The teacher should tell the students to ask their parents! Get real folks. If the parents would answer the questions truthfully for their child they wouldn't have to ask the teachers. These kids know their parents will tell them some fluffy answer that really won't answer their question. I agree abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy and STDs but I also know that kids don't care about that in the heat of the moment. They need to be taught about safe sex and taught about STDs and just what can and will happen if they contract one. I taught my children this and even took them to the doctor to start them both on the pill. I knew better than to stick my head in the sand and wish for the world to pass by my kids. Utah's statistics for STDs is proof that more needs to be done not less.
Plus, "I want to talk with my parents about sex," is something no normal teenager ever thought.
Talking about sex with normal parents is embarrassing and awkward for teenagers. Talking about sex with parents who probably think the Sistine Chapel ceiling is as bad as a porno is out of the question.
Utah needs to update sex-ed in their state; the kids certainly aren't going to learn anything at home.
"...which Utah parents are required to “opt in” their children for."
Bingo. You signed them up for it because you're too backward and repressed to educate them yourselves. Opt OUT if you don't want Brianna, Britnee and Mahonri finding out the truth!
“For all of these years, parents have been opting their kids into sex education classes and not being told the truth of what’s being discussed,” Ruzicka said. “Most parents don’t want their children to be taught about these alternative sex practices.”
You opted them INTO the class and then couldn't be bothered to know what was being taught? Wow. There are parents, and then there are people who breed ignorance, literally and figuratively.
Also: kids today have the world wide internet machine; it's not like when I was a kid and actually had to RELY ON my public school health class and "very special episodes" of my favorite sitcom.
Hope the board actually got some legitimate work done, after the Tightass 37th Ward Relief Society field trip was finished with their allotted "public speaking time".
This is one of those hot-button topics that wise teachers learn to handle with care. You get signed parent permission and you follow the state or local curriculum with exactitude. I like that the Utah curriculum is very clear in what it does and doesn't allow. I also like that the state had even given teachers a list of frequently asked questions and suggested answers.
If parents want to object to that, fine. The parents in the article are using an appropriate public forum to do so.
Having said that, teachers can and do subvert the intent of the curriculum. They can say something like, "I am required by the state to present THIS TOPIC in THIS MANNER." Students, who are not stupid, immediately pick up on the fact that their trusted teacher believes that this part of the curriculum is nonsense. My Advanced Biology teacher in high school used this technique to introduce the required topic of "creation science" after he did a thorough and excellent job teaching evolution.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2019 08:38AM by summer.
Speaking of Gayle (I'm not a fan either, beansandbrews), shouldn't she be getting a little past this? I don't know anything about the state of intactness of the nuclear families in her posterity or of the custody of her offspring's offspring, or even, perhaps, of THEIR offspring, but it would seem that she's getting just a bit old to still have a dog in this fight. How today's youth are instructed about matters related to sex shouldn't really be her concern anymore.
She should pose again for Vanity Fair if she has too much time on her hands. (just kidding)
The parents may want to shield their kids from deadly knowledge, but really there is nothing keeping answers to basic questions like that from their kids.
Enabling a teacher to give responsible answers is a way better option than little Timmy googling "orgasm", but if the parents want to be dumb its on their own heads.
Wowza Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thank God for Smartphones! ==================== Odd -- and adults are no smarter? ;-)
> but if the parents want to be dumb its > on their own heads. ==================== Just trying to shift blame for parental failure
with these parents but sympathetic, as TSCC condemns the development of critical thought. Poor victims.
They are confusing knowledge with ethics.
Education is just giving kids the tools (knowledge) to function adequately in the adult world. That's why education is a formal career path - go to school to learn how to be an educator, licensing is involved, etc.
Ethics is: What do you do with your tool. Different tracks. Might start with training wheels (rules) but with maturity comes - ideally - the capacity to think for oneself and those training wheels can come off.
My TBM ex husband wanted me to have the "birds and bees" talk with our kids. As they matured, I gave them age appropriate information; I answered the questions they were asking at the time.
Both kids knew they could come to me any time and I would give them the info and back it up with other informative resources. I worked in the medical field and gave them two perspectives: The straight facts and my personal opinion.
As they hit teen years I gave them up front info on sex, disease, pregnancy prevention, etc. I also let them know that its better to wait until they personally feel secure and ready with a trustworthy partner before having a sexual relationship. I also told them that they needed to be personally responsible for their own protection and know how to use it. I demonstrated how to use condoms. Awkward? yes, but I needed to get over my awkwardness and they needed to not be ashamed to know this info.
There was a study that showed the MORE info young adults were provided about sexuality, the more likely they were to postpone being sexually active and focus on other aspects of their life. Friendships, education, etc.
My ex found out that I gave a complete education and flipped out on me. He said I was giving permission to our kids to be promiscuous. I asked him what education his parents gave him. It was minimal and my ex lost his virginity to a prostitute. He said he regretted that experience.I never shamed him for that choice/experience.
I asked him "If your parents had been more relaxed and forthcoming with you, you might have waited until you had a loving partner. That is what I did. While it did not work out between us, I don't regret that choice". He has surprisingly mellowed over the last few years of his kids not being Mormon or uber conservative.
I don't believe people have to be married to enjoy a sex life, I just teach my now adult kids to be responsible. (Physically and emotionally) To the best of my knowledge they have been. LOL