If you get your news from the internet or watch Fox News, you know about the controversial sex education program proposed by the Helena, Montana school board. I tried to find a story about it on CNN but could not find one...interesting.
For those of you who have not heard the proposal, there are several topics that have raised the ire of many of Helena's citizens. First is the idea of teaching kindergarten students correct names for body parts, such as penis, vagina, nipples, testicles, etc. Second on the hit list is teaching fifth graders about sexual intercourse, including vaginal, oral, and anal. And the third item on the school agenda is teaching erotic art to high school students. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100714/ap_on_re_us/us_montana_sex_education
What the heck are they thinking?
It is one more example of government (aka: schools) usurping parents rights. If a parent wants to call their son's penis a pee-pee or a tallywacker, then they have the right to make that decision. If their daughter comes home from school in first grade and wants to know why a classmate has two mommies and no daddy, it should be up to the parents to discuss it with her--not the school.
When I was in school, in fifth or sixth grade we had to watch "the movie." Girls watched it together and then the boys watched it. Part of health class, it taught basic sexual anatomy. It was just the scientific data--nothing added. The schools did not see it as their place to teach about how and when to have sex. It did not teach all the different forms of sexual activity.
Almost fifty years later, it is still not their place. What to share and when to share it with their kids are parental decisions. No government entity should interfere with any of the basic tenets of parenting, including something as important as sex education. We have a recent example in which a school encouraged a pregnant teen to not tell her parents about the pregnancy. If she would not tell them, the school offered to make arrangements and provide transportation for an abortion. I have already written about this in an earlier post, but it still enrages me that the school would actively encourage the child not to confide in her parents during this difficult time.
These are moral and ethical decisions that should be family-based. We, as parents, have to rebel against outrages such as these. In the next election, fire all those school board members and replace them with people who will not trample on parents rights. The parents who showed up to speak against this proposal were heard. Hopefully when the board meets next month, there is a chance that the plan will be altered.
Good job, Montana parents, for standing up for your rights! I am rooting for you.
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2 comments:
The scary part is that kids are starting to have sex younger than ever. I'm okay with having anatomy lessons early on and explanations regarding what's considered sex in late elementary, but not graphically. What I think that's missing so much in sex education is engaging students in discussion. They have no idea the emotional toll their physical relationships can have and they need to be encouraged to set their limits BEFORE they get into those physical situations. Our school district has two choices of study: Abstinence based and sex ed that includes birth control options. Parents choose. It seems to be going very well.
Good comment. I agree that we need to be talking to younger and younger kids about sex. I just think it should be the parents rather than the school. It is a hard topic to discuss with your kids, but these days it means the difference between life and death. We can also, in younger kids, limit what they see on the screen, what they wear, and cell phone/computer usage. I like that your school system seems to be working with the parents do develop a curriculum that meets everyone's needs. Thanks for the posting.
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