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 we improve sexual health education within secondary schools and make it more inclusive and
accessible?

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 people with disabilities. 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 I want to shed light onto how Sex
Education is within schools and how we can improve it overall.

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
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 master's in public policy or go to law school. I would like to go into
some form of public policy, as a main career. 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.

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
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.
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,
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 creating a resource board for the school, as
well as a lesson plan for teachers, ensuring that the school as a whole is on the same page. This will
also help give the school ideas on how to better help teachers, and teachers a better understanding on
how to help students.
My presentation will be an electronic portfolio; a power point, where I will have headings, and provide
physical copy's and examples of my capstone to the audience.

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 and analyzing the current sex education system, and how sexual health education
is demonstrated in schools, this will be done through my annotated bibliography and teacher
interviews. I will be interviewing teachers and creating a student survey to identify what needs to be
changed to better fit the needs of students. I will also be finding resources around the community, to
help create my resource board, to give students some more support. 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 have decided to create a resource board in the school’s counselors office, to help
better support the needs of students. Meaning that if someone is in crisis or needs help, the board
will be able to provide places in the community for students to access help. The concept of the
board is to help students when they have questions or are struggling with something regarding
sexual health, because not every individual in the school has access to a healthy adult that they feel
comfortable enough to ask questions. I will also be creating a lesson plan for teachers to use,
unifying what is taught in sex education, ensuring that every student is informed will all the right
information. After changing my capstone product I came to the realization that because the
curriculum is generalized and technically it does check off all the boxes, it would be too
challenging for me to change the whole system considering I am only a high school student who
has a few months to complete this. Therefore, in order to simplify things I am going to create a
lesson plan for teachers in the school to use.

Produce/ What product will be produced at the end of this project for evaluation.

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 bringing awareness and
inclusivity into sex education, as well as understanding. 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 start by changing the system, to enforce a better future.

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. I will
interview teachers and get new information about sex education and what could be changed, or where
there is a lack of understanding. 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 hopefully collect resources from to help create my resource board. In addition, the
teachers I interview can give me insight on what they think should be changed, and their own
experiences.
My mentors ( Ms. Lapierre and Ms. Dhanoa ) will help me in a variety of ways, some of them include;
providing me with resources, helping me overcome challenges, and helping with ideas or editing my
final product. My mentors will help me in many ways and 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 make a small change the current sexual health
education system 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 teachers that have much more experience than I do. I think another
challenge will be time, some people spend their whole lives doing something like this, where I am only
spending a few months on it.

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

Set Project timeline: this is to ensure that I stay on track and get everything done in time, especially
after making some changes to my overall capstone.
Part 1: Compleated
-Create Questions for interviews by Nov 4th
-Finish Interviews by Dec 1st
Part 2:

-Resource board by Jan 3rd

 -Create a lesson plan for the school to use, ensuring that every student gets the same education that is
inclusive and effective.

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.