Texas schools move away from abstinence-only education: We don’t think it’s working.
Texas schools move away from abstinence-only education: We don’t think it’s working.
Texas currently has the third-highest teen birth rate in the country and “the highest rate of repeat teen births.” It also leads the nation in the amount of government money it spends on abstinence-only education. But some school districts in the state are now shifting away from that approach, admitting that it isn’t working:
“We mainly did it because of our pregnancy rate,” said Whitney Self, lead teacher for health and physical education at the Hays Consolidated Independent School District. “We don’t think abstinence-only is working.” [...]
Both approaches to sex education teach that refraining from sexual activity is the safest choice for teens.
But abstinence-only gives limited information about contraceptives and condoms and tends to downplay their effectiveness, while abstinence-plus stresses the importance of using such protection if teens are sexually active.
Medical experts have stated concluded that not only do abstinence-only programs not curb teen pregnancy, but “there is evidence to suggest that some of these programs are even harmful and have negative consequences by not providing adequate information for those teens who do become sexually active.”
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I’m sure some right-wingers will say those numbers have some sort of liberal-bias.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:09 pmDuh!!! This is why Regressive Conservatives should not be in government, they are complete failures of distorted thought processes…
…couldn’t think their way out of a wet paper bag.
Can’t wait for Grammaticality Inferior’s pathetic post on this thread…
….it’s like a train wreck, just gotta look.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:09 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Double Duh! Texas is one of the top states in unmarried pregnancies and veneral diseases. But they just keep moving that sex education out of those schools and sinking all the federal dollars they can squeeze out of that damned over-protective gu’mint that keeps interfering in their lives.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:11 pmSECEDE NOW!
Plenty of people didn’t need a study to know that abstinence only “education” doesn’t work.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:12 pmGeez. “Not working”? Ya think? Maybe? (oh no… has the Apocalypso arrived? What will heyzuess do? OMG…)
September 28th, 2009 at 4:13 pmthink that’s bad?
September 28th, 2009 at 4:15 pmyou should see their Stupid bar graph!
Good that Texas schools have admitted abstinence-only education does not work. It’s time to start educating kids and arming them with the truth about sex. We live in a different era now.
Concervatives want to live in a fantasy land and think everything should be like “Leave it to Beaver” or one of those other corny shows from the 50s and 60s.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:16 pmThose lying sacks of crap. I’d wager a double-nickel that teen pregnancy is the last damned thing on their minds; it’s probably the correlated rise in teen STDs. You can only keep a good statistic down for so long, and it’s probably gotten to the point that the TX Public Health people had to spread the word around, quietly of course.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:17 pm“We don’t think abstinence-only is working.” [...]
Really?!? I’m SHOCKED!!!! How could abstinence-only NOT work?!?! You just tell the kiddies not to have sex and they won’t!!! Because, you know, every time you tell kids not to do something they make sure they don’t do what you tell them not to do!
/snark
September 28th, 2009 at 4:17 pmCan I get a big fat DUH…?
September 28th, 2009 at 4:17 pmTexas is turning blue. When the gop loses Texas it will be their waterloo.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:18 pm{Texas} also leads the nation in the amount of government money it spends on abstinence-only education.
– - Then Texas will be a world leader in wasting money when they become a separate country.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:18 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
stop acting like you have answers to anything. You don’t, you are a failure from a failed party.
Sit down and shut up.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:20 pmJust looking at their graphs, it’s obvious that they have a positive trend in the major STDs, and if this is driven by teen pregnancies, where’s the graf for that – not that it matters, since that one has a postitive trend too…
September 28th, 2009 at 4:20 pmwho could have predicted that fantasy land policy doesn’t work in the real world?
September 28th, 2009 at 4:22 pmPoppedcollar Superior says:
I agree abstinence doesnt work.
