In States Where "Gun Ed" Is Prevalent, Comprehensive Sex Ed Is Nowhere to Be Found

[marmar]

AlterNet / By Lisa Russ

In States Where "Gun Ed" Is Prevalent, Comprehensive Sex Ed Is Nowhere to Be Found
Genitals, unlike guns, are in 100% of households. Why not use the same approach -- that knowledge is power -- and give our kids straight forward, age appropriate information?

August 6, 2010 |


Seems to me that simple, clear communication works best, even with young kids. When there is a threat or an opportunity I let my kids know in plain and simple terms. No running with scissors. Walk carefully near the edge of a pool. Put the matches down. So far this plain-talking strategy has kept ER visits to a minimum and led to a relatively peaceful life with 2 pre-schoolers.

Judging from the turbulence caused by a sex ed curriculum under consideration by the School Board in Helena, MT, there are people who disagree. According to Fox News, some local parents are in a tizzy about their kindergartners learning the actual words for their body parts, including those covered by their bathing suits. When we as parents want to communicate important information to our kids (or hear important information from them), why wouldn’t we use the right words? Their objections to the curriculum go on from there, but it seems grounded in the same basic fear of information.

The data, as usual, supports a reasonable approach. Teens who have accurate information, resources and support around their bodies and sexuality are better armed to make the daily decisions that affect their well-being both now and into the future. According to recent research, the average age for first-time sex for white Evangelical Protestants is 16, among the earliest average age for any group. They are also the least likely of any group of teens to use contraception, and the most likely to have been given abstinence-only sex ed, which I guess avoids using actual names for body parts until pretty late in the game.

This from the Dallas Observer last year:

In "Just Say Don't Know: Sexuality Education in Texas Public Schools," researchers David Wiley and Kelly Wilson of Texas State University took a comprehensive look at how sexuality is taught in Texas public schools. The short answer: It isn't really. Kids are, however, being taught: A) sex will KILL YOU DEAD RIGHT NOW; B) only depressive, suicidal, loser slut bunnies ever have sex outside of marriage; and C) condoms kill more people than handguns.

Despite the fact that Texas ranks third in the rate of teen pregnancies and that its students are more sexually active and that they have more sex partners than the average U.S. student, sex ed here is nearly exclusively devoted to abstinence education, often with a religious bent. Information about contraception, disease prevention and STD testing is most often scarce or, worse, wildly inaccurate.

Like Texas, many of the same States that resist comprehensive sex ed are the same places that pride themselves on loose laws for gun ownership. Gun-rights advocates maintain that straight-forward education, not regulation and licensing, is the best way to keep kids safe. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/147762/in_states_where_%22gun_ed%22_is_prevalent%2C_comprehensive_sex_ed_is_nowhere_to_be_found/

[xchrom]

1. Oy - the jokes write themselves. Nt

[postulater]

2. "condoms kill more people than handguns"

:rofl: