Arne Duncan and "Comprehensive" Sex Ed
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
By Laurie Higgins, DSA Director
- Illinois Family Institute
Perhaps Arne Duncan's appointment as Secretary of Education is a good time to revisit the wisdom, ethics, pedagogical soundness, and efficacy of comprehensive sex education-yet another misnomer in the field of education.
In 2006, under Arne Duncan's leadership, Chicago Public Schools, adopted comprehensive sex education curricula. According to the Windy City Times, "On April 26, the Chicago Board of Education unanimously passed the Family Life and Comprehensive Sexual Health Education policy submitted by Chicago Public School ( CPS ) administrators, according to a press release from the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health ( ICAH ). . . . A CPS task force worked with youth leaders from around the city who were affiliated with ICAH to shape the policy."
The Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health held its Spring 2006 fundraiser at the Playboy mansion, which is understandable because who cares more deeply about sexual ethics than Hugh Hefner and his daughter Honorary Event Chair Christie Hefner.
Educators, with their voracious appetites for the hearts and minds of other people's children, continue to gobble up increasing areas of life. Their apparently insatiable hunger to remake the world in their own image blinds them to the arrogance of their quest. And their manipulation of rhetoric blinds taxpayers to the inappropriateness of both their means and ends.
"Comprehensive sex education" is education-speak for sex education curricula that, among other things, teach students subversive views of sexual conduct, abortion, and homosexuality. Here are some of the topics covered in typical comprehensive sex ed curricula:
What follows is a list of the top ten things a teen should do before they become sexually active according to "sexuality educator" Karen Rayne:
Moreover, co-ed sex education classes further undermine the virtue of modesty that our culture is doing a remarkable job already of undermining. Modesty is not to be confused with shame or prudery. Separating adolescent boys from adolescent girls for discussions of sexuality reinforces the idea that sexual activity and sexual anatomy are intimate and private. Co-ed classroom discussions about breast development, menstruation, erections, nocturnal emissions, anal sex, oral sex, and masturbation only serve to break down natural sexual barriers of modesty that cultural institutions should be strengthening.
In 1998, two of my daughter's friends, who were sixteen years old at the time, told me that it was not uncommon for groups of boys and girls to talk about their masturbation experiences together at school, asking one another whether they masturbate or how often. These girls were not part of a "wild" or unusually rebellious crowd. Although I was shocked, I later realized that if their health class permits and encourages discussions about sexual activity, then why would they not continue those discussions outside of class.
IFI is not recommending parents ignore this critical topic. IFI is recommending that parents notify their schools that they will be homeschooling their children just for health class. There are myriad curricula available from which to choose and which students would be able to complete in far less time than a school health class would take. This would not involve pulling them out of school. Students could complete this work during their evenings or on weekends and have an extra free period during their school day.
Perhaps if enough parents opt to homeschool their students for health class, the decline in enrollment, which would in turn affect staffing, would lead public school administrators to rethink the wisdom of co-ed comprehensive sex education curricula.
If, however, enrollment is little affected and schools maintain co-ed comprehensive sex education curricula, at least those parents who opt their children out will have escaped yet another attempt at indoctrination.
Support IFI's New Division of School Advocacy!
Would you prayerfully consider pledging a monthly gift of $25 or more to support this new division of IFI? A promise of this kind will help us form a strategic plan that budgetary constraints often makes impossible. You can become a Sustaining Member with automatic monthly deductions from your checking account or credit card. Click HERE to access the Sustaining Member form.
If a monthly pledge is not feasible at this time, perhaps you could send a one-time, tax-deductible gift. Click HERE to donate today!
If you believe in the mission and purpose of Illinois Family Institute, please send your most generous contribution today. IFI is supported by voluntary donations from individuals like you across the state of Illinois.
Donations to IFI are tax-deductible.
