[MJ7]

I have heard there is a lot that's changed since I was in health class in school. Just curious what kind of information that your children are recieving.
Have you opted to pull your children out of school and tell them about sex on your own?
Are you satisfied with what your child's school is teaching in sex ed?
Are you concerned your child's school is going too far with information that may or may not be relevant or appropriate for a school to teach?
Where should the school draw the line on education?

[TaraB]

Originally Posted by MJ7

I have heard there is a lot that's changed since I was in health class in school. Just curious what kind of information that your children are recieving.
Have you opted to pull your children out of school and tell them about sex on your own?
Are you satisfied with what your child's school is teaching in sex ed?
Are you concerned your child's school is going too far with information that may or may not be relevant or appropriate for a school to teach?
Where should the school draw the line on education?

Our health teacher says we should wait until married to have sex. I feel sorry for the poor guy because so many people made fun of him. There aren't many virgins in my class. Less than half. I am kind of rare, but I don't really want to be one of them either. I didn't realize until this past week how much our sex ed sucks. I am not satisfied at all! I think the crap they teach is inappropriate. Luckily I think our friends are helping us get the information we need. That's how I found out about health clinics. I e-mailed a ton of stuff to my friends about all the information I found yesterday. I think they will like it.

[MJ7]

I suppose the degree of information one recieves is dependent on the district. My brother's sex ed class went way too far talking about alternative lifestyles rather than reproduction and basic protection information.

Some schools out here in OR got in trouble after their guest speakers handed out extremely sexually explicit material that most adults probably have never seen material on. They encouraged very unsafe behavior. Needless to say the speakers weren't screened before being invited to speak.

I do agree that kids need to be told more than abstinence. I believe they need to be told WHY it's so important, rather than "just don't do it".

[TaraB]

Originally Posted by MJ7

I do agree that kids need to be told more than abstinence. I believe they need to be told WHY it's so important, rather than "just don't do it".

Condoms don't work, birth control fails, your kid will scream all night long, you'll have to drop out and get a job, you'll never finish your education, you'll be working in a job you hate, your life will be over, you'll catch AIDS and die, you'll catch herpes, you'll catch HPV get cancer and die, you'll catch HPV and nobody will ever want you again because you'll have so many warts, your husband will be jealous he shared you, teen relationships don't last, blah blah blah blah blah!!!!

Whatever! We have friends who have sex. We know birth control and condoms work. We know STDs are possible but often times preventable. We aren't stupid.

Originally Posted by MJ7

I suppose the degree of information one recieves is dependent on the district. My brother's sex ed class went way too far talking about alternative lifestyles rather than reproduction and basic protection information.

What is an alternative lifestyle? What did they say in sex ed?

[MJ7]

Originally Posted by TaraB

Condoms don't work, birth control fails, your kid will scream all night long, you'll have to drop out and get a job, you'll never finish your education, you'll be working in a job you hate, your life will be over, you'll catch AIDS and die, you'll catch herpes, you'll catch HPV get cancer and die, you'll catch HPV and nobody will ever want you again because you'll have so many warts, your husband will be jealous he shared you, teen relationships don't last, blah blah blah blah blah!!!!

Well, these things are sometimes true. Kids aren't going to buy into sex is not fun. I don't think that many teens care enough about the risks.

Whatever! We have friends who have sex. We know birth control and condoms work. We know STDs are possible but often times preventable. We aren't stupid.

I can't imagine they say that contraceptives never work. Obviously they do. Too often they don't. The stupid ones are the careless ones that think it will never happen to them. Sadly some of the most common STDs are the ones that you can't protect yourself from by just wearing a condom.

What is an alternative lifestyle? What did they say in sex ed?

An alternative lifestyle is other than a heterosexual relationship. I just don't think the school system ought to be treading there in a health class. I believe schools ought to stick to reproductive and safety facts JMHO. I, however don't have a problem with volunteer guest speakers coming in to share their experiences with teen pregnancy etc.. I think sometimes this information comes best first hand.

[writerchick]

I don't think teaching about alternative lifestyles belongs in the classroom, either, because what the heck does that have to do with anything? I send my kids to school to learn academic subjects, and health is one of them, but people's sexual preferences aren't.

[mcmama]

My son is at a private school, and I have to say I am pretty pleased overall with the quality of the sex ed in health class. He got so detailed in his report about gonnorrhea I think he made himself sick.

They cover a lot about contraceptives, the body, STDs and alternative lifestyles. They'd rather have it out in the open and safe than hidden and sorry. My brother died from AIDS, so my kids know how dangerous it is to ignore the obvious and pretend it can't happen to you.

There is a lot of info about contraceptives, but when we were discussing it, he just didn't see why the girls have to get so riled up about it. After all, contraceptives? Just go to the pharmacy and pick up trojans and some pills!!!! He went on to say that since girls ovulate every 28 days (nobody in this class apparently said "in a perfect world") why don't they just wait until the day after they ovulate.

Well, we had a little discussion on how you just don't always know when you've ovulated and how things like getting sick, being under stress, etc can throw it off. Also how girls have a lot more to think about than just stopping by the drugstore for trojans.

Health class has been a lot about illegal substances, alcoholism, STDs and contraceptives and it has really been intense. But it is just amazing what a 15 year old boy walks away with after a class like that. There's got to be something hormonal that keeps them from really thinking this through like the girls. Is testosterone a brain blocker?

The school talks about abstinence, but not as much as I would like. Basically I have told both my boys if they aren't ready for a baby, or a pregnant girlfriend getting an abortion, they aren't ready for sex - because trojans are very poor prevention, and the rest is really depending on the girl.

This has made them very choosy about girls! And very respectful.

[writerchick]

Originally Posted by mcmama

The school talks about abstinence, but not as much as I would like. Basically I have told both my boys if they aren't ready for a baby, or a pregnant girlfriend getting an abortion, they aren't ready for sex - because trojans are very poor prevention, and the rest is really depending on the girl.

This has made them very choosy about girls! And very respectful.

I once told my stepson, when he was 19, to name a contraceptive, any kind, and I could tell him of a baby that was conceived while someone was using that contraceptive. The truth is hard, but can be effective!

[MJ7]

I think the most impacting people in health were the ones who shared their personal woes. Whether an eating disorder or teen pregnancy.

Our school stayed well on track about facts and kept it very science-like. It wasn't uncomfortable for me because it was approached as a fact of life. I think when they get into the "how toos" of oral sex as an alternative, they've gone way off the deep end. The schools I'm refering to in our state have gotten into some hot water over that one.

As far as if I would allow my kids to take sex ed in school, it would depend on the curriculum. Most of the schools, I think, do alright. If I found out they were straying from fact and pushing an agenda, I would probably work on an alternative of some sort for that aspect of their education.

[kywrite]

An alternative lifestyle is other than a heterosexual relationship.

Actually, it's other than a monogamous, heterosexual relationship when that other thing is chosen as a lifestyle (as opposed to dating). I think, though, that so far they're only teaching about homosexuality. That will probably change with the advent of shows like Big Love, for <sarcasm>education must follow the media trends</sarcasm>.

But you're right -- it's not important to education. I would rather be the one introducing that to my kids when I know they're ready. Unfortunately, there are far too many educators who think parents aren't fit to raise their own children. And also unfortunately, in far too many cases today they're right.

Stinks for those of us who would prefer they just butt out. And they wonder why homeschooling has taken off!