For all teenagers in my school: WTF?!

[AmandaRuth]

Okay, so today I got an early call from a friend of mine. She was telling me how my school district might ban sex-ed because some parents are offended that their kids are being taught about sex. I then went on about how Dubya banned sex-ed from Texas schools and now Texas has the highest rate of teen aged pregnancy.

Sex-ed may be offensive to some people
*COUGHNEOCONSCOUGHCOUGH*, but it is a fact of life. If teens (Of both genders) don't know about sex then they will get (Or get someone else) pregnant because their parents won't talk to them about it. My bus drops off kids at the high-school before going to middle school, there's a few girls that aren't on my bus that I can see walking to school with baby strollers and carriers. Do you think that they would've had that baby if their parents talked to them about sex?

I mean, parents don't even have to talk about sex with their kid. That's what sex-ed teachers are for, and other parents. Heck, there's even a class somewhere that will teach parents how to talk about stuff like this.

It's times like this I wanna move to Europe where sex is a fact of life, not some taboo that no one will talk about. It's like, you're child will know about stuff like this before their 10. Face it. I did (Don't ask.), but I took it in stride. You had a kid, it's the 'Where do babies come from?' thing.

I'm not the brightest bulb in the fixture, but I know stuff. However, my friends who are sensitive about stuff like that, are all for sex-ed being removed because 'I think it's gross.' 'And I won't catch HIV.' things are floating around their heads. And their parents seem to think 'Take away birth-control and they won't have sex' thing is true.

Ignorance is such a bliss.

A very ticked off (and almost 13 years old) Miniluvamericahatebush

[shoelace414]

1. If you don't tell teens about sex

they won't have sex.


DUH!

[nostamj]

6. or, as they say in jewish households....

Ignorance is bris...

[WLKjr]

11. Then how do you explain this to your teenager then

"Mom, Dad, I think there is something wrong with me. I wake up in the morning and my wee wee is like a stick and it won't go away, why?"

Just curious, lol I watched my little brother, (youngest of the two) ask my grandpa that one morning and I laughed my ass off. He sat him down and had that little 'talk' after that.

[shoelace414]

12. it doesn't.

unless someone tells them about sex, that doesn't happen.

[Bridget Burke]

2. It's possible to let kids opt out (because of their parents, of course)

That's too bad for the affected kids, but at least it doesn't keep everybody in the dark.

[LiberalVoice]

3. Great post!

:hug:

[liontamer]

4. you are very right

My mother used to run WIC (a government program to feed children) in middle tennessee. She saw so many 12 year old pregnant children that when I was 11 she constantly supplied me with condoms. It was embarrassing and I was grossed out, but at least I had an understanding of birth control and access to it.

So I never got pregnant, never caught STDs, and more importantly didn't rush out to have sex the second I got my hands on protection.

[skylarmae]

5. my hella-mighty / / / 13years old????

Who am I ,,,,, where am I........

[mikehiggins]

7. Wacky stuff

You may know stuff but the most heartening thing in your post is your apparent realisation that there are a lot of total morons in the world, and some of them could include your friends and your friend's parents, not to mention school officials.

That is a lonely bit of knowledge at 13, or 23 or even at my age of 59. It is very, very, very important, though, if you want to keep your own sanity.

Good luck, kiddo.

[patcox2]

8. Its worse than you think, look up "abstinence-only"

bush admin. policy mandates "abstinence only" education. No federal money for any school that doesn't teach "abstinence only."

Under abstinence only education programs, it is absolutely forbidden to teach about birth control. It is forbidden to teach about prophylactics. The rules specifically state that condoms may only be mentioned when teaching kids that they do not work.

Its mandatory ignorance and mandatory disinformation.

You can spot a kid who has been brainwashed, they will say things like "the papilloma virus is so strong, condoms can't stop it."

[DrWeird]

9. Look, just because they're all masturbating thirty times a day...

doesn't mean they should be learning about sex.

[theorist]

10. I had a comprehensive sex-ed program in CA public schools.

Starting in fifth grade. (It was very mild, of course.) It got progressively more informative as the years went by. It was never under the frame of "have sex and you will get STDs". The teachers were honest that sex feels good and is the closest two people can physically be to each other, but there are serious consequences.

