What Really Goes On in “Comprehensive” Sex Ed Class
— Posted by John (March 15, 2007 at 1:42 pm)
Wendy Shalit at Modestly Yours has an eye-opening post about a “comprehensive” sex-ed class at a middle school in Thornton, IL.
A health teacher made 8th graders read aloud explicit questions about oral sex and masturbation during a sex-education lesson at a suburban school this week, outraging parents who demanded the teacher be disciplined…. “My daughter brought it to our attention because she was disgusted with it,” said Grady Braley, father of a Wolcott 14-year-old. “There’s certain things at her age they need to know. But this was a how-to manual.”
“It’s creepy, and I’d like to know why he’s still teaching.”
Me too.
This is one of those stories where there are so many things to talk about, I hardly know where to begin. I guess I’ll start here, with this paragraph from the news article:
Jonathan Stacks, campaign manager for Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education, gasped when he heard the details of the “frequently asked questions” read aloud in the 8th grade class. He said the material was not age-appropriate, and never should have been taught without discussing such sensitive material with parents first.
Am I the only one who did a double-take after reading this? First, he’s saying the material isn’t age-appropriate. Then, he’s saying it shouldn’t have been taught without discussing it with parents first.
Huh?
If it’s not age-appropriate, what would be the point of “discussing it with parents first”?
Then, the article quotes Stacks as saying:
This is really getting into the aspect of pleasure . . . and the mechanics of how to have good sex. It goes way beyond what the national medical associations recommend for a comprehensive program. [emphasis added]
If you think stuff like this is happening only in the Chicago suburbs, you’re kidding yourself. Chances are it’s happening in a “comprehensive” sex-ed class at a school near you, too.
The article also says:
Stacks said most Illinois schools shy away from teaching anything but abstinence, AIDS and human development, which is what is mandated by state standards. Though his organization advocates going beyond abstinence and discussing some sexual issues and contraception more openly with teens, Stacks said, “It’s really important we don’t go to the other extreme.” [emphasis added]
“Some sexual issues?” “Some sexual issues?”
As I said before, I hardly know where to begin.
On the Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education’s links page, one of their “recommended links” for teens is Go Ask Alice!, Columbia University’s “Health Q & A Internet Service”.
Just one click from the Go Ask Alice! home page takes you to a page that lists several questions. One of these questions is, “Menage a Trois?”
Answering this question, Go Ask Alice! gives advice on how to arrange a threesome, and says that “there’s nothing wrong with giving it a try, as long as you’re all practicing safer sex…” (That’s just for starters. On the site, there’s much, much worse.)
“Though his organization advocates going beyond abstinence and discussing some sexual issues and contraception more openly with teens…”
“Some sexual issues.” Right.
Now, for some background: The group Stacks works for — the Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education — is a joint project of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH) and Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area. (Planned Parenthood, as you probably already know, is the leading abortion provider in America.)
Some of you may also remember that last year, ICAH’s annual fundraiser was held at the headquarters of Playboy magazine in downtown Chicago. I took part in a protest of the event, and blogged about it here.
Tickets to the event cost $75, and those who kicked in an extra $50 were also entitled one to “a tour of the Playboy offices and art collection[!]” as well as a VIP reception with Christie Hefner.
Christie Hefner (the daughter of Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy), has been its CEO since 1982. It was she who decided that the company could make more money by producing increasingly harder-core pornography — something that even her father was reluctant to do for a long time.
Bearing this in mind, reread Stacks’ remark:
It’s really important we don’t go to the other extreme.
Oh, really, Mr. Stacks?
***
Last month, I gave a talk at TeenSpeak 2007 called “What Are Adults Thinking? On ‘Comprehensive’ Sex Education” that explains in greater detail the damage done by so-called comprehensive sex ed programs.
You can order your copy of the talk here.
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Rosie says:
“Stacks said most Illinois schools shy away from teaching anything but abstinence, AIDS and human development, which is what is mandated by state standards. Though his organization advocates going beyond abstinence and discussing some sexual issues and contraception more openly with teens, Stacks said, “It’s really important we don’t go to the other extreme.” [emphasis added”
That wasn’t the case when I was in school, I remember being told how to use a condom and the lady teaching even used the banana as a teaching tool. From what i’ve heard things haven’t gotten any better.
