by T-Man

Created on: June 15, 2008

I remember a time while attending elementary school in the mid 1980's we had a class called Sex Education. Basic principles about the structure and functions of the male and female reproductive systems as well as pregnancy and STD's were all covered in this class. Now picture your 10-year-old child sitting through this class and coming home and discussing what they had learned in school that day over dinner. You would probably choke on your corn on the cob and march right down to the school the next day. Now this was 20 years ago and yes, times were definately different back then. Every little word or action wasn't scrutinized and put under a microscope like it is today. We can't even disciple our children in public or in private, ride a bicycle without a helmet or even smoke a cigarette outside without getting an evil look. (for the record I don't smoke).

I'm a conservative at heart and a firm believer that it is the parents' right to raise their children according to their own beliefs and priciples while living in the free country of the USA. Now along with that right comes the responsibility of raising children with morals and an ethical standard that does no harm to the child or any other individual. This includes educating your children about the principles of sex including purpose, emotion, love, pregnancy, and the effects of sex such as STD's. I know I don't want somebody that I don't know or approve of teaching my children about anything especially sexual education.
I am a fan of less government interference in our lives, but unfortunately this, along with many others today, is a tricky topic. I feel that my wife and I are capable enough to teach our children about sex, but because of the many uneducated, unqualified, and flat out bad parents in this world today, somebody has to intervene and help us raise our kids. Since we as parents are doing such a horrible job of it, the government feels that they have to step in before our kids turn out totally useless like some of their parents. This is a catch-22 situation in the fact that because my child is in the classroom with other kids who have parents who could care less about what their children do, he is subject to what they are teaching. Because my child is in a school where they feel that they have to educate our children by passing out birth control, he is subject to it too. If the teaching is well structured by a highly qualified individual and the cirriculum is approved by the parents along with the school board, then I approve of it. If the teachers are just displaying baskets on their desks filled with condoms and not educating our kids about their purpose, then I'll be the first one to yank my child out of school.
In my heart I feel that schools and government shouldn't intervene in our personal lives in a lot of ways including the distribution of birth control. But the reality is that our society is messed up and parents aren't doing their jobs as parents and unfortunately somebody has to step up to the plate and keep our children from growing up like complete idiots.

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