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Perhaps Arne Duncan's appointment as Secretary of Education is a good time to revisit the wisdom, ethics, pedagogical soundness, and efficacy of comprehensive sex education-yet another misnomer in the field of education.
In 2006, under Arne Duncan's leadership, Chicago Public Schools, adopted comprehensive sex education curricula. According to the Windy City Times, "On April 26, the Chicago Board of Education unanimously passed the Family Life and Comprehensive Sexual Health Education policy submitted by Chicago Public School ( CPS ) administrators, according to a press release from the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health ( ICAH ). . . . A CPS task force worked with youth leaders from around the city who were affiliated with ICAH to shape the policy."
The Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health held its Spring 2006 fundraiser at the Playboy mansion, which is understandable because who cares more deeply about sexual ethics than Hugh Hefner and his daughter Honorary Event Chair Christie Hefner.
Educators, with their voracious appetites for the hearts and minds of other people's children, continue to gobble up increasing areas of life. Their apparently insatiable hunger to remake the world in their own image blinds them to the arrogance of their quest. And their manipulation of rhetoric blinds taxpayers to the inappropriateness of both their means and ends.
"Comprehensive sex education" is education-speak for sex education curricula that, among other things, teach students subversive views of sexual conduct, abortion, and homosexuality. Here are some of the topics covered in typical comprehensive sex ed curricula:
However did society arrive at the foolish conclusion that anything pertaining to sexuality is the proper purview of public educators? How did the government arrive at the hubristic notion that it should expound in any way on a topic that for people of diverse religious faiths is inherently, profoundly, and objectively spiritual? The government is expressly prohibited from entangling itself with religion, then it decides to teach students about a topic that for many is deeply, fundamentally, and inextricably religious.Provides values-based education and offers students the opportunity to explore and define their individual values as well as the values of their families and communities Includes a wide variety of sexuality related topics, such as human development, relationships, interpersonal skills, sexual expression, sexual health, and society and culture Includes accurate, factual information on abortion, masturbation, and sexual orientation Provides positive messages about sexuality and sexual expression, including the benefits of abstinence Teaches that proper use of latex condoms, along with water-based lubricants, can greatly reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV Teaches that religious values can play an important role in an individual's decisions about sexual expression; offers students the opportunity to explore their own and their family's religious values Teaches that a woman faced with an unintended pregnancy has options: carrying the pregnancy to term and raising the baby, or carrying the pregnancy to term and placing the baby for adoption, or ending the pregnancy with an abortion
What follows is a list of the top ten things a teen should do before they become sexually active according to "sexuality educator" Karen Rayne:
As a sexuality educator, I spend most of my time helping parents understand how to talk with their children and teenagers about sex, sexuality, gender, and all of the myriad issues that go along with those things. . . . Putting aside issues of whether parents should have substantial input and control over their teenager's sexual activities, I found that parents were relying on goals that were far too vague. . . . And so, my list of ten concrete things that teenagers need to do before they have sex was born. Just to be clear, these are things to do before you have oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anything else that could get you pregnant or an STD.Illinois Family Institute has a counter-cultural concrete suggestion for all parents of children in public schools: for just health class, homeschool your children. Health class is usually a one semester class taken by sophomores. I know from my eight years of working in a public high school and from putting four children through a public high school that many, probably most, high school students think of health class as a "blow-off" course. Students are familiar with much of the content already, from drug, alcohol, and tobacco use to nutrition and exercise to mental health issues. That leaves sexual matters, and for many parents of faith, information regarding sexuality should never be taught divorced from discussions of faith and morality.
1. Have an orgasm.
Yes, before you start having sex, you should give yourself an orgasm. It's important to know what feels good to you before you can show another person what feels good to you.
2. Know the other person's sexual history.
And I don't mean just vaginal intercourse for this one!
3. Know the other person's STD status, as well as your own.
The only way to know this for sure is to be tested! And if you're both virgins, well, you're not going to be for long. You might as well get that scary first STD testing out of the way so you'll know what to expect next time around.
