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  • HALF A LOAF

    Filed at 5:51 am under by dcobranchi

    The NC General Assembly is considering giving parents a choice between comprehensive sex education (which works) and abstinence only sex education wishful thinking (which doesn’t). Believe it or not, this is actually a step in the right direction:

    Two state lawmakers say they think North Carolina’s mandated abstinence-until-marriage sex education curriculum does not tell students what they need to know to keep from getting pregnant or contracting a sexually transmitted disease.

    Rep. Susan Fisher of Asheville and Rep. Bob England of Ellenboro want to add a comprehensive curriculum that would include more information on contraception. The proposed change would give parents the option to choose which program to send their children through: The comprehensive one or the abstinence-only one.

    Sex ed is taught in grades 7 to 9 in Cumberland County. In 1995, state lawmakers passed a bill limiting sex education to mainly focusing on abstinence.

    [snip]

    The abstinence-only curriculum discusses other methods of pregnancy- and disease-prevention, but bars teachers from telling students details such as how to use a condom.

    When students ask their teachers questions that the teachers are not allowed to answer, the teachers may refer them to someone else who can or to their parents, said Shirley Johnson, the Healthful Living Coordinator for the Cumberland County Board of Education.

    That makes sense, because we all know that teens are completely comfortable talking to their parents about sex.

    There’s a reason that NC ranks in the top 10 for teen pregnancy rate. I wonder what it could be.

    2 Responses to “HALF A LOAF”


    Comment by
    alasandra
    February 4th, 2009
    at 2:09 pm

    Well at least NC is moving in the right direction. MS continues to live in the Middle Ages when in comes to sex education.


    Comment by
    Nance Confer
    February 5th, 2009
    at 8:52 am

    So how would that work?

    The kids are enrolling for 7th grade and the parents select “pro-teen pregnancy” or “actual information.”

    Teachers are assigned to teach each class separately, of course. Wouldn’t want any information spilling onto the pre-knocked-up.

    Can NC afford two teachers where one would do? What if all the parents choose one or the other?

    Nance