WA state debate over school sex education

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I put this under "current events".

They are currently trying to revamp the curriculum according to the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002085804_sexeducation09m.html

I am not a logical person, so while I know that this statement is "wrong", maybe someone could try and tell me why it is logically wrong with it (teens and cars/birth control)?

From the article:

Brian Cutler, a community-relations officer with Planned Parenthood, said abstinence-only sex education relies on scare tactics and the message of "Just don't do it." He equated that with giving a teenager a car to drive, but not teaching him or her where the brake or seat belts are. "We need education along with the disincentive to have early sex," he said.

What do your districts teach? Can you opt your children out of any of it?

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), November 09, 2004

Answers

Actually, maybe Mr. Cutler's statement on cars should be the impetus to raise the minum driving age to 18, not 15 as it is in many places? One could argue that teens driving places without adult supervision is a good deal of the problem with teen sex....

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), November 09, 2004.

This is why none of my children attended the public school system and my grandchildren will not either. If Catholic parents have their kids in Catholic schools, or home-school them, these kinds of issues become moot.

My oldest daughter and her husband recently relocated so that their child could attend a Catholic school. He started kindergarten this year. When they checked out the highly rated public school system in their area, they discovered a system of sex-education which began in the 1st grade, incorporating materials which taught that homosexuality was "just another type of family". Looking further into the curriculum, by the 6th grade, the children are introduced into "safe sex" as well as the concept of abstinence as "choices" they will have to make as adolescents. My grandson's parents made a better choice..a Catholic school where the focus is on education, their religion, and morality.

-- Lesley (martchas@hotmail.com), November 10, 2004.


Amen Leslie!

The NEA (National Education Association) is enforcing same-sex education in classrooms all across our country, particularly on our respective coasts!

My heart goes out to children in public schools. They are innundated with images of the scarcely-clad Brittany Spears parading across their T.V's and sending a very loud message. Then they go to school where gay sex is being taught as normative. But heck, we live in a country where Six Flags and DISNEY World have "gay pride" days slated on their 'liturgical' calendars.

Gail

-- Gail (Rothfarms@socket.net), November 10, 2004.


I wouldn't say that all districts are that bad--look at the recent articles on Yahoo about the Texas textbooks and this subject. Depends a lot on the makeup of the local school board.

And, like it or not, once children get out of the very protected environment of homeschooling or the somewhat protected (depending upon how many non-Catholics attend compared to Catholics--a lot of people see Catholic schools as cheap "prep schools", so you may have a bad element there too) environment of Catholic schools, they still need to know some basics, like maybe self-defense for a good swift kick in the family jewels if necessary....

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), November 10, 2004.


Children ought to be in a "protected environment"..they are innocents. There is nothing more pure than the heart of a child. Once lost,the innocence of childhood can never be regained. I am not concerned that any of my grandchildren will be socially or culturally deprived in any form by being "over protected" or sheltered in their very tender years from a public school environment.They are not permitted to watch television, nor do they attend day care centers. So far, they have not been exposed to vulgar language, nudity, violence or any of the "common" sights and sounds of mass media. Our family does not find that it necessarily follows that innocence in childhood=stupidity in adolescence. By the time all of our children were in the eight grade, they were well aware that all kinds of people walk the earth..but not because they had met them..but because we had taught them so. Children need not meet predators and perverts to be taught that they exist. Just as children need not experience the vulgar side of life in order to be better prepared to cope with it.

-- Lesley (martchas@hotmail.com), November 10, 2004.


Amen, Lesley! Wonderful post! All my grandchildren have been homeschooled. They know more than their public school peers about subjects they should know about; and far less about subjects which by mere exposure would compromise their innocence and poison their view of the world. The duty of parents is to educate and protect. Failing to place proper safeguards on the former is the commonest way of neglecting the latter. Innocent children have always learned more than they should know by associating at school or on the playground with children from families with lower standards. That was bad enough, but when I was raising my children, it was pretty much taken for granted and considered unavoidable. Now that school systems are officially mandating the presentation of perversion to the youngest and most impressionable minds, it has to be avoided, one way or another. My ten-year old grandson doesn't need to know how to put a condom on a broomstick. He does need to know how to respect girls and how to respect himself. He isn't going to learn that in any mandated public school sex ed class.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), November 10, 2004.

wow, paul m, you have grandchildren??? for some reason i always pictured you as being in your forties, or maybe even late thirties.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), November 10, 2004.

paul h, I was surprised too. I guess we can't trust our assumptions when online. I thought I remember Paul M. mentioning his kids once as if they were young, but I guess maybe I'm wrong.

-- Emily ("jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), November 11, 2004.

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