Teacher fired for condom demonstration

[peter2002]

Jeez, it is so difficult to find good teachers and they go and fire this guy who is trying to help students that don't know how to use condoms and don't want to get pregnant nor STDs.

I wish I had a teacher like this when I was in high school. This info would have saved me a lot of trouble when I was young.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/01/31/teacher.condom.demo.ap/index.html

Seriously, it is really hypocritical of them to fire this guy. Learning about love and sexuality is better than learning about war and death and how glorious it is to be in the military which is the kind of brainwashing they teach these days.

Pete

 

[Backtothemac]

The teacher should have been fired! If he was my daughters teacher, he would have probably gotten his ass whipped too. Everyone on the left keep saying we can't offend people, well, premarital sex is a sin in my religion so, why force this type of education on my child? I will send my daughter to school to learn about math, science, english, foreign languages, etc. NOT ABOUT SEX.

When are people going to understand that this is the job of the parent, not the school. The school is not to prepare my child for her private, life, just her public education!

Man, this **** pisses me off!

 

[rainman::|:|]

Most teenagers are sexually active. Regardless of religion, etc. Parents just aren't talking to their kids about sex, so someone has to- STDs and unwanted pregnancy run rampant among highschoolers. Schools should do everything possible to teach this sort of thing, they're not telling the kids to have sex, they're just telling them that if they do, they need to be safe.

I cannot think of any religion where knowledge of safe sex is a sin in itself.

Anything that can be done to slow the spread of disease-- particularly HIV, is a good thing. Same goes for pregnancy. I've watched intelligent girls with a lot of potential throw their lives away by having a child in HS, dropping out, and never getting to go to college.

If you're so easily offended, you can easily have your child opt out of the sex-ed program at your school, they respect everyone's views on the subject. But you had damn well better not complain if that child gets an incurable disease or becomes a parent.

pnw

 

[Backtothemac]

Originally posted by paulwhannel
Most teenagers are sexually active. Regardless of religion, etc. Parents just aren't talking to their kids about sex, so someone has to- STDs and unwanted pregnancy run rampant among highschoolers. Schools should do everything possible to teach this sort of thing, they're not telling the kids to have sex, they're just telling them that if they do, they need to be safe.

I cannot think of any religion where knowledge of safe sex is a sin in itself.

Anything that can be done to slow the spread of disease-- particularly HIV, is a good thing. Same goes for pregnancy. I've watched intelligent girls with a lot of potential throw their lives away by having a child in HS, dropping out, and never getting to go to college.

If you're so easily offended, you can easily have your child opt out of the sex-ed program at your school, they respect everyone's views on the subject. But you had damn well better not complain if that child gets an incurable disease or becomes a parent.

pnw

Nope Paul, that is not it. I don't care what all the other parents do or don't do. I care what I do, with my child! If parents are not talking, then maybe we need classes for the parents, but to teach 14 year olds in a school with mood lighting, and music, and have 2 of them pretend to be sex theripists, the guy should have been fired.

Now I am not talking about Anatomy. That is part of science. But sex ed. NO! And it is not always a voluntary class. Many schools require it. They have no right! That is an invasion of privacy, and way, way out of line. But hey that is the liberal agenda right. You can't pray at a football game before the game because you might offend someone, but you can teach a child anything regardless of how that may offend someone.

DOUBLE STANDARD!

That is the problem with the left. It is the silencing of all ideas that Democrats do. They try to keep good debate from occuring.

Sad really.

 

[Kid Red]

Wow, that's odd, I had sex education in 5th grade. So I guess I learned about sex in school, along with math, english and science. And I will send my daughter to school to learn about sex in the same manner.

We had condoms demonstrated and passed out for free at my elementary school. I don't agree with his firing, but he didnt have prior approval or part of the curriculum. The superintendent is a moron, we *do* need this in our schools, but by qualified teachers/doctors.

 

[Kid Red]

Originally posted by Backtothemac


Nope Paul, that is not it. I don't care what all the other parents do or don't do. I care what I do, with my child! If parents are not talking, then maybe we need classes for the parents, but to teach 14 year olds in a school with mood lighting, and music, and have 2 of them pretend to be sex theripists, the guy should have been fired.

Now I am not talking about Anatomy. That is part of science. But sex ed. NO! And it is not always a voluntary class. Many schools require it. They have no right! That is an invasion of privacy, and way, way out of line. But hey that is the liberal agenda right. You can't pray at a football game before the game because you might offend someone, but you can teach a child anything regardless of how that may offend someone.

