The Flagler County school district is exploring whether to change its policy on sex education. Currently, the policy calls for an abstinence-only sex-ed curriculum–when that curriculum is taught, which is rare. The district is exploring an “abstinence-plus” curriculum that would still focus on abstinence, but expand sex education to include information about sexually transmitted diseases, safe sex, and contraception. The district is looking to the community to gauge how far it may, or should, go with abstinence plus: how early to start teaching the curriculum, for example, and whether to make condoms available in school clinics.
The district in March surveyed students, parents and “community members” (residents who don’t have children in school) about sex education. The surveys invited participants to include their comments, anonymously. Those comments follow, as they were written into the surveys and provided by the school district. Background on the story can be read here.
Students’ comments can be read here (part 1) and here (part 2), and parents’ comments can be read here. All comments are provided unedited and uncensored.
Schools should have special meetings for parents. Teach the parents about this stuff, and have them teach their children.
Having condoms available in schools seems to condone sexual activity and may inadvertently put more pressure on teens to actually have sex before they’re ready. There needs to be a class though about safe sex, STDs, and the psychological and emotional response to teen sex. Maybe this would encourage teens to talk to a parent or some other trusted adult before just walking into a clinic, getting a condom, and going out and sleeping with someone.
I agree with the abstinence only policy, I think it should actually be taught, and reinforced on a regular basis, rather than just being a passive policy.
Teenagers are having sex regardless of what we think is really going on. We did, our parents did and their parents did. Nothing has changed in 80-100 years. Lets educate our children so they are not children with children. Putting our heads in the sand only creates these problems.
If the information in questions 1, 2 and 3 is correct, then these children obviously need some education on the subject.
I am torn between taking away precious school time from the basics, reading, writing and arithmetic. But I don’t live under a rock. Although my children are grown I do know that “children” are experimenting at an earlier age. Parents for the most part are not taking charge of this subject, so as usual, the schools must take over. It used to be that pregnancy was the fear, now it is AIDS, STD’s , etc. that must be taken into account.
condoms should be made available in all clinics at the high school level for students in grade 9-12
Sex ed should start at home and then be reinforced in school curriculum. It’s unfortunate that children in elementary school are having sex, but since this is happening we need to address it in a logical, non-biased way.
I am 35 and attended a small rural high school in PA. When I was in high school condoms were readily available no questions asked at the nurses office in a candy dish. You would take them if you needed them even if she was not in, no questions asked. Students did not fear embarrasment and did not abuse the system and only took what they needed. Although it did not stop teen pregnancy it did cut back on STD’s. Kids are going to have sex no matter what, help keep them safe by educating them on how to properly use a condom at a young age, before they are experimenting on there own.
FOR ABSTINENCE/PURITY UNTIL HETEROSEXUAL MARRIAGE–HAVE “THE “SILVER RING THING” COURSES {SOME OF THEIR FAVORITES LIKE THE JONAS BROTHERS WEAR THEM}. WE ALL NEED A RELATIONSHIP W/ JESUS CHRIST, THEN THESE PROBLEMS WON’T HAPPEN! CHILDREN ARE PRECIOUS, HOW CAN A SECULAR SCHOOL SYSTEM TRY TO TEACH SOMETHING SO SACRED & PRIVATE THAT ONLY PARENTS ARE ALLOWED TO DO? HEALTH CLASS SHOULD BE ABOUT NUTRITIOUS EATING & EXERCISING, FRESH AIR AND MODERATE SUNLIGHT. THANKS!
Although this is a poorly developed survey, I understand the intention behind it. If the United States, and the Flagler County community, do not get their heads out of the sand, this problem will escalate dramatically in the years ahead. Many parents no longer teach their children about sex, and as with everything else these days, it has to fall on the school to make up for that lack of parenting. Either we bite the bullet and do it, or we continue to pretend that it offends our sensibilities and the problem never gets resolved!
