Read this article written by Anna Lekas Miller in the Nation
Sign the petition to Congress to end abstinence only programs (forcechange.org)
I couldn't believe this abstinence only program is being taught in some of our schools. This is criminally negligent. Every teen that gets pregnant while going to one of these abstinence only schools should sue the school district. Any teen that gets a STD while being taught abstinence only should sue the school district. By a concerted effort of the christian lobby narrow christian views are being taught in our schools. The federal government has wasted 1.5 billion dollars on these completely ineffectual programs leaving the USA with the highest STD and teen pregnancy rates among industrialized nations. Don't have sex until your married because we said so! Don't do drugs because we said so! Don't question authority, because we said so! What kind of ignorant sheep are we raising in our public education system? At least NYC is set to teach some fundamentals to kids. Its time for the silent majority to start speaking loudly and clearly.In Cincinnati, Ohio, a high school sex education teacher carefully places a Jolly Rancher candy on each student’s desk. The 14- and 15-year-old students feel the crinkly plastic wrapping in their hands, wondering when they will get to eat their tantalizing treats. “Don’t eat the candy!” warned the teacher, although she had just finished placing one on each desk. “You must wait until after class. It will taste much better if you allow yourself to wait.” And so begins the young Ohioans' lesson on abstinence—the only method of pregnancy or disease prevention that they will learn during their high school sexuality education class. One in every four adolescents receives this type of abstinence-only sexuality education. According to recent statistics from the Guttmacher Institute, 41 percent of teenagers (regardless of the type of sexuality education they received) know little or nothing about condoms and 75 percent know little or nothing about oral contraception. One in three teenagers claims to have never had any formal education on birth control, suggesting that even those not necessarily enrolled in abstinence only programs are still unable to access critical sexual health information.
Sign the petition to Congress to end abstinence only programs (forcechange.org)
We live in a school district that is Abstinence only in a state with one of the worst education systems in the country. We fail these children on so many levels and than wonder why we have all these young moms, uninvolved dads, a high drop out rate and so much crime.
ReplyDeleteMany of these Abstinence Only programs are not run by the school districts but companies that are contracted to supply the curriculum. Is this education or is this a way for someone to make money?
Abstinence only programs run by corporations? I didn't know that, Colleen. I agree corporations aren't interested in education, only profits. Corporations running educational programs and prisons are bad for our democracy. I hate to think we are paying money to people like Focus on the Family to non-educate our children.
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