DOUBLE STANDARD!

That is the problem with the left. It is the silencing of all ideas that Democrats do. They try to keep good debate from occuring.

Sad really.

Are yuo right handed? Because you seem to have a problem with your left.

 

[Backtothemac]

Originally posted by Kid Red
Wow, that's odd, I had sex education in 5th grade. So I guess I learned about sex in school, along with math, english and science. And I will send my daughter to school to learn about sex in the same manner.

We had condoms demonstrated and passed out for free at my elementary school. I don't agree with his firing, but he didnt have prior approval or part of the curriculum. The superintendent is a moron, we *do* need this in our schools, but by qualified teachers/doctors.

Wow, that's odd, I NEVER had any sex education in my schools. We had one girl get pregnant in school, and she went on to go to Harvard, and now works for NASA as a flight engineer. So, along with math, english, and science, OUR PARENTS WERE GOOD PARENTS AND TOLD US WHAT WE NEEDED TO KNOW! This was in the 80's at the height of AIDS. So, I hope that you will teach your daughter about sex on your own. Do you have a daughter, or is this a future daughter? So, you had condoms demonstrated at YOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Where did you go to school? That is just sick, elementary school! Your talking 5th grade and below right.

Man this world is so friggin warped it is unreal.

 

[rainman::|:|]

I agree that this situation was a bit over the top. But I still very much agree with sex ed in schools-- i, too, had it first in 5th grade (it *was* an anatomy lesson then*, and in 8th grade we had the full course. It was an open environment where the kids could feel free to ask questions and take away a lot of the ignorance surrounding the subject. You know, kids in HS commonly think that douching with Coca-Cola prevents pregnancy? Or that certain combinations of over-the-counter medications prevent conception? Or that a woman cannot get pregnant or a disease if you use the pull-out method? That's what sex ed is for.

And it's a law that if parents do not want their kids in sex ed, they can opt out. It cannot be considered a requirement for graduation or advancement, and generally the grade does not apply towards GPA (different schools have different policies on this). All a parent has to do is call the school when they get notification (which is also required, i believe) that their child is going to take place in sex ed, and the kid can be moved out of the class before it even begins. It's not a hugely uncommon thing, either, I remember one kid in particular who did not go through it, he went to study hall instead.

BTTM, it is about what other parents do or don't do. If you plan on educating your kids on safe sex early on (they'll be sexually active years before you ever know it, by the way; 12-year-olds are mildly sexually active as a matter of principal anymore) that's great... pull your kids out of sex ed. But not a lot of parents want to deal with it (and a lot of parents are very happy about sex education in schools). And the kids themselves deserve to learn about the responsibilities of being sexually active before they make that decision. It's certainly not a good thing that kids are having sex earlier and earlier, but it IS a reality, and while they will find out quickly the hard truths on the subject, they should get a chance to learn those truths before they've done irreversable damage to their lives.

 

[Chaszmyr]

Originally posted by Backtothemac
Wow, that's odd, I NEVER had any sex education in my schools.

I had sex education in my schools 6th, 7th, and 8th, and 9th grade

 

[iAlan]

I agree that parents should be required to attend classes on how to talk to thier children about sex.

Some parents just aren't capable of talking to their kids about what could easily become an embarrasing topic.

I would be interested to know the ratio of people who were educated about sex by their parents who are now educating their own children versus those who were educated at school who are now educating their own children?

I am single, no kids, was taught about sex at school, by friends and from porno videos. I was not ashamed to talk to my parents, and they answered my questions when I asked, but they did not instigate discussions on the subject. I do not know if my attitude toward sex would be different if I learnt about it differently.

 

[Backtothemac]

If they don't have to be in the class, lets see what is the alternative, Study Hall? That is like punishment. That is the crap that pisses me off. No, Mr. Stacey, your daughter doesn't have to go to Sex Ed, but can go to study hall instead!

As for you theory Paul. My dad taught me about Sex when I was in the 4th grade, and he did it with tact, and any information I asked he gave, and he continued every year of my life asking me if I had questions. I did not have sex until I was 18. Just because a child is young doesn't mean that they will have sex. It was a matter of responsiblity that my father instilled in me that I never did it.

My mind will never change on this. It will never, ever be the job of a school to teach my daughter about sex. Nothing will ever change that.