These programs definitely delayed my sexual activity, and I've never gotten a girl pregnant or transmitted an STD. I know it's all anecdotal, but it's true. Sex-ed, either in the schools or at home, is a public health issue, and it is a travesty to you as a young American that it is fought under the guise of innocence. Stand your ground, mini. Your mom must be very proud of you.

[AmandaRuth]

15. We started earlier

We started in fourth grade.

OIoioi

[Wilber_Stool]

13. Parents don't have any choice.

Kids learn about sex at school. The only choice they have is weather they learn about it in the bathroom or the classroom.

[goddess40]

14. I know a women who didn't know how she got pg when she was a teen

There town had no sex-ed and she had no clue how she got pregnant. It is a very closed community, with two prisons and an overbearing religion - I can't remember what one right now.

The gist of the religion was, no drinking (so every bar had a back door and every basement a second fridge), no mowing or hanging laundry out on Sunday. Women knew their "place"....

[Sequoia]

17. Wow, and I thought I grew up sheltered!

What city was that so I never drive through it. I went to a very religous school in the south but in the 8th grade we did have some sex education and the book was called "Tell It Like It Is". Other books warned women of sitting on men's laps and cautioned against spicy food. Boys were warned to keep their cue stick where it belonged and use it for making babies only. I was by then in high school and metioned it to my college age boyfriend who agreed with the book for crying out loud.

[ismnotwasm]

16. Not only did I want my teenagers to have sex-ed

But I required the girl-children to find a method of birth control they were comfortable with. One could not tolerate the "Patch" for instance, so she found something that works for her. My son got all the information too, including one of my mantras for young or irresponsible males which all of them ignore: Do not have sex with any woman unless you want to her to have your baby. (I use much, much cruder language) I allowed one of my daughters to have a jar of multi-colored condoms in her room. I still check with my son and daughters on a regular basis about using protection. None of them are promiscuous, the two younger girls tease each other about having babies when they're fighting-- "why don't you just go have a baby" "ARE YOU NUTS? You go have a baby". None of them are perfect, but I firmly believe that sex education helped them make responsible sexual decisions--including the one on if or when.

[Mountainman]

18. Well we all find out about sex some way or the other.

I did not have sex ed when I was a kid because it wasn't around then. Before any of us experimented we were told things by our peers who heard it from someone else. That information was not very good and just served to make us more curious. I remember one time when a bunch of boys talked a neighborhood girl to go into a garage and take her clothes off while they all looked through the windows. I think that kind of stuff is not good and think that probably sex ed would have been a good thing for us back then. The thing that kept us from getting someone pregnant was the fear of what our parents would do or the fear of a girl getting "a reputation." Boys were studs if they had sex but girls were sluts with a reputation. Some of my friends got married because their bride was already pregnant. I don't know how their marriages turned out since I moved away.

I met my wife at a nudist club. She was not curious about sex because she had been going to that club with her parents since she was a teen. I have always envied kids that grew up in such an open life style. She was a virgin when I met her. So I am one who thinks that if you give kids good information and be truthful and honest, there is a good chance everything will work out fine.

[AmandaRuth]

19. OK - Mom here, and I am laughing so hard, i can barely stand it

I just got home from work and daughter was very excitedly telling me that the news /gossip making the rounds at school that the school district is considering dropping or censuring sex education, and that she was outraged by this, but she did have a question. We have had many talks about sex, and no topic is really taboo, but sex wasn't on her mind this time - she was wondering what exactly was so funny about post 6! To refresh,

" or, as they say in Jewish households....
Ignorance is bris..."


oh my my my, the innocence of children....May they always stay this way


xoxoxoxo to you mini! Luv you Mom!

[vixengrl]

20. It's more like, to the *parents* of teenagers at your school (and others)

WTF. The sad thing is that a lot of adults are ignorant about sex, can't remember what it's like being a hormonal teenager, and have no clue how to approach the subject without shame and boilerplate religious moralizing and G.I. training-film horror stories. As a result, they run the risk of leaving a kid less informed (or very misinformed) then he or she would be if taught from a solid scholastic approach of "this is the reproductive anatomy of male and female" "This is how it works" and "this *is* how babies are made...unless you *religiously* do this, this or this." And also, "these are the diseases you can get." However is someone supposed to make good choices if they don't know and understand the consequences? And why do so many assume that the subject can't be taught in a positive way that gives kids more respect for themselves and their prospective partners, and makes them less likely to make reckless sexual choices? (Answer: the parents themselves just don't know. And like I said...it's sad.)