One of parents' most important duties is to protect their children from harmful sexual values and behaviors. Yet many public schools force potentially harmful, sometimes shockingly explicit sex education on their students.
Most of the time, parents have no control over the content of these classes. Occasionally, a group of parents finds out about a particularly obnoxious sex education class and protests to the principal or local school board. The class may be dropped, only to be replaced by another class that teaches equally objectionable material.
School authorities' cavalier attitude towards parents on this issue shows their anti-parent bias, and their contempt for parents' rights to control the values their children are taught.
Many school authorities insist that children need comprehensive sex education from kindergarten through high school. They believe parents can't be trusted because they have shameful feelings about sex or have "outdated" moral or sexual values. School authorities, claiming that they know best regarding sex education, usurp the parents' role, allegedly for the good of the children. In doing so, they show contempt for parents' rights, values, and common sense.
Many sex-education classes indoctrinate children with sexual values that can cause them irreparable harm. For example, these classes often promote the idea that most sexual behaviors are acceptable, including adultery, homosexuality, masturbation, and premarital sex.
The sex-education instructor simply tells the kids to "be careful" or use their "common sense" when they engage in these behaviors. As if we can depend on teenagers with raging hormones to be careful or use their common sense. The soaring teen pregnancy rate in this country puts the lie to this notion.
Horror stories about sex education classes and flagrant violations of parents' rights confront us from around the country. Here are only four of those stories:
? On March 19, 1996, a public school in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania made 59 sixth-grade girls submit to a genital examination as part of a routine physical. The school did not ask for parental consent. During the exam, school officials blocked the exit doors and refused to let the crying and pleading young girls call their parents.
? In Stephens County, Georgia, parents were shocked to discover that their fourteen- and fifteen-year-old daughters had been driven to a birth control clinic by a public school staff member without their knowledge. The county clinic administered AIDS tests and Pap smears to the girls and gave them birth control pills and condoms. The school denied parents access to the test results and defended its actions on the grounds that the counselor believed that she was doing what was best for the girls.
? The Pacific Justice Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents against the Novato [California] Unified School District for authorizing pro‑homosexual presentations without any prior notice or consent. According to the Pacific Justice Institute Press Release, "The presentations entitled "Cootie Shots," exposed elementary school children as young as seven years old with skits containing gay and lesbian overtures. The presentations were followed by question and answer sessions about what constitutes 'normal' families and acceptance of those who choose the homosexual lifestyle." 6 (see Notes in "Public Schools, Public Menace")
? Carol (last name withheld for privacy), a schoolteacher, couldn't believe what she was being asked to teach in her sex education class. The curriculum forced her to show second-graders pictures of nude boys and girls and ask them to name body parts. School authorities told Carol and her fellow elementary school teachers that there were no absolute moral rules, so she shouldn't be concerned about what she had to teach the children.
Parents, it might be advisable if you periodically asked your children if their school is giving them sex-education classes and what the school is teaching in these classes.
If these classes force your children to sit through shocking, obnoxious, or embarrassing sex-education material, you can do something about it. Many states have Parent Notification laws that allow you to demand that the school "opt-out" (withdraw) your children from these classes. You can find more information about this important issue in "Public Schools, Public Menace."
Joel Turtel is an education policy analyst, and author of "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children." Contact Information: Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com, Email: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com, Phone: 718-447-7348. Article Copyrighted ? 2005 by Joel Turtel. NOTE: You may post this Article on an Ezine, newsletter, or other website only if you include Joel Turtel's complete contact information, and set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
tidy up service Glenview ..LOS ANGELES (May 19, 2005) - With Memorial Day weekend,... Read More
1. Tell me something you like about yourself? Help your... Read More
Is it possible to be using our children addictively?Anything that... Read More
My daughters and I went to the beach several weeks... Read More
From the time the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock in... Read More
If your parenting methods include abuse of any kind; physical,... Read More
Back in college, I wrote for a five-day-a-week, award-winning campus... Read More
As a parent you will be asked to assist with... Read More
Chiladult? Whatever you call them, teenagers are a changin' and... Read More
It was the homework that did it. Each night became... Read More
One of parents' most important duties is to protect their... Read More
Ah, potty training! Go to a local bookseller and you... Read More
How are parents to know they are doing the right... Read More
Family decision-making is an intriguing phenomenon. Many factors become part... Read More
As a step daughter and step grand daughter, I followed... Read More
Here's some of the bad news about sedentary lifestyles:? Forty... Read More
Being consistent when children are less than perfect can make... Read More
Researching career education uncovered the following shocking statistic: The average... Read More
Research has shown that the present generation of children worldwide... Read More
I've learned numerous, important lessons on life, motherhood and men... Read More
Everyone loves penguins. And now, everyone has a chance to... Read More
"I could have helped you if I would have known,... Read More
Many parental units are not "techies" and openly admit they... Read More
Keith is now in the fourth grade and he dislikes... Read More
Do you feel like someone has abducted your sweet, innocent... Read More
maid service near Winnetka ..The public school system in America has become a dismal... Read More
Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes around the brain... Read More
Anyone can splurge on a formal dinner or a pricey... Read More
Loving your step-child can be both simple and hard. It... Read More
(Isaiah 11:6 KJV) The wolf also shall dwell with the... Read More
So, the thing is? I am feeling a little guilty.I... Read More
Here is a list of ways to convey the message... Read More
If you really want to get your children to eat... Read More
"I wipe my baby's chin with my college diploma and... Read More
Back in college, I wrote for a five-day-a-week, award-winning campus... Read More
Some people can concentrate on an assignment, to the exclusion... Read More
Q. "What do you want to be when you grow... Read More
Do you have a wild child? Then this article may... Read More
The cost of being a parent and raising a child... Read More
How would you like to have more time? Of course... Read More
How in the world do you get your child to... Read More
It is so important to create an environment that promotes... Read More
Parents of hyperactive children know the "Would you please just... Read More
In elementary school it's pretty straightforward: bringing in cupcakes to... Read More
Have you made your usual New Year resolutions? You know... Read More
I remember when my daughter was born. Visions of her... Read More
Peaceful Parenting? ideas are very different from other kinds of... Read More
Many research studies have shown the overall effectiveness of stimulant... Read More
Many reasons will cause some people to feel the need... Read More
Being a single mother is no easy task. I know.... Read More
Parenting |