Especially when you’re a 22-year-old frat boy who consistently wakes up in the morning with no memory of what happened the night before.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:22 pmlibs as you so fondly call us, have proven solutions. If you were paying attention instead of trying to run things badly you would know what can be done.
What have you got to show?
comon punk, I’ve asked this many times.
Name one sucess story for republicans. No one ever answers that question and for obvious reasons.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:23 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Another day, another tedious JeffBoste spamlink…
September 28th, 2009 at 4:27 pmPolitically Superior says:
What do you progressive liberals think is the solution to this problem?
Teaching proper use of contraceptive devices.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:28 pmwell if you put abstinence in one hand and protection in the other,
which will cause less pregnancy’s,,, would have to put my money on the latter
but like must of the white wing wrong side party they can not see pass there corporate and evangelical blinders.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:29 pmYou’re a little too young to remember this, Politically Supercilious, but there was a time in this country when sex ed was not some twit tweedling on about abstinence. “Abstinence only” ed was forced on the country by the religious right, operating through the Sainted Ronnie Ray Gun and the two Shrubs. Clinton got bit by enough reaction from other issues that he didn’t try to do much about it; of course, the righties would have said he would have benefitted by it as a young man, but allow me to assure you, as a good South Ron Talibabtist child, Bill Clinton got many years of abstinence training.
Before the non-sex-ed training of Abstinence Only took effect, things were probably a little more hit and miss, with each state doing it’s own thing, but at least some kids got the straight dope while others got the various urban legends of back alley sex ed mixed with abstinence propaganda.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:29 pmSo what do the libs think we should do about this issue? Make a government program that basically does the same thing ” Just say no! “? What then?
Teach age-appropriate, scientifically-based facts about human sexuality and give children the tools they need in order to make an informed decision about an adult responsibility. Allow them to take responsibility for their own lives and their own sexual actions.
In other words, teach them the truth.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:30 pmI would like to see the data for: the divorce rates for 18-35 year olds ( and how many were pregnant before they wed), the public welfare #s for unwed mothers, the # of unwed moms that are members of rw fundamentalist churches, and the level of educational attainment for these unwed moms. It would be interesting to look for additional correlation between the graph results and the aforementioned variables.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:30 pmPolitically inferior @14 ~ Children need to be told the truth about having sex and how to protect themselves from STDs and unwanted pregnancies. Simply telling them to abstain is not enough.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:31 pmWhat do you progressive liberals think is the solution to this problem?
How about real sex education which has been shown time and again to reduce teen pregnancy…
That and real jobs.
Education and jobs, not a bad plan, huh?
September 28th, 2009 at 4:31 pmWhat do you progressive liberals think is the solution to this problem?
– - My Mom’s idea was to bury kids at age 13 and then dig them up when they’re 21.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:32 pmBecause you seem dim witted I will spell it out for you.
We don’t feel inclined to answer to you. You are irrelivant.
You refuse to answer our questions with logical and sensible answers and so you are rendered useless.
When you take responsibility for your failures and ask nicely, we might give you the time of day.
see post #19
September 28th, 2009 at 4:33 pmI think the growing sentiment about PS is on target — he is becoming a parody troll. Just not a very sharp one.
But in case our slow-witted friend was serious, let’s examine the suggestion:
for some reason, PS thinks that we’d be fine with a “just say no” campaign as long as it was a “government program”. This, of course, completely misses the progressive objection to “abstinence only” which is basically a “just say no” approach, devoid of meaningful education and instruction in alternatives to unprotected sex.
This is yet one more example of why the Right fails to solve any problems. They’re not only not looking for answers, they’re not even really looking for what the problems are.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:34 pmEverything PoS thinks and writes seems to be just the right length to fit on a t-shirt.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:35 pmPolitically Inferior said,
September 28th, 2009 at 4:37 pmHere we observe the wingnut in it’s natural habitat pretending that Republicans are fiscal conservatives.
Answer me this, if you please:
Why in the world would we teach our children anything that is followed by ONLY?
