their information from; the
boys locker room, by girls being scared to walk home at night, or by boys seeing how their father
treats other woman. Thus, by enforcing this education students will be able to reduce teen pregnancy,
STI’s, sexual harassment and understand consent, healthy relationships, how to say no, sexual
identity, and so much more. I want to change our system, to enforce a better future.

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Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and skills you will
need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to access/learn all of the
resources necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail your plans.

-See the 1 page above for more information, as well as the very last question.
The resources I will need to use to complete my capstone are; P.E and Career teachers to interview,
both my mentors, the Foundry, Options Sexual Health, Fraser Health, and some local nurses. Each of
these I will interview and get new information about sex education and what could be changed. The
technology I will need is my laptop to create my project, and communicate with the individuals I am
working with. Below I have included a timeline or goals at which I want each task to be completed.
Therefore, my plan is to listen to those around me while sharing my opinion, and following my
timeline. By doing these three tasks, and having some patience and grit I will complete my capstone
project.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will you need

to help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you? What is your plan to
access the mentorship/community connections necessary for this project?

In order to complete this project I will need support from different places and people within the
community such as; teachers, nurses, Fraser Health, The foundry, and options for sexual health. Many
of these I will complete interviews with, to gain as much knowledge as possible to complete my
capstone. In addition, these individuals can give me insight on what they think should be changed.

My mentors ( Ms. Lapierre and Ms. Dhanoa ) will help me in a variety of ways, some of them include;
providing me with resources, me interviewing them, helping with ideas or editing interview questions.
My mentors will help me in many ways an I am extremely grateful to have such a great team to be
working with, my team includes; Ms. Lacroix, Ms. Lapierre, and Ms. Dhanoa.

In order to access the support I need I am going to simply explain what my goal is and ask. I will do this
by either asking through email or in person. I have learned over the years that many people are willing
to help you just have to be brave enough to put yourself on the line and ask, which is exactly what I am
going to do.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee that might
affect progress with your Capstone Project?

Some of the limitations that I could encounter are having a lack of knowledge, trying to change a
system that is in place by the government, and trying to change the current curriculum that has been in
place for years. As a student who wants to make a change I think I offer a different perspective, but I
also don’t have as much knowledge as others, which is why I will work with professionals and people
that have much more experience than I do.

Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about your
project that you feel should be included in your project proposal.

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 Set Project timeline: this is to ensure that I stay on track and get everything done in time.
Part 1:
- Create Questions for interviews by Nov 4th
- Finish Interviews by Dec 1st
- Re- create curriculum by Dec 31st
Part 2:

- Resource board by Jan 3rd

- New ways to present the curriculum

References:

Attach a REFERENCE LIST. Your list should be written using correct APA formatting. An
example is provided on page 21 of your Capstone booklet.

References

Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum. (n.d.). Grade 9 Curriculum Physical Education|

Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum. Retrieved October 5, 2022.

Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum. (n.d.). Grade 10 Curriculum Physical Education |

Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum. Retrieved October 5, 2022.

Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum. (n.d.). Grade 11/12 Curriculum Physical

Education| Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum. Retrieved October 10, 2022.

Gender and sexual identity in schools - Fraser Health Authority. (n.d.). Home - Fraser Health

Authority. Retrieved October 11, 2022.

Health Reports: Trends in teen sexual behaviour and condom use: Fingdings. (n.d.). Statistics

Canada: Canada’s National Statistical Agency / Statistique Canada : Organisme

Statistique National Du Canada. Retrieved October 11, 2022.

Leung, H., Shek, D., Leung, E., & Shek, E. (2019). Development of Contextually-relevant

Sexuality Education: Lessons from a Comprehensive Review of Adolescent Sexuality

Education Across Cultures. International journal of environmental research and public

health, 16(4), 621.

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