Something to think about...

Most people close to me know about my struggles with infertility. Recently, I had a talk with someone who has strong beliefs about abortion and I had to make it clear how abortion laws greatly affect infertility treatments. No matter how you feel about abortion, please know that further restrictions on abortion can hinder infertility treatments available to people like me. I think everyone would agree that abortion is a very touchy topic, but if you think more in the light of reproductive rights, it is a much broader topic. Just something to think about!

CA Edu Code

"Education Code (EC) 51933 (Outside Source) specifies that school districts are not required to provide comprehensive sexual health education..."
(http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/sexeducation.asp)
In addition, the state of California requires teachers to "emphasis abstinence" when teaching sex education. With these two stipulations it just seems that there is a huge potential for very important information to be left out.

"In accordance with EC Section 51933, in grades seven through twelve sex education classes shall also teach about:
o abstinence from sexual activity
o STDs, including their transmission, treatment, and prevention and information about the effectiveness and safety of all Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved methods reducing the risk of contracting STDs
o the effectiveness and safety of all contraceptive methods approved by the FDA
o the California law allowing parents to surrender newborn babies to hospitals or other designated sites without legal penalty. "

Problem #1. Studies consistently show that the effectiveness rate of condom usage dramatically increases with education on how to properly use them. You cannot just hand out condoms and tell young people to use them, they need the know how.
Problem #2. I see nothing about peer pressure and dating relationships. Grades 7-12 is prime dating ages, why are we not teaching young people what kinds of behavior to look out for and be aware of? I know of so many high school relationships, including my own, that were abusive, manipulative and/or destructive.
to be continued......

Ethnographic study

So, I need to know what you thing, feel, believe about sex education and when is it appropriate to initiate "the talk". Specifically, what do you think about abstinence only education? Should parents be more involved in the classroom teaching practices on the subject? Would you volunteer/ participate in your child class? Do you have children? When did you or when will you approach the subject with your own kids? And, what subject matter did you cover? How open are the discussions about sex in your family? Talk to me....