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 They believe parents can't be trusted because they have shameful feelings about sex or have "outdated" moral or sexual values.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
housekeepers near Buffalo Grove ..How would you like to have more time? Of course... Read More
Incest is sexual activity, ranging from fondling to intercourse, between... Read More
How would you like to have a closer relationship with... Read More
Having a baby is one of the most exciting times... Read More
The teenage years are a crucial time in a child's... Read More
A number of scientific studies have shown the way a... Read More
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine,... Read More
As a parent, you can learn a lot about your... Read More
'I felt great until I walked into the classroom -... Read More
Everyone in a private practice setting who works with children... Read More
Your child's teacher says that you need to find out... Read More
Article based on a friend's experienceI just wanted to share... Read More
You've just received a call from your child's teacher. As... Read More
The distressed adolescent often has feelings of abandonment, emotional detachment,... Read More
Much has been said about the "gifted child" but in... Read More
Our children are growing up bilingual in the French part... Read More
Who Can Register A Birth? The child's mother... Read More
Courage means doing the right thing when it is hard,... Read More
One of the most prevalent problems of the computer age... Read More
Are you a parent concerned about passing values on to... Read More
If you're looking for toys that are both fun to... Read More
Everyone needs friends, and, as parents, you and I both... Read More
An estimated five million scooters will be sold this year... Read More
How do we deal with our seriously distressed children and... Read More
Your child's leadership skills begin at the family dinner table.... Read More
custom home cleaning Mundelein ..This year alone, 1,600 teenagers aged 15 to 19 will... Read More
The least flexible character in all of the stories of... Read More
Isn't the technology of today is amazing?! Between the speed... Read More
Imagine a child who lacks ownership of his own life,... Read More
It happens every year. Just when you are settled in... Read More
It was a day that I will forever be etched... Read More
Strollers offer a wonderful and convenient service to parents and... Read More
1 "Law of Belonging": The greatest need of teenagers (after... Read More
Is your weekly shopping trip with the kids an absolute... Read More
I wanted to share with you one of the most... Read More
We know that you want your little guy or gal... Read More
Everyone knows that exercise is good for your health. Exercising... Read More
Having worked with parents for the last 35 years and... Read More
First there were Yuppies (Young Urban Professionals). Then came the... Read More
There has been much attention in the media of late... Read More
1. Create... Read More
I know this Mom. She homeschools her 5 children, plus... Read More
Checking accounts are an absolute necessity these days. You can... Read More
Having been a parent educator and a PBS consultant for... Read More
A fun way to build your child's imaginationWriting is still... Read More
"The greatest gift I ever had Came from God, and... Read More
Life is full of competition -- even in childhood. Kids... Read More
Ask any teacher or adolescent counselor what the most disturbing... Read More
Some years ago when touring the Scottish Highlands, a man... Read More
The debate in many towns continues throughout this country about... Read More
Parenting |