Man, I really dislike those Focus on the Family peeps, what with their upcoming Super Bowl ad, and their hatred of Teh Gay, and Teh Women, and ... and ... and ... etc. Their website is like a Golden Opportunity™ to document everything that's currently wrong with the evangelical Christian movement in modern-day America.
So this new study had me slightly shocked:
In the first carefully designed study to evaluate the controversial approach to sex ed, researchers found that only about a third of 6th and 7th graders who went through sessions focused on abstinence started having sex in the next two years. In contrast, nearly half of students who got other classes, including those that included information about contraception, became sexually active.
Uhm. I sincerely don't ever remember a sex educator saying something to the effect of, "NO ABSTINENCE! NO NO NO NO NO!" But, ya know, that could just be me.
In my view, it's not as if sexual educators want kids to have sex. It's that they can't seem to stop them from doing it. And they probably use their own adolescent experiences as a guide there, but that could just my gut talking.
The study surveyed in WaPo (no link, of course, yet thanks to the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine) includes loads of complete crap (or perhaps that's just the author: any relation to Ben Stein?), until we come to this:
Several critics of abstinence-only approach argued that the curriculum tested was not representative of most abstinence programs. It did not take on a moralistic tone as many abstinence programs do. Most notably, the sessions encouraged children to delay sex until they are ready, not necessarily until they were married, did not portray sex outside of marriage as never appropriate or disparage condoms.
"There is no data in this study to support the 'abstain-until marriage' programs, which research proved ineffective during the Bush administration," said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth.
Well well well! See, if you start doing that, kids just might listen. I have one, so I should know.
I have a child. She is 9-years-old and, scarily enough, quite gorgeous. (I'd like to think that's just my Innate Momminess talking, but I've been told that by too many people that it's not even remotely true. The kid is a knock-out.) A conversation with her the other day went the following way:
ME: So do you have a crush on any boys yet?
KID (turning red and noticeably angry): ARGH! I don't wanna talk about that with you!
ME: OK, that's cool. Heck, honey, I never talked to MY mom about that either, when I was your age. I just told my friends.
KID: Well, I only do that with one friend, and you don't know who that is!
ME: Alright, that's fine! I'm just curious because I'm your mom, and that's how it works. :) Don't worry, I just wanna make sure you're talking to someone about this, but it doesn't necessarily have to be me.
KID (almost shouting): I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON ANY BOYS IN MY CLASS!
ME (laughing): OK OK, geez! No need to get upset. (Thinking.) Do you have a crush on any girls? Because that's OK too, ya know!
KID (glaring at me quite sternly): MOM!
ME: Alright alright, I'll shut up now. :)
My point here is that kids are not always honest about what they do/have done/intend to do. It's how they're hard-wired, methinks. So, as much as I want to believe my daughter about her not having a crush on "anyone" she goes to school with, I know her well enough to know that that's patently untrue. I can read her like an effing book. It's kinda cool, kinda weird at the same time. (Incidentally, she can also tell what I'm thinking much of the time, too. It's how we roll.)
My daughter isn't Bristol Palin. She's not going to "buy" this abstinence stuff, or what have you, nor should she. But I readily endorse an abstinence program, combined with a safe sex program, that teaches kids the TRUE facts of 2010 life, is honest with them, and doesn't condescend to them. So, ya know, let's bring this study home with the facts of life, eh? I am DOWN for that, Boulder County!
Kids hate being condescended to, because it makes them feel smaller than they already are. Some would even say that they hate that shit more than adults do, and I'd have to agree.
In other news, since I can't boycott CBS for this disgusting Focus on the Family ad (but only because of my beloved Craig Ferguson), I think this suggestion yesterday from mstew99 was awesome:
Here's what I will do if the 'Pro-Life' ad appears and is as egregious as many of us suspect it will be: I will calmly and quietly sit down at my little computer and make a few online donations, donations to organizations like Planned Parenthood or NOW or my local Democratic party organization or most any reputable group that opposes Tebow thinking. I won't be able to afford a large number of donations so I will probably give preference to the ones that have a 'Donation in the name of' box, which is where I will place the name Tim Tebow.
YOU GO, MSSTEW! :P I am right there with ya, girl. :P