t has been all over the news about the Portland Maine School District giving birth control pills to middle-school children. You have written about sex education in schools before - what do you think?
The Portland School Committee recently decided the King Middle School’s health center could distribute a wide range of birth control, including the pill and the patch, to students as young as 11. Students need their parents’ permission to use the health center, but the specific treatment they receive there is confidential.
There has been a reported 17 pregnancies in middle schools in that area, so clearly there is a big problem. I support sex education being taught by professional teachers in schools because they are trained to relay the information precisely and accurately. Or are they?
Children are clearly not getting the message, and parents have to take some responsibility for that. Communication between children and parents is vital at any age, but can be life-changing in the teen years.
Although I support schools teaching sex education, I do not advocate giving birth control pills to 11-year-olds. Isn’t that saying it is all right to have sex as long as you don’t get pregnant? What kind of message is that for children who don’t fully understand either the physical or emotional side of sex?
Why not have adults who are neither parents nor teachers talk to teens and preteens in schools? Give students a chance to meet someone who is dying of AIDS, or teen parents who are struggling. Use shock tactics to teach the consequences of unprotected sex.
Do schools separate girls and boys for lessons? It might make sense to offer both same-sex and coed classes to prevent embarrassment - and silly behavior.
What do you think, readers? Any ideas out there about sex education and preventing teen pregnancy?
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The Portland School Committee recently decided the King Middle School’s health center could distribute a wide range of birth control, including the pill and the patch, to students as young as 11. Students need their parents’ permission to use the health center, but the specific treatment they receive there is confidential.
There has been a reported 17 pregnancies in middle schools in that area, so clearly there is a big problem. I support sex education being taught by professional teachers in schools because they are trained to relay the information precisely and accurately. Or are they?
Children are clearly not getting the message, and parents have to take some responsibility for that. Communication between children and parents is vital at any age, but can be life-changing in the teen years.
Although I support schools teaching sex education, I do not advocate giving birth control pills to 11-year-olds. Isn’t that saying it is all right to have sex as long as you don’t get pregnant? What kind of message is that for children who don’t fully understand either the physical or emotional side of sex?
Why not have adults who are neither parents nor teachers talk to teens and preteens in schools? Give students a chance to meet someone who is dying of AIDS, or teen parents who are struggling. Use shock tactics to teach the consequences of unprotected sex.
Do schools separate girls and boys for lessons? It might make sense to offer both same-sex and coed classes to prevent embarrassment - and silly behavior.
What do you think, readers? Any ideas out there about sex education and preventing teen pregnancy?
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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