Just like nothing will ever change your opinion about the neccessity of gay rights legislation, or that gay marrage should be legal, etc. It is just fact, and opinion, and both have started wars. Still, I respect your opinion, and your ability to explain your position well

 

[rainman::|:|]

True that-- you and i have to be two of the most opinionated people around here it's why i stopped reading the political threads... To some extent, debate is a healthy way to keep informed on a subject, but there's a fine line between that and overzealousness.

and have i made myself *that* transparent on the gay rights issue?

pnw

 

[Backtothemac]

Originally posted by paulwhannel
True that-- you and i have to be two of the most opinionated people around here it's why i stopped reading the political threads... To some extent, debate is a healthy way to keep informed on a subject, but there's a fine line between that and overzealousness.

and have i made myself *that* transparent on the gay rights issue?

pnw

Hey, remember now that you are talking to a Republican here

Still, I agree that gay rights legislation is needed. People are people, and I think one of the best ways to reduce the prejudice that exists is to make it no big deal, because it isn't.

I sleep with women, you sleep with men. So what. Does that make either one of lesser human beings?

Nope.

 

[dubbelhund]

Teenage Birthrate:

About five percent of U. S. teenagers give birth each year. A recent study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute showed teen birthrates here to be twice as high as Canada, England, and Wales, three times as high as Sweden, and seven times higher than the Netherlands.

Teenage Pregnancy Rate:

Of the 29 million young people between the ages of 13 and 19, approximately 12 million have had sexual intercourse. Of this group, in 1981, more than 1.1 million became pregnant; three- quarters of these pregnancies were unintended, and 434,000 ended in abortion (What Government Can Do, 1984). The number of pregnancies increased among teenagers in all age groups during the 1970s, but among those who were sexually active the pregnancy rate has been declining. Because of increased and more consistent use of contraceptives by teenagers, the rate of pregnancy among them has been increasing more slowly than their rate of sexual activity. Although the number of teenagers who are sexually active increased by two-thirds over the 1970s, over half of U.S. teenagers are sexually inactive.

 

[dubbelhund]

Rates of Teenage Childbearing in the U.S. Are the Highest in the Developed World.

The U.S. teenage birth rate is the highest in the developed world: twice as high as England's, three times as high as Australia's, four times as high as Germany's, six times as high as France's, eight times as high as the Netherlands', and 15 times as high as Japan's (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1998; Berne & Huberman, 1999).

Reasons for the lower rates of teenage childbearing in these countries include mandatory, medically accurate sexuality education programs that provide comprehensive information and encourage teens to make responsible choices easy access to contraception and other forms of reproductive health care, including abortion social acceptance of adolescent sexual expression as normal and healthy straightforward public health media campaigns government support for the right of teens to accurate information and confidential services (Berne & Huberman, 1999)

 

[Roger1]

This teacher has a serious common sense issue. After reading the article and finding out how he taught the class (mood music?) some type of discipline was in order. But then he maintains he never had proper training for this class... If so, why didn't he mention this to his superiors? I think more people than him need some discipline.

BTW, I feel sex ed can be taught in the class room in a tactful manner, as a part of a health class. But not the way this guy did it. Mood music and "therapists" is not the way to go.

 

[Sun Baked]

I guess I'll have to refrain from any oral arguments and/or comments, they may just be below the belt.

 

[lmalave]

Originally posted by Backtothemac
The school is not to prepare my child for her private, life, just her public education!

Totally agree with you here, man. I don't mind sex being taught from a purely biological perspective, but Sex Ed issues are exactly the kind of fluff that needs to be eliminated from schools anyway. Messages to practice safe sex (or abstinence), say no to drugs, don't drink and drive, etc. are all well-intentioned, but as you said, that is NOT the job of schools. The job of schools is to teach Language, Math, Science, Literature, etc. I remember at my high school we had so much crap like a First Aid class, a personal finance classes, home-ec type classes etc (by the end of my sophomore year I petitioned to get out of these stupid classes so I could take more Advanced Placement type classes). Those are fine classes for people of any age to take in the eveningg at the local community center or something on their own time, but they do not belong in an official school curriculum. Let's stick to the basics, folks. The job of a school is NOT to produce good citizens - that is the job of the parents.

(and by the way I am a card-carrying flaming liberal, but I don't think it's right or fair to push my views on anyone else, especially using public funds)

 

[idkew]

back in middle school, maybe 7th or 8th grade our teachers demonstrated condoms on a bananna. i don't see what the big deal is. kids needs to learn that stuff.

 

[lmalave]

Originally posted by dubbelhund
Rates of Teenage Childbearing in the U.S. Are the Highest in the Developed World.

