School must not be teens only source of sex education

Editorials

December 12, 2012

School must not be teens only source of sex education

By The Greenwood Commonwealth, Greenwood Miss. Associated Press Wed Dec 12, 2012, 08:00 AM CST

GREENWOOD, Miss. — There are two schools of thought on the best way to discourage teenagers from getting pregnant.

One advocates teaching (and preaching) “abstinence only” — that is, telling teens that there are economic, physical, emotional and moral imperatives to refrain from having sex until they are married, no exceptions allowed. It says that saying anything else just condones pre-marital sex and contributes to it.

The other side says that the abstinence-only approach is unrealistic. Since a majority of young people are already engaging in sexual relations, the argument goes, they need more than lectures that are out of touch with their experience. Sure, talk about the advantages of abstinence, they say, but youngsters who aren’t going to opt for abstinence need honest, factual information about contraception.

Those two schools of thought — in an apparently unplanned coincidence — were on display in the same building recently in Jackson. The Women’s Fund in Mississippi presented a conference on abstinence-plus early in the day at the Jackson Convention Complex, and Gov. Phil Bryant’s office sponsored one on abstinence-only later.

The juxtaposition invariably led to comparisons in the style and effectiveness of the two approaches. Mississippi’s public schools are closely divided over which is best. Required for the first time to provide students with sex education, 81 school districts have opted for the abstinence-only approach, 68 for abstinence-plus. Three are using a mixture of the two, depending on the age of the student.

In our opinion, abstinence-plus is the more effective approach. It better addresses what is really going on with today’s young people than what we wished was going on.

Neither approach, though, will be all that successful in reducing the state’s chronically high rates of teen pregnancy, premature births and sexually transmitted disease if responsible sex education only happens at school.

Young people are bombarded with erotic messages these days from the film, TV and music industries. They also receive from their peers a lot of bad information as well as pressure to become sexually active early.

Countering that combination of popular culture and peer pressure requires many adults — not just classroom teachers but parents, church leaders, coaches, neighbors. Not only do they have a role in imparting good values to young people. They also are critical in keeping tabs on what young people are watching, saying and doing.

As with a lot of risky behavior, sexual promiscuity among teenagers occurs when they are unsupervised or when the adults in their lives are sexually irresponsible themselves. Schools — no matter what approach they adopt — can’t overcome that.

Online:

http://www.sunherald.com

Text Only

Editorials

Bryant tantrum on education major standards was misguided
By the (McComb) Enterprise-Journal:
That was quite a tantrum Gov. Phil Bryant pitched at the College Board recently, criticizing its members for voicing concerns about his effort to increase standards for education majors.

March 29, 2013
Legislature to City Hall not sure move
Five Mississippi House members are running for mayor this year, and while name recognition might provide some advantage, lawmakers have had a mixed record in trying to go from the Capitol to City Hall.

March 27, 2013
Nation’s economy improving, but state’s still lagging
By The (Jackson) Clarion-Ledger
It’s been a long time coming, but finally there are bright economic signs nationally that seem here to stay a while.

March 23, 2013
Armed teachers dangerous idea for school safety
By (Columbus) The Commercial Dispatch:
The Mississippi House of Representatives sent back to the Senate a bill that would arm teachers.
Before sending it over, the House, by a 70-46 vote, amended the Senate’s bill in two major ways. Actually, the House did more than amend it. They neutered it.

March 22, 2013
Not every bill grabs headlines
The first two bills that Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed during the 2013 legislative session dealt with money.
House Bill 19 gave more cash to the agency that coordinates a program to put all emergency offices under the same digital communications system. House Bill 20 moved money from the car tag reduction fund to the Budget Contingency Fund. Lawmakers use the contingency fund to cobble together cash for the overall state budget.

March 20, 2013
Transparency key to ‘best watchdogs’ oversight
By The (Tupelo) Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal:
Rep. Jerry Turner’s effort to require open meetings of water associations and notice of meetings in which members of boards of directors will be elected remains alive in the Legislature. It should be enacted in the interests of transparency in the running of the nonprofit associations providing water for a significant percentage of Mississippi’s population.

March 16, 2013
Miss. makes news, good news, this time
By The (Columbus) Commercial Dispatch:
Generally, when Mississippi makes national news — especially of late — it is not the sort of notoriety we welcome. ...
So March 3, when Mississippi again made national news, we braced ourselves for the embarrassment that was sure to follow.
Only this time, it wasn’t anything to be embarrassed about.
Imagine that.

March 15, 2013
Ag’s legal expenses top $2.4M for year
An ongoing lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s foster care system has cost the state at least $4.4 million in legal expenses and fees since 2008.
Expenses continue to rise as the plaintiffs and the state work toward a telephone status conference scheduled for April 25 with U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee. The price tag this year is $1.35 million.

March 13, 2013
Ag’s legal expenses top $2.4M for year
An ongoing lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s foster care system has cost the state at least $4.4 million in legal expenses and fees since 2008.

March 13, 2013
Higher pay best way to recruit better teachers
By The (McComb) Enterprise-Journal:
A centerpiece of Gov. Phil Bryant’s proposals to improve education in Mississippi is raising the requirements for college students to major in the education field.

March 9, 2013
More Editorials Headlines

Editorials

Search Results

School must not be teens only source of sex education

Site Map

Contact Us