Comment posted March 15th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
jimbo says:
“Just one click from the Go Ask Alice! home page takes you to a page that lists several questions. One of these questions is, “Menage a Trois?”
That means that you are now two clicks away from that…so you are “one click” less “damaging” (to use one of your words).
As a public school teacher in Chicago, I can tell you that the lies you are spreading about how we teach sex ed are ludicrous, ill-informed, and dangerous.
Comment posted March 16th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Rosie says:
So playboy wasn’t involved? Those teachers didn’t do that to their students? Can you point out the ludicrous, ill-informed, and dangerous lies?
Comment posted March 16th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Elise says:
If you can’t face the facts that there are 8th graders in the world who are engaging in masturbation and oral sex, then you will never see how age appropriate these programs are. Comprehensive sex ed is trying to meet the real life needs of teenagers, not idealistic head-in-the-sand ideas about what they’re really doing. Why can’t we all agree that protecting our children in whatever way we can (even when that includes information about masturbation) is the best thing for them? Denying the reality of their lives does no one any good.
Not to mention the fact that much of your information is wrong and you don’t bother to actually mention what the questions are - they could be very good questions but it’s impossible to tell from this post.
Comment posted March 16th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
Rosie says:
So teaching our children to use contraception and then get an abortion when it fails is protecting our kids, that’s what is best for them? You do realize that women who get abortions blame it on failed contraception don’t you?
“Denying the reality of their lives does no one any good.’
Comment posted March 16th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Joe says:
“(even when that includes information about masturbation)”.
There is a chain of logic here. And one needs to follow it to understand where we are headed. Reducing sex to merely orgasm causes all sorts of legal issues. Think about it… What is to keep some future psycho judge from letting a rapist go when he argues he got his victim to have an orgasm? Without a proper understanding of sex, not only will our wives be at risk, but our children as well.
Comment posted March 16th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
jimbo says:
Actually I blame failed contraception and abortion on failed education, as do most educated people. Ignorance is the main cause of unwanted pregnancies and abortion.
As for the lies, the biggest is, “If you think stuff like this is happening only in the Chicago suburbs, you’re kidding yourself. Chances are it’s happening in a “comprehensive” sex-ed class at a school near you, too.”
The reason that this has been such huge news is just because it is SO out of the ordinary. But that doesn’t play well on this blog. It’s better to think that a bunch of depraved liberals are out there, teaching our children all sorts of perverse things, guiding them to places they shouldn’t go…that’s how you drum up support for keeping people ignorant about sex. So the issue isn’t simply whether you think such info should be kept from children, but rather do you think it should be kept from everyone. I bet your answer is a resounding yes. What happened at the school in Thornton is OBVIOUSLY the exception.
The other big lie is the support of the idea that somehow talking about something is paramount to doing it. The fact that there is such emphasis put on the “Go Ask Alice” site is an obvious red flag. You want children to not have sex, many don’t. But many do, and many will; but for those that do and will, you don’t want them to do it cautiously, or masturbate, or use birth control. You don’t want anyone of any age to do these things. The insidiousness of this is really dastardly. Don’t talk about it, don’t think about it, just say no. The whole “Just say No” concept has never worked with anything. Countries with strict drinking ages have higher consumption of alcohol among teens, countries with less strict drinking ages have lower consumption. Simply look at the abortion rates in Latin American countries where it is illegal vs. the rate in Western European countries where it is legal; the difference is staggering.
If you want to eliminate abortion, increase education. The same goes for birth control. The same goes for teen sex and teen drinking and teen drug use and adult drinking and adult drug use and adult sex. Making some illegal (and keeping people of all ages ignorant) will do nothing but hurt your cause.
Comment posted March 16th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Young Christian Woman says:
Jimbo, if you are so much in favor of education, do you inform students what the birth control pill and other hormonal contraception really does? That it can cause the death of a human being in the blastocyst stage?
Do you inform students what really happens in an abortion? What the fetal human looks like and what his or her body is like at eight weeks? How that baby has arms and legs and a beating heart, when he or she is sliced up and sucked out? How the so-called doctor will rip off a baby’s arms and legs head and pull out the parts one at a time, or stick scissors in the back of his or her head and suck out his or her brain? Or do you think that they should be told that it is just a mass of tissue?