The U.S. teenage birth rate is the highest in the developed world: twice as high as England's, three times as high as Australia's, four times as high as Germany's, six times as high as France's, eight times as high as the Netherlands', and 15 times as high as Japan's (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1998; Berne & Huberman, 1999).

Reasons for the lower rates of teenage childbearing in these countries include mandatory, medically accurate sexuality education programs that provide comprehensive information and encourage teens to make responsible choices easy access to contraception and other forms of reproductive health care, including abortion social acceptance of adolescent sexual expression as normal and healthy straightforward public health media campaigns government support for the right of teens to accurate information and confidential services (Berne & Huberman, 1999)

I think you (or the article you're quoting) isn't entirely accurate. How do you explain the fact that all the countries above have a much lower rate of drug use? How do you explain that they have a much lower incidence of violence? (school violence, for example). The answer I think is pretty clear: the real reason for the above problems are cultural and socio-economic. Do you seriously think Japan's teenage birth rate is due to their comprehensive sex education? Yeah, RIGHT! C'mon, I know you're smarter than that.

If we want to lower teenage pregnancy, we need to work on the social and economic issues that are behind almost 100% of the cases.

 

[The Sheck]

Originally posted by lmalave
The job of schools is to teach Language, Math, Science, Literature, etc.

No, the job of schools is to prepare you to be a productive member of society. I think learning birth control methods and sex education would enable you to be a productive member of society, don't you?

I remember at my high school we had so much crap like a First Aid class, a personal finance classes, home-ec type classes etc (by the end of my sophomore year I petitioned to get out of these stupid classes so I could take more Advanced Placement type classes).

Again, how are classes about learning how to manage your money, learning how to cook, buy groceries, spend your food money, and learning basic first-aid skills be classified as not productive to society?

Look, I understand your thoughts on parents teaching this stuff, and not schools, but the fact remains, parents petition these subjects to be taught in schools because they either a) don't have the time to do it or b) don't want to do it. Likewise, in most cases, parental notification slips are passed out for sex ed. so a parent can decide for a child to pursue another activity while the lesson is being taught. It's not counted against their grades, and everyone's happy. I don't think it's some liberal conspiracy that these things are in public schools, it's a reflection of our society. And if the pendulum swings the other way, the schools will reflect that.

 

[Backtothemac]

Parents petition! That is rich. I have never know of a single parent to petition my schools to teach home ec. That was just part of the classes, but sex ed. No. Having sex explained in biology that is fine, but the GOVERNMENT, yes, publicly funded schools should respect those who do not want this taught to their children!

 

[Sun Baked]

Originally posted by Backtothemac
Parents petition! That is rich. I have never know of a single parent to petition my schools to teach home ec. That was just part of the classes, but sex ed. No. Having sex explained in biology that is fine, but the GOVERNMENT, yes, publicly funded schools should respect those who do not want this taught to their children!

There are lots of thing taught to the masses that the minority DON'T want taught to their children.

If they don't want their kids to learn something, home school them during that semester or keep them home that day.

Stop bitching and moaning AFTER the fact if you are not keeping an eye on you childs education, you do have choice in the matter or alternatives - but it takes some effort to be active in their education.

If it benefits the majority of the children, why cater to the minority.

But, something this sensitive should be taught by those specially trained in educating those to who it will be taught.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

It boils down to who is supposed to be raising our children us? or big brother uncle sam/liberal democrats who think Govt should be in every aspect of our lifes! Sorry all you libearals that think Govt should do all! I VOTE FOR US! Lets leave parenting to parents. You are allways going to have a few parents that are bad parents thats a fact! But the majority of parents love their kids so lets get govt the hell out of our lives! And we do need to teach children to wait until adulthood before having sex. Not teach children this is how you do it!

 

[dricci]

Parents should teach their kids about sex and other vital things in life. But covering your eyes and saying "not my kids, they're too smart to do that" isn't going to help anything. The problem with most in school sex-ed classes is they're not good enough. Showing drawings of reporductive organs and saying "don't put them together until married OR ELSE!" isn't helping anything. I think this guy had the right idea to have an open setting and not to be so uptight about it, the students were probably more comfortable with it, too and I'm sure this guy is a very good teacher. Until more parents start taking responsibility, then I think in-school sex ed (when taught right where the kids actually learn things that can save their lives instead of having a class to sit in and joke around in for an hour) is a very good thing that will save lives. Teen pregnancy and AIDS aren't going away with the current crappy plans in place. The first place things are taught should always be at home by parents, but for many, school is the last chance to learn about this stuff before teens are exposed to peer preasure about sex and STDs.