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Measure offers 2 sex-ed options
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Why are people so afraid of education? The Eagle Forum is completely out of touch with daily reality.
And to Sacred Manner??, We aren't afraid of education. We would just like the information to be given in the context of our values.
Good luck to you.
Why do you think that?
Abstinence is the number one prevention above all others.
Sorry about that. Its true.
I agree with Anon 7:22, It's not the place of schools to teach "values" It's a schools job to teach... teach your children values at home.
Give children information and let *them* decide what they "value"... Shocking I know, but they may not have the same Political/ religious/ moral values as mom and dad, and denying them information is just the parents way of forcing them to conform.
Is it too much to ask that Utah also offer a choice in math too? Can those of us who would like to see a return to the "old" days when math had more substance have a choice too?
Such as focusing on arithmetic basics in elementary, along with the problem solving that Singapore Math offers,
And in junior high and high school, a return to math that is up to the standards of the mid 1980's and prior before math was made more "relevant"?
This is the solution I proposed on the 5/21/09 Deseret News article "Lawmaker debates sex ed with teens", and again on the 6/5/09 article "Sex education, math under scrutiny: Lawmakers to discuss controversial issue" comments. Parents are required to give consent to teach birth-control, and this makes it easy.
Studies show that the average age of first sexual experience among teenagers, and the frequency afterwards, is hardly different in those European countries and in the U.S. (or rather earlier in the U.S.) But teenage pregnancy is about 8 times higher in the U.S. than in those European countries. Education makes all the difference. Not informing our young people is almost a crime.
At home, we teach our kids abstinence first, but we also teach them about contraception without showing them explicit photos and videos. We also teach them about alternative lifestyles without teaching them that those are perfectly acceptable and normal. That is a value judgment, I know, and one which not everyone here will agree with. But to me that crosses the line between giving kids information and teaching values.
So far, my kids have not experienced any backlash or stigma for taking the alternative classes, and my kids are very much in the minority.
Frankly, in this area our kids deal with gang violence, kids attacking teachers, knife fights at football games, etc, so which health class a kid takes doesn't really register on anyone's radar.
"We're in a whole new world," he said.
This actually made me laugh! thanks Des news! Silly Utah...
so can you please kindly explain why free birth control from Planned Parenthood, or easily, anonymously obtained birth control from other sources doesn't work either??????
if kids want to have sex, guess they are going to.
but all the freedom and birth control and teaching of things other than abstinence in the world seems like it can't halt the flow (make that flood) of unwanted pregnancies, abortions, unwed mothers and STD's.
and not just in utah, and their so called closed minds to the real world.
its not a money issue (free birth control) and it isn't a parents-have-to-know issue.
its not an information issue(any LDS teen can tell you how to protect against pregnancy and STD's--or can look it up and figure it out on the internet)
i guess that only leaves that its a stupid issue.
or a blatant choice issue.
1. Kids are naturally shy about talking about sex with members of the opposite sex.
2. They are afraid their parents might find out.
3. They fear pregnancy and disease.
4. They fear the shame that comes when people discover what they have done.
Getting boys and girls together to talk about sex in the same room over comes the shyness.
Planned Parenthood has worked to make it illegal for medical or school officials to tell the parents.
Free contriception and treatment for disease, and easy abortion access has eliminated fear of disease and pregnancy.
Social norms have eliminated any social stigma.
If one were to deliberately set out to see how many children you could get involved with self destructive behavior they would devise something just like today's sex education program.
How about a little morality education?
That is a biggee. I bet a number of teens THINK they were practicing abstinence, because they are misinformed. They are fuzzy about where "the line" is. They think "well if I don't do this or that, its not sex", but are later surprised to find themselves pregnant.
I am, however, still offended every time I hear someone stupidly assume "Kids are going to be sexually active." I made it to marriage without being sexually active and I know several other people who have managed to do the same; just because you or your kids don't have the discipline, please don't assume that means that I must not either.
Oh, and just because "it's a health issue," doesn't mean "it's not a moral issue anymore." The two have always been applicable when it comes to sexuality; nothing's changed for teen sex being either a moral or a health concern.
So...What corrolations can we draw here and what solutions can we suggest other than the agenda driven ones we seem to be getting?
I suspect that the issue lies more in the realm of social/environmental causations (Single parent households, poverty, societal permissiveness, etc...)than in sex-ed programs. (Some yahoo will flame me writing that we can't ignore sex-ed education...
Suggestion...re-read the post)
We, as a society are very active in tearing down social mores and then wondering why the benifits of those mores are gone...
I believe that this issue is a symptom of a much larger issue in our society.
Another thing, I had heard over and over that the rate of teenage pregnancy in Utah was high. It ends up that the number of out of wedlock births was one fourth the national average. It isn't the exact statistic but there is a relationship there.
I guess that it is OK to teach about contraception and STDs, but they need to talk about morality. They need to say that if you mess around with the power to give life in a context where you are not ready to deal with the life that is conceived that it might come back and bite you hard.
Tekakaromatagi
thank you miss Christiansen. It's Thursday morning and I REALLY needed some good humor, and you certainly provided that. In fact, my side hurts from laughing so hard. "Satanism"?? now that is funny. Thank you so much. The religious zealots never fail to amuse.
It figures you would think the word "education" is a dangerous word. And the fact that you think "sex" is a dangerous word shows just how messed up your children will be when they grow up. You are EXACTLY the type of parent that practically forces their child to rebel, and then you wonder why it happened and what you did wrong...
you probably lock them in the closet and make them pray 8 hrs a day and then wonder why they're all messed up...
Facts Taught in School
Questions answered by Parents
I am in favor of this plan - We need to get with it if proper education is not provided - the kids will find out in other ways.
The Eagle Forum just drives me nuts reminds me of the Judges at the Witch Trials in Salem 300 Years Ago
I thought that was the job of you and your "only true church"? what happened with that?
you all put them in your church and spend hours upon hours teaching them your brand of morality. If that's not enough, then you are out of luck.
perhaps if you change your curriculum you will get better results...
That's the whole point of teaching the alternatives: there will always be a few children that opt out of abstinence, even in UT. And they need to be prepared to act as responsibly as possible if they choose to not abstain. I certainly want the options known. Why are people so afraid of having the options known? What's there to fear?
Please don't pass this bill.
Same with drugs, I teach my kids to do drugs safely and responsibly, because they just don't have the self control and good sense to stay away from them completely.
After all, we humans are just animals and slaves to our impulses. It's just on reasonable to expect people to exercise any self control or delay of gratification. We have a biological mandate do just do what feels good that must be obeyed!
Whether or not abstinence education works, isn't an important issue to me. The issue is whether the reason behind it based upon science backed up by generally accepted peer reviewed research or is it based upon religious indoctrination? If not based upon science, it should not be in public schools. Morality and concepts of "sin", etc. are best left to churches, families and religious schools.
What are children need is to be taught proper principles, values. They need to be taught these by their parents who love them more than any teacher can.
these are mormon kids. you REALLY think they will tell you if they had sex?
just another fantasy in fantasy land... when will you people actually open your eyes?
People need to teach values at home. My parents did. I learned values at church too. I also learned about sex ed from the time I was in 4th grade all the way through 12th (glad I wasn't in the state of Utah or I wouldn't know anything).
Just because I learned about contraception didn't give me a reason to go out there and go against all of my beliefs and my morals. If you raise your kids to think for themselves, they won't be so impressionable, but they will be knowledgeable.
What babies.
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