photo by our “wise guy” Figleaf
I have the privilege of teaching sex ed to my sixth graders. However, there are so many limitations to what I can tell my kids. It can be SO frustrating. I am deeply spiritual and a devout Christian but I have no intention of forcing my beliefs on my kids. I simply want them to know more than what the textbook includes like self-pleasure and how men’s needs differ from women’s needs. If I had had someone who was willing to be very open and frank about human sexuality when I was in junior high and high school, I don’t think I would have ended up pregnant as a teenager. After growing up with so many misconceptions about sex I am very thankful for having a man in my life that has helped me to be relaxed and open to some wonderful possibilities sexually. I remember getting so much misinformation about sex from friends, media, and my parents. I would gladly welcome the parents of my students to sit in on a discussion about the sexual side of being human with my students. They may have more questions than my students invariably do.
— Brad’s Angel, commenting on the post “All I Really Needed to Know I Learned from Porn”
I really hope this whole abstinence education thing goes away soon. I grew up in a school district that was abstinence-only, but thankfully I had parents willing to go over more than that with me. Granted, it was only about birth control, rather than many of the other areas of sex I feel it may have been helpful to know (like, that women CAN have higher sex drives than a man. I felt like a freak for years until I found you guys.)
Anyways – I didn’t end up having sex young, and I’ve never participated in risky sexual behavior. Because I was AWARE. Seriously, study after study after study shows that better educated kids make better choices. What is wrong with lawmakers and school boards?!
I am kind of glad that I grew up in Canada and had at least non-religious influenced sex education. I mean, it wasn’t exactly adequate, but I am so so glad I never had to experience abstinence education.
I’ll second that ‘Amen’.
Amen.