From: curt@aixwiz.austin.ibm.com (Curt Finch/131072)
Newsgroups: tx.politics
Subject: SEX EDUCATION:  TAKING THE CHILD OUT OF CHILDHOOD?
Date: 29 Sep 92 02:02:09 GMT
Reply-To: curt@aixwiz.austin.ibm.com (Curt Finch/131072)
Distribution: tx
Organization: IBM AWD, Austin, TX


         ==============  QUOTE OF THE DAY  ==============
"These things have a way of happening without parental input,
possibly because the sensibilities of parents, poor yahoos that
they are, aren't as good as the sensibilities of enlightened
bureaucrats ..." -- John Leo on sex education in schools. (#2)

       =====  GOAL THREE:  CORE COURSE PROFICIENCY  =====

*1   SEX EDUCATION:  TAKING THE CHILD OUT OF CHILDHOOD?
     American society is moving from protecting children from
"adult realities" to preparing them, at an early age, to face
head on death, sex, disease and violence.  And some say this
movement robs children of their age of innocence (Neuman, INSIGHT
magazine).
     Neuman points to several phenomena that contribute to this
trend:  a sexually explicit entertainment industry; children's-
rights movements; AIDS and sex education in early grades; condom
distribution; and public-school health clinics.
     Karl Zinsmeister, American Enterprise Institute scholar:
"No one would argue that children have to be protected to the
point where they don't learn about the world.  The question is
simply one of balance ... we've gone to an extreme where there's
no protection and far too much preparation."
     According to the author, "Parents are frequently left in the
dark about the specifics" of sex education and other programs.
And parents who criticize the content of sex and AIDS curricula
say they are "ostracized," writes Neuman.
     In some cases, parental authority is supplanted by the
school district or other government agency.  Neuman says
Washington, D.C.'s, case, where parents cannot prohibit their
children from receiving condoms at H.S. health clinics, typifies
the situation (See DRC 9/4, #10).
     These cases beg certain questions, writes the author:  "What
are the proper boundaries between parental and public authority?
To what extent should minors be allowed to make their own
decisions, and who should make the decisions they don't make for
themselves?"  And what effect will "rolling back the age of
innocence ... have on children today" and their children?
     According to the author, the onset of AIDS has changed the
nature of sex education in the schools.  No longer is the
curricula "grounded in biology and aimed at correcting frequent
myths and misinformation."  Children now are taught about sexual
behavior, contraceptives, abortion and homosexuality.
     Some child and adolescent psychiatrists warn schools to
address these issues "at a level the child is developmentally
ready for."  David Fassler, child and adolescent specialist:  "A
child's first introduction to information about sex should not be
in association with a disease."
     Neuman notes that other child psychiatrists oppose "too-
explicit sex education on mental health grounds, rather than for
religious or political reasons."  They cite Sigmund Freud's
discovery of a "latency period" for children between ages 6-12:
During this period, sexual curiosity lies dormant and the mind
channels sexual energies into other purposes, primarily related
to education.
     Neuman points out that today's parents of young children
grew up as part of a permissive, sexually open generation.
Although many parents do not think teens should have sex, they
"don't have any confidence that [teaching abstinence] can be
done," said Project Respect Director Kathleen Sullivan (9/27).

--
curt@aixwiz.austin.ibm.com (Curt L. Finch) | AIX NFS/NIS Field Quality 
My views are unrelated to those of IBM     |       Austin, TX
 -Public school administration has gone from 15% to 30% of expenses since 1960-
Newsgroups: tx.politics,alt.politics.clinton