Comment posted March 17th, 2007 at 4:46 am
jimbo says:
Young Christian Woman-
Those are sort of a loaded questions for you to ask me. Do you talk to your friends about how it’s okay to masturbate or have oral sex? No, you probably don’t because you believe things like that are wrong.
Your questions are similar. Most scientist do not agree that human life begins at conception, that is one of the largest problems in establishing abortion bans. (So asking me such questions is pretty pointless) However every scientist, 100% of them in fact, agree that masturbation will not result in pregnancy…
As for what I tell my students, I tell the boys not to do anything that they wouldn’t want someone doing to their sister or mother; and I tell the girls they should behave in a way where they couldn’t discuss it with their grandmother.
Comment posted March 17th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Rosie says:
“Most scientist do not agree that human life begins at conception, ”
That’s simply not true. Pro-aborts were always saying that they would like science to prove that life begins at conception. Well they established that a blastocyst has a set of DNA not any different than an adult. Why else would they want to use the stem cells? Then the pro-aborts turn around and pull a Clinton saying “well, what exactly does life mean”, and pull out the quality of life card. Young Christian Woman’s questions make sense because if you are going to give out information you should give out all the facts unless you can say with certainty that none of your students will get pregnant because they learned so much in sex ed. I’m wondering, are parents still given the choice to not have their kids take that class?
Comment posted March 17th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
jimbo says:
My wife’s 3 miscarriages all had DNA that was separate from our own, that did not make them human. In fact a heartbeat never developed (nor did a heart, for that matter), therefore these genetic concoctions that never developed into babies were distinctly and unarguably not human. Your argument, therefore, is flawed.
Additionally, your statement “unless you can say with certainty that none of your students will get pregnant because they learned so much in sex ed.” is also flawed. I could use the exact same argument and say “unless you can say with certainty that none of your students who learned nothing about sex will not get pregnant…” There’s no point in making broad statements like that, they don’t further anyone’s point.
If parents don’t want their kids learning about sex ed in school or from tv or videogames or the internet or friends or Hustler or Swank or from a rest stop bathroom wall, then they need to TALK TO THEM ABOUT IT. They need to be able to sit down at the table and answer every question their child asks them. They need to be able to talk about oral sex, sperm, masturbation, homosexuality. They need to be honest about it. Talk about self-respect and making sound decisions, and how one moment can change your life forever. Talk about how sex is tempting and enjoyable, but that doesn’t mean they should do it.
The more topics are avoided or shame-based, the more likely your child is going to run towards it. Make sex bad and dirty; tell them it is awful — I promise you that won’t work. Use words like sin and abomination and shame; make them hate themselves for masturbating or feeling certain feelings, that should do wonders for how they feel about themselves.
What happens when you do things like that, sweep sex under the rug? You end up in the same sort of predicament that numerous Archdiocese now find themselves in, facing hundreds of lawsuits teetering on the brink of bankruptcy because of pedophile sex scandals that the Church decided to keep quiet. Secrecy and shame and guilt are fine in very small, measured doses; but when doled out as the method of birth control or as a means to an end, they are dangerous and vile.
Comment posted March 17th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Rosie says:
-There’s a heartbeat at 6 weeks, when most women just find out that they are pregnant.
- there are parents who can talk to their children, which is why I asked if parents are still able to opt their kids out of the class.
-just because you tell your child something is bad does not mean they will want to do it even more. Those self fulfilling prophecies are ridiculous.
- How many preists have been arrested? There are perverts everywhere. I don’t know if you know much about religion but we were warned that the church would be attacked and that many would try to destroy it.
- If I don’t write anymore don’t take it personally, I woke up with a nasty cold and i’m due any day now so i’m exausted.
Comment posted March 18th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Quinn says:
Did you know that Christie Hefner is the one who came up with Emily’s List? Emily’s List gives money only to women political candidates who support abortion through 9 months!
The January 1979 Playboy bragged that, “The Playboy Foundation provide[d] the first of several major grants to the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States to support its nationwide educational programs.” Christie Hefner gushed that Playboy gave the original seed money for SIECUS.
Since its inception, the Playboy Foundation has contributed more than $14 million through grants, matching gifts and in-kind donations. This year [2000], the Playboy Foundation awarded more than $600,000 in grants to organizations devoted to reproductive rights, civil rights and civil liberties such as the National Abortion Reproductive Rights Action League, Southern
Center for Human Rights and Student Press Law Center. In addition, the Playboy Foundation donated more than one million dollars in public service advertisements in Playboy magazine for such organizations as People for the American Way….