This is very poorly designed instrument. The first three questions are not questions and are not really seeking any information. My husband and I had “the talk” with our children when they reached middle school, and did not depend of the school system to do it for us. However, too many parents avoid this responsibility out of ignorance or stupidity, thinking that if you don’t talk about sex, it won’t happen. Our bodies are the greatest gifts we are given; students should be taught about how it works as part of a good health curriculum. We teach about our muscular/skeletal system, our nervous system, our digestive system, but ignore that mysterious area between our waists and upper thighs. A decent sex ed. program should teach how conception occurs, taking the mystery out of it. And unless our county wishes to continue paying the costs of babies born to mothers too young and ill-equipped to raise them responsibly, we should at least touch on the basics of avoiding contraception, and give them a way to access more information/contraceptives if they need it The basics should be taught as early as middle school, since research shows there are students that are experimenting and sexually active then. The college I attended had a course titled “Human Sexuality” and it wasn’t until I was 22 that I had any real idea of how the mechanics of my body’s reproduction cycle worked – that is a tragedy. I’m guessing that the percentage of students who wait until age 22 to experiment sexually is fairly low these days.
more study of why teens are getting pregnant when so much training and prevention is avaiable and can be anonymous. Until the cause or causes are know and dealth with the problem will continue. clearly the first may be an accident but the second pregnancy should be a big red flair. I think the kids know the risks and preventions but want to have babies for the reasons to be discovered. Young girls need to have independent self esteem and should not have to have a baby to establish her self worth.
I am a 31 year old female. I do not have children, but I graduated from the Flagler school system in 1998. There was no sex education when I was in school, and there were a great number of students that I knew who were pregnant. It seems the problem is getting worse. Ideally sex education should take place at home, but that is not reality. We should also make teens aware that they can receive low to no cost contraception at the Flagler Health Department. I hope a satisfactory resolution can be reached in this time of extreme budget cuts. The bottom line is the current system is NOT WORKING, and it never has. I did not personally know anyone when I was a teen who had not had sex by the time they graduated, including myself. I had sex for the first time when I was 16, in 1996.
Children need infomation about sex and informed decisions to have it or not. The more information the wise the decision.
You indicated that our teen pregnancy in Flagler is low. How are we compared to other counties that have abstinence plus? All we see in the article and questions is about condoms. STD’s are the most dangerous consequences of sexual activities. Condoms do not prevent all the different STDs and they do not prevent pregnancy 100%. Abstinence is the only 100% prevention. This is what the children should be taught. Any sex education program should focus on the dangers of STD’s as well as the consequences of teenage pregnancies.
Program designs would be best served by studying curricula in Sweden, Germany and Great Britain. This County lacks sufficient resources to set effective policies without more research. As a reminder, this is obviously a health care issue, and would be undermined greatly if approached as a social issue.
I believe this is the full responsibility of parents to teach their children; however in a society where most parents don’t care or take on this responsibility then the community has to once again step in and that would suggest it shifting to the schools. When that is necessary it should not be taught prior to 9th grade as I believe it causes more curiosity than education.
With all due respect to Religious beliefs, we have a major crisis in this county that’s going to take more than just teaching abstinance to resolve.
due to the nature of our society today children are subjected to sex at younger and younger ages. I myself am 53 and did not even hear my first curse word until I was in the seventh grade and that was “bite me”. Children are barraged with sexual inuendo even in cartoons. I think it is never too early to start teaching. It is just a shame that the teaching may start at school and not at home.
I strongly support teaching abstinence.
Some children may need this information at younger ages.
I’ve indicated above that the broad-based teaching could start with the sixth or seventh graders (approximate age of 12), but like school-based “Health” classes did many years ago, there is a need for starting the females sooner, at grade four or five. They are the ones who are far more “sexually curious” and liable to act out with a sibling, friend or even older (teenage or adult) individual. Boys at that age are far less likely to be focused on sex and much more likely to be an unwilling participant. I am not in favor of the distribution of birth control pills or patches in the schools because they do not prevent STD’s, including AIDS. Also, as is happening in Maine, school nurses are providing double pill doses as a RU-486 approach to abortion for elementary school children. That would be completely unacceptable.
I teach at FPCHS. Having condoms available would make the statement that “it is ok to have sex”. The students would display the condoms in school.
