Someone asked me today to write to the Boston School Committee. They had seen my recent article in The Valley Patriot, entitled, So, You Want to Have Sex? (go to page 27) and they wanted me to send it to the Committee for their meeting tomorrow night, so I did.
Tomorrow night, the Committee will be meeting with some students who asked to be heard about their request for better sex education and access to free condoms in their schools. Yikes!
On the plus side, the students are proactively thinking about things in this arena. That is always good. In this case, they are driven by their concern for an increase in teen pregnancy and STD's. On the negative side, the students are approaching things in the wrong way.
To demonstrate the nature of the opposing views, here are quotes from both sides. Samantha Brea, a 17-year-old student, claims that, “Condom availability would teach kids how to be healthy individuals."* On the other hand, Chris Pham, a member of the Boston chapter of Pure In Heart, which is a Catholic chastity group, claims that, “Teens are being misled into believing that they can strap on a condom, have sex with whomever, and be safe."*
Chris hit it on the nose:Chastity and abstinence are the missing elements here. Students should be taught about living a chaste life, developing the strength to avoid temptations, saving themselves for marriage, and having true self-esteem.
“Teens are being misled into believing that they can strap
on a condom, have sex with whomever, and be safe."*
With free condoms and sex education supporting goodness in that, teens are thinking condoms are the ticket to indulging in underage and premarital sex. I definitely disagree with that, and C.J. Doyle, Director of Catholic Action League, states it well, “Condom distribution sends the wrong message to students that sexual activity before marriage is normative."*
Let's hope headway will be made here, unlike in Provincetown, MA last year. Click here
* articles - Parents, kids should be ‘enthusiastic’ about conversation, By Colneth Smiley Jr.
Students: Let’s talk about sex, By Jessica Fargen and Colneth Smiley Jr.
image - http://thissideofthewall.com/2010/05/lets-talk-about-sex-now/
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