Shouldn’t education be objective?
As for the troll who desperately craves attention, I will let you in on a little education my wife and I had with our teenage daughter.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:40 pmAlthough the act of sex itself is wonderful, it comes with heavy baggage, especially of the emotional kind. We feel as adults that because of this, some young developing teens should probably wait until they are more mature and can handle
such responsibilities.
That said, the actual decision is solely up to the individual (in this case, our daughter), and their partner. If sexual consent does take place, we specifically emphasize the use of protection.
As my grandmother once told me, wrap the rascal, each and every time! No exception! Until you are willing and emotionally able to raise a newborn!
well, the first thing to do is accurately define what you mean by “problem”.
See, where most liberals see the problem as “teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease” and the goal as reducing the incidence of those things, most conservatives seem to see the problem as “teens having sex”.
So while the liberal approach of education and access to protection is a logical response and has been shown to effectively address the problems of teen pregnancy and disease, those measures do nothing to address the problem that the Right is concerned about.
To the Right, the threats of pregnancy and disease are actually effective tools in stopping teens from having sex, which is, in fact, the problem as they see it. So they don’t want kids who have sex to be protected from pregnancy and disease. They want kids who have sex to suffer the consequences of pregnancy and disease, so other kids will learn the lesson to not have sex.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:41 pmAnd they hate nothing more than having the fact that they failed in their christain laden effort to even identify the problem that they are not really wanting to look for…..
hmmm, well it makes sense when you understand who we are talking about.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:43 pmPolitically Inferior said: I agree abstinence doesnt work, but neither would some government funding program
‘Abstinence Only; IS government funded at state and local levels!
September 28th, 2009 at 4:46 pmT
he failure doesn’t lie with government funding, the problem lies with those governments that fund programs based on ideologically-driven fantasies rather than practical realities (Iraq War is another example).
Good grief. These educators used their students as guinea pigs for the abstinence only program. The intelligent parents and students should be out campaigning against the school board members voted for the program.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:50 pmPolitically Superior says:
This phucktard would not even need to ask this question if this dumba$$ phucktard read the entire story above. What a loser moron!!!!
I’d bet good money this phucktard is only 13 years younger than s/he/it’s mother.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:52 pm# 36 ralph the wonder llama says:
Excellent observation Ralph.
What unmarried teenage sex represents is the loss of parental control (particularly patriarchal control)regarding the teenagers behavior.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:55 pmAbstinence Only is just another form of fear mongering.
It’s so RePugniScum and Christianista.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:57 pmThis is also an example of the very damaging abuse of the 10th Amendment.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:10 pmThe insistent ‘10ther’ states—invariably heavily Republican have the highest teen pregnancy rates, lowest educational standards and lowest graduation rates and worst health rates in the country BECAUSE of their own religiously-based dogma regarding sex ed, social care and education in general, BECAUSE they insist that the 10th Amendment allows it.
But the consequences of their insane policies aren’t restricted to the self same states.
They try and apply their failed polices on the rest of the nation in any way the can, via their representation in Congress, and the rest of the states ( invariably Democratic) end up being forced to subsidize their deranged schemes (because Dem states are the wealthier states whose Fed contributions get redirected to the poorer Republican states that constantly suffer the economic impact of their crazy-ass schemes but never have to fund them themselves!
@3 “I agree abstinence doesnt work, but neither would some government funding program.”
So, do you think that ‘abstinence only’ WASN’T funded by the government until everyone realized it wasn’t working?
http://loosetncanon.blogspot.com/2008/04/bush-administrations-abstinence-only.html
September 28th, 2009 at 5:20 pmPolitically Inferior said,
I agree abstinence doesnt work, but neither would some government funding program.
The abstinence program was a government funded program! LOL! You should be really embarrassed for saying something so stupid! LOL!
