A message left on our Sedline voicemail expressed opposition to
the move to teach sexual health education to seventh- and eighth-grade
students at Smith-Cotton Junior High beginning in December. We believes a stand others in our community share.
The caller said: I was very upset about the school district wanting to teach the seventh- and eighth-graders sex education, as i am sure a lot of other people were. These are just kids, why can't we understand that and stop trying to make adults out of them? ... Sex education will do one thing: Listening to this each day will only make them curious, and make them want to go out and experiment and try it.
The fact is the junior high has experienced an
increase in pregnancies, and as Principal Wade Norton told the Sedalia
School District 200 Board of Education on Monday night, students are
already asking teachers and counselors about reproduction and
contraceptives. By initiating an abstinence-based sex education
curriculum, the district isn't trying to make adults out of
them, it is trying to provide already inquisitive students with
proper information about the ramifications of engaging in sexual
activity.
Norton also told the board that students are receiving misinformation about reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases and contraception from unreliable sources, including friends and websites.
The Seattle Times reported in 2008 that University of Washington researchers found that teens who had comprehensive (sex) education, which typically discusses condoms and birth-control methods as well as abstinence, were no more likely to engage in intercourse than peers who were taught just to say no to sex before marriage.
Parents will have ample opportunity to learn what information the classes will include, and they will have the opportunity to withhold their child from participation. But since the program is focused on providing accurate information about sexual activity and encouraging students to hold off and make good decisions, we encourage parents to at least review the materials before rejecting it.
Ignorance is never beneficial. Junior high students are already beyond curious about reproductive issues. Providing them with appropriate information and an understanding of consequences is the best way to help them make wise choices.
The caller said: I was very upset about the school district wanting to teach the seventh- and eighth-graders sex education, as i am sure a lot of other people were. These are just kids, why can't we understand that and stop trying to make adults out of them? ... Sex education will do one thing: Listening to this each day will only make them curious, and make them want to go out and experiment and try it.
Norton also told the board that students are receiving misinformation about reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases and contraception from unreliable sources, including friends and websites.
The Seattle Times reported in 2008 that University of Washington researchers found that teens who had comprehensive (sex) education, which typically discusses condoms and birth-control methods as well as abstinence, were no more likely to engage in intercourse than peers who were taught just to say no to sex before marriage.
Parents will have ample opportunity to learn what information the classes will include, and they will have the opportunity to withhold their child from participation. But since the program is focused on providing accurate information about sexual activity and encouraging students to hold off and make good decisions, we encourage parents to at least review the materials before rejecting it.
Ignorance is never beneficial. Junior high students are already beyond curious about reproductive issues. Providing them with appropriate information and an understanding of consequences is the best way to help them make wise choices.
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