They need to know more and earlier than they used to. If parents address the topic openly and honestly, their kids can handle hearing it discussed in science class. If parents haven't broached the subject by the time the students are sophomores in high school, though, they have left their children unprepared for a variety of situations they're increasingly likely to face. In a perfect world, parents wouldn't neglect their children's education in that way. In the real world, teachers like David Kenney in Ridgway are forced to shoulder responsibility that shouldn't be theirs.
Kids face the same pressures and the same dangers here.
So do teachers, and they deserve support. Copyright 2000 the Cortez Journal. All rights reserved.