Trouble is the previous government program did work pretty well, that’s why bush reversed it! Who’s going to mop up the floors if you can’t create poor single moms that can’t afford to live somewhere their child will get a decent education! ;)
September 28th, 2009 at 5:26 pmShould be, yes, but I’m guessing that after saying so many stupid things day after day, the embarrassment begins to fade for trolls like this one.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:30 pmSo they never implemented the barbed wire chastity belts? That woulda worked, you betcha!
September 28th, 2009 at 5:38 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
I’d rather teens watch movies about people making love than about blowing each other up.
But see, we are at a crossroads, because sex sells. You want to keep teens pure? Why don’t you contact that multinational corporations and tell them to quit using sex to sell their products to their target demographic?
September 28th, 2009 at 5:51 pmPolitically Superior says:
I asked a question and as usual, the libs dodge it and call me names. I’ll ask it again. What do you progressive liberals think is the solution to this problem?
With all due respect to Ralph and RU and LibertyLover et al, but it seems to me the real question is: Who cares what questions PoS has posted and whether or not anyone responds to those questions? It’s not as if the troll will pay any real attention to those responses and all it does is validate his trolling.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:57 pm“We don’t think abstinence-only is working.”
Maybe not, but you probably still “believe” it.
.
Politically Superior says:
I agree abstinence doesnt work, but neither would some government funding program.
The abstinence-only “education” was government funded. So you’re wrong. And in states that have government-funded comprehensive sex education, pregnancy rates are much lower. So you’re wrong twice. Keep talking, ignoramus, let’s see if you can hit a world record.
.
Politically Superior says:
So what do the libs think we should do about this issue?
Actually educate the kids. You don’t seem to be very aware of what real education entails, do you?
.
Politically Superior says:
But do you really think the problem is they aren’t educated enough on the subject?
Yes. Abstinence-only “education” omits most all the important information to know about STD’s and pregnancy, what the real risks are and how to prevent them. Keeping kids ignorant doesn’t work.
As the statistical results have proven, giving them all the information does work. Your complaint might have some chance of success if Texas were the only state that existed, but it’s not. Other states where they do expose kids to comprehensive sex-ed information result in much lower rates of pregnancy and STD’s.
By the way, those are all the typically “liberal” states.”
September 28th, 2009 at 5:59 pmIsn’t there some right wing radical that believes that as soon as they sneak some more illegal aliens in the country and Acorn gets them registered to vote then Texas and the rest of the southwest will turn blue? Then those school children will get taught about sex, it is absolutely shocking what is going on in this country. Shocking.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:03 pmPolitically Superior says:
So you want to educate the kids about sex in school? That’s fine as long as they are at least in high school, they gotta learn some time.
So you want the kids to be educated with misinformation about sex in school by their peers instead of by programs that teach them facts? Cause that’s what happens with abstinence only programs…
Politically Superior says:
But do you really think the problem is they aren’t educated enough on the subject?
Lets see. More pregnancy happens when they are educated less. Yep. Reason would say this is exactly the problem.
Abstinence only increases the chances of boys experiencing sodomy than those who aren’t taught this. Sounds like they get educated one way or another? ;)
Politically Superior says:
The fact is these kids know what a condom is and what it’s used for. They just don’t want to use one.
Project much? Just because you’re irresponsible you assume everyone else is – just like a good Republican! ;)
The facts say kids do use condoms more when taught about them. Facts win, you lose.
Politically Superior says:
You see libs, kids, especially teenagers, are not good decision makers.
Then you must be a teenager? ;)
Politically Superior says:
Teens having sex is bad news for everybody.
No, teens have unprotected sex is bad for everyone. Teens will have sex no matter what you think, and it’s not necessarily bad for them if they are educated and healthy on the topic.
Politically Superior says:
You simply cannot give that much responsibility to an average teenager. They can hardly take care of themselves.