4. Talk about exactly what STD protection and birth control you will be using.
These two issues go hand-in-hand (for heterosexual couples), and it is the domain of both parties to be intimately involved.
5. If you are part of a heterosexual couple, talk about what happens if the woman gets pregnant.
Here are a few options to talk about, in alphabetical order: abortion, adoption, raising the kid alone, raising the kid together. With the understanding that reality is different than the theoretical, make sure you're both on the same theoretical page.
6. Have your best friend's blessing.
We can rarely see someone we're in love with clearly. It is often our best friends who can see our lovers and our potential lovers for who they really are. Listen to what your best friend has to say, and take it to heart. If it's not what you wanted to hear, give it some time. Wait a month. A good relationship will be able to withstand another month before having sex. Then ask a different friend, and see what they have to say.
7. Meet your partner's parents.
At the very least, make sure you know why you haven't met them. The best sex comes out of knowing someone well, and knowing someone's family is an important part of knowing them. (Even if they're really, really different from their family.)
8. Be comfortable being naked in front of each other.
You don't actually have to strip down in broad daylight to make sure you've reached this milestone, but it sure helps!
9. Have condoms on hand.
Make sure they fit right, that they're within the expiration date, and that they haven't been exposed to extreme conditions (like the inside of a really hot car). Condoms should be part of any respectful sexual relationship. There need be no assumption of hook ups outside of the relationship, just an assumption of good sexual habits being made and kept.
10. Make sure that your partner has done all of these things too.
Part of a happy, healthy sexual encounter is taking care of everyone's emotional needs and physical health. Both people need to pay attention to themselves and to their partner. That way each person has two people looking out for them. It's just the best way to do things.
Moreover, co-ed sex education classes further undermine the virtue of modesty that our culture is doing a remarkable job already of undermining. Modesty is not to be confused with shame or prudery. Separating adolescent boys from adolescent girls for discussions of sexuality reinforces the idea that sexual activity and sexual anatomy are intimate and private. Co-ed classroom discussions about breast development, menstruation, erections, nocturnal emissions, anal sex, oral sex, and masturbation only serve to break down natural sexual barriers of modesty that cultural institutions should be strengthening.
In 1998, two of my daughter's friends, who were sixteen years old at the time, told me that it was not uncommon for groups of boys and girls to talk about their masturbation experiences together at school, asking one another whether they masturbate or how often. These girls were not part of a "wild" or unusually rebellious crowd. Although I was shocked, I later realized that if their health class permits and encourages discussions about sexual activity, then why would they not continue those discussions outside of class.
IFI is not recommending parents ignore this critical topic. IFI is recommending that parents notify their schools that they will be homeschooling their children just for health class. There are myriad curricula available from which to choose and which students would be able to complete in far less time than a school health class would take. This would not involve pulling them out of school. Students could complete this work during their evenings or on weekends and have an extra free period during their school day.
Perhaps if enough parents opt to homeschool their students for health class, the decline in enrollment, which would in turn affect staffing, would lead public school administrators to rethink the wisdom of co-ed comprehensive sex education curricula.
If, however, enrollment is little affected and schools maintain co-ed comprehensive sex education curricula, at least those parents who opt their children out will have escaped yet another attempt at indoctrination.
Support IFI's New Division of School Advocacy!
Would you prayerfully consider pledging a monthly gift of $25 or more to support this new division of IFI? A promise of this kind will help us form a strategic plan that budgetary constraints often makes impossible. You can become a Sustaining Member with automatic monthly deductions from your checking account or credit card. Click HERE to access the Sustaining Member form.If a monthly pledge is not feasible at this time, perhaps you could send a one-time, tax-deductible gift. Click HERE to donate today!
If you believe in the mission and purpose of Illinois Family Institute, please send your most generous contribution today. IFI is supported by voluntary donations from individuals like you across the state of Illinois.
Donations to IFI are tax-deductible.