Christie Hefner….has used her influence and resources to work for equal rights and opportunities for women, serving on the board of the National Women’s Political Caucus, and then being instrumental in the founding of three powerful women’s organizations: EMILY’s List, which raises money for pro-choice, Democratic women political candidates;
The inside back cover of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Reproductive Freedom Project 1981 publication “Women’s Guide to Reproductive Rights” proclaims “Printing donated by the Playboy Foundation.”
Comment posted March 19th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Quinn says:
Hey Jimbo!
EVERY embryologist knows for a fact that human life BEGINS at conception/fertilization.
Comment posted March 19th, 2007 at 12:09 am
Eric says:
Jimbo: If I ever go back to teaching and need a good example of the logical fallacy known as a false dilemma I will be much in your debt for what you have written here.
False dilemma:
Teach them that sex is dirty, sexual desire is naughty, masturbators are damned to hell, and fornicators are damned even deeper into hell.
—or—
Teach them how to use condoms, that masturbation is healthy, that sex is all about personal decisions and “self-respect”
Those aren’t our only choices, Jim—to shame them or to teach them what amounts to, despite all the platitudes about “good choices” and “self respect”, sexual license.
I’ve got more than a little experience with this, having once been a teenage boy—ill served by the scant “sex-ed” at school—and having now two teenage sons of my own.
I have talked very frankly indeed with my sons about sexuality. I have begun with the beauty of sexuality, its defining place in our lives and awesome power to foster those intimate ties that are at the core of marriage and family. I have spoken of the “gift of self” expressed sexually through the language of the body, and how being men enables them to make this gift to a woman, and gratefully to receive the gift that she has to offer.
I have also spoken to them about the ways that the sincerity of the gift of one’s self expressed sexually through the body can be undermined. So, yes, I have explained to them that masturbation is a sin—but these are boys who, even at their age, have a more nuanced notion of sin than the caricature under which you appear to be laboring.
The channels of communication with my boys are wide open. They trust me and they know that I trust them. Our actual experience bears no resemblance to the straw man you describe—which, by the way, were it not so laughable, would actually be rather insulting.
Comment posted March 19th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Eric says:
Jimbo writes: “Most scientist do not agree that human life begins at conception . . . “
In that case you shouldn’t have the slightest bit of difficulty pointing to a source for this claim. Just one, if you please.
But look—no doubt some conceptions go awry for one reason or another, and possibly no human life was ever really present in such a case. But it does not follow, from that, that—when conception and development do not go awry—human life did not begin then, at that moment of conception.
By the way, if not at the moment of conception, at what point do “most scientists” say human life begins?
(You might also ask the prior question, what constitutes a distinct living organism, a topic discissed fascinatingly here and here by neurobiology professor Maureen Condic; see also this by bioethicist William Saunders.)
Comment posted March 19th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Mike says:
Here’s a couple of links to note here….
From American Life League…
Can contraception cause an early abortion?
The pill, Norplant, Depo-Provera, emergency contraception, the IUD - all of these chemical contraceptives have three basic modes of operation:
1. They can act to suppress ovulation (the release of an egg from the ovary). However, women can and do experience breakthrough ovulation, meaning that an egg is released and available to be fertilized.
2. They can cause the cervical mucus to thicken, making it difficult for the sperm to reach the egg. It is possible, though, for the sperm to break through the mucus and to fertilize the egg.
3. They can alter the lining of the uterus making it difficult, if not impossible, for the 7-9 day old developing baby to attach to the uterine lining, where it would receive the nourishment necessary for further development. The baby would then be expelled from the body during menstruation. This process is known as a chemical abortion and is why the pill is referred to as an abortifacient.
Sources:
1999 Physicians Desk Reference
Planned Parenthood
A Consumer’s Guide to the Pill and other Drugs, by John Wilks, B. Pharm., M.P.S.
———-
Do Condoms Protect From Aids?
Mike
Comment posted March 19th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Annie says:
Jimbo,
I’m very sorry about your three miscarriages. From other women I know, it can be a very sad experience. In all sincerity, I was wondering how they were able to determine that there wasn’t a heartbeat.
Comment posted March 21st, 2007 at 4:55 pm
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