Comments about ‘Utah's sex education should be changed with care, if at all’

Rod's statistics are right on in this article. Utah does do a much better job than the rest of the country. The home does have the most influence. The home and school should validate the same message that kids are expected to be abstinent. Statistic about Latino youths should be carefully addressed. I do think Rod misunderstands what the legislation was designed to do. The new wording for curriculum was purposely taken right out of our current curriculum objectives so it supports what is already taught. Our curriculum does emphasize abstinence but it still includes a curriculum objective that talks about contraception but teachers are afraid of teaching it because they are afraid that if they talk about it in a general sense, they are promoting it. The bill sponsor has worked closely with USOE to address this problem. This bill merely clarifies how contraception can be discussed - that health authorities recommend the use of contraception to reduce the risk but it has serious limitations. Our current curriculum does not mention limitations. It still prohibits advocacy of sex outside of marriage. The best thing this bill does is to require involvement by parents in the sex ed unit.

Thanks Rod, you have long since been my favorite broadcast journalist, local or national.

The way we are teaching sex education now, abstence only, is proven not to work.

Perhaps there is no way that will work. Or perhaps a comprehensive approach would work for us.

If there is no way that does work sex education should not be taught. The time would be better spent doing things which do lead to positive outcomes. In this day of scarse money, we should not spend money where there is no return.

Let's keep our kids as ignorant as possible--that way they will continue to vote for Republicans.

Well, ignorance, your name fits, because you obviously did not read the article. If the Utah approach means that our teenage girls have half the odds of getting pregnant than the rest of the country, I am sold on that approach.

If you want to teach your daughter how to use a condom and help her get on the pill so she can have safe sex as a 13 year-old, you go right ahead. Good luck with that.

I, for one, will do everything I can to protect my 14 year-old daughter from having sex before marriage, including agreeing with Utah's approach to sex education.

Thanks for the truth, Mr. Decker.

Mr. Decker lists the following: Utah has only 40 of every 1,000 girls becoming pregnant compared to 75 of every 1,000 in the rest of America, Utah has a syphilis rate 1/10th as high as the rest of America, a gonorrhea rate 1/6th as high as the rest of America, and a Chlamydia rate 60% (or 40% less) compared to the rest of America.

I am from a small town in southern Utah, I know of a family who has had 3 sons get their girlfriends pregnant. The parents might want to have had a talk with their kids after the first son got his girlfriend pregnant, definitely should have had a talk with their kids after the second son got his girlfriend pregnant, and have room to complain and should not be left to do nothing after the third son got his girlfriend pregnant.

I say that until the pregnancy rate, syphilis rate, gonorrhea rate, and Chlamydia rate is 0 we are not doing enough. Mandatory comprehensive sex education is a must especially with parents and/or guardians who are unable or unwilling to teach sex education at home.

You wrote:

"I say that until the pregnancy rate, syphilis rate, gonorrhea rate, and Chlamydia rate is 0 we are not doing enough. Mandatory comprehensive sex education is a must especially with parents and/or guardians who are unable or unwilling to teach sex education at home."

I agree, but obviously the approach in other states is not working as well as ours here, so what do you suggest we do differently?

I think Rod's point is that our rates are much lower than most everyone else, so unless we can improve our curriculum in a way that hasn't been tried, then there's no need to change it, and we definitely shouldn't add "comprehensive" sex ed because it's not working elsewhere.

the problem is that in order to get your children to stay on the path of abstinence, you have to tell them all kinds of stories and "put the fear of God into them". it's just a little too temperance league for me.

somehow you have to show them the impact of having children at a young age. The problem is that the mormon culture promotes large families, so the kids figure if they start young then thwey are following the religion. maybe if you all didn't pump out so many kids they wouldn't think that way...

i agree, it should be and is needed to be taught. kids needed to know what they are getting themselves into or they are just going to try it outta curiosity!