Give? Teenagers will take that action no matter what you give them. You either arm them with enough knowledge to protect themselves, or you get the disaster Texas is facing? Lack of information through abstinence ensures they can’t take care of themselves! Is that what you want? An undereducated teenage boy/girl at your disposal? ;)
Politically Superior says:
Here’s my take on it, teens should not be having sex at all. Theres no way to make them stop but you can try by taking sex out of the music they listen to and the tv/movies they watch. Sex is all over the media.
You can’t stop them, and teens were having sex long before movies and tv. Out of wedlock births were higher in the 19th century than they are in the 21st. Didn’t know that did you wingnut? ;)
September 28th, 2009 at 6:05 pmgummble-bee-itch says:
It’s not as if the troll will pay any real attention to those responses and all it does is validate his trolling.
PoS basically serves as a straw-man, bringing up easily debunked points and giving us the opportunity to assemble all of the contrary evidence and logic.
He and the other trolls are basically the Colmes to our Hannity.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:06 pmgummble-bee-itch @ 50
You are correct. PS’s mind is made up, even at his young authoritarian-loving age. But someone else might be out there wondering the same thing. That’s the person to whom I continue to direct my comments.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:12 pmConsidering Politically Superior is 22,I hardly think they should be discussing this matter. They are too young to be able to make good decisions.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:28 pmdbadass says:
Considering Politically Superior is 22,I hardly think they should be discussing this matter. They are too young to be able to make good decisions.
I did like the notion that teenagers shouldn’t be allowed to have sex. Chastity belts all around, I guess. I have to wonder whether we shouldn’t extend the ban beyond the age of 22, although in this case it’s probably a moot issue.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:37 pmPolitically Superior says:
So you want to educate the kids about sex in school? That’s fine as long as they are at least in high school, they gotta learn some time.
Wha?
Seriously, WTF are you talking about?
Have you ever heard about age appropriate sex education?
What makes you think you have to wait until high-bloody-school to teach the little ones where babies come from?
Sheesh…
September 28th, 2009 at 6:47 pmWhen I was in high school in Broward County, they couldn’t show us how to put a condom on because of the religious right. Not surprising Broward County also had one of the highest STDs rates in the state.
Although I do believe that this should also be something parents talk to kids about.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:08 pmRobot: “Danger! Danger! Danger!”
September 28th, 2009 at 7:18 pmThat’s why these freaks are extremists. The terrorist Right Wingnuts, lead by the Fascist Republican/Conservative Party, Rush Limbaugh, O’Liely, Beck, everyone at Fox ‘Always Lie and Blame the Liberals’ News, etc. are promoting and instigating hate, fear and violence.
These moral, racial, and mental Bigots are turning our once peaceful and civil society into a barbaric wasteland…
oops wrong thread,
September 28th, 2009 at 7:20 pmscrew the extremist religious right anyway!
To Political Posterior,
September 28th, 2009 at 7:38 pmI usually do not engage in name-calling, but you are truly ignorant. Abstinence-only was the only “sex education” program the Bush Jr. administration would fund, and “Just say ‘No’” is a part of abstinence-only.
Around two years ago in Japan, I saw a news program on how Bush’s abstinence only policy had the effect of increased teen pregnancies in the red states, whereas in some cities in northern California, for example, that have their own true sex education programs the percentages of unwed teen pregancies were comparatively low and getting lower. In other words, the failed Dumbya abstinence-only policy has been mocked even in the US’s allied countries.
what thinking in Texas I don’t believe it what tipped them off was it the fact that at 24 year old guy like me has problems finding dates that don’t need a baby sitter here in the lone star states or the fact that our over taxed emergency rooms are now being flooded by STD cases involving 12 year olds
September 28th, 2009 at 7:45 pmPolitically Superior says:
You see libs, kids, especially teenagers, are not good decision makers. Teens having sex is bad news for everybody. You simply cannot give that much responsibility to an average teenager. They can hardly take care of themselves.
Here’s my take on it, teens should not be having sex at all. Theres no way to make them stop but you can try by taking sex out of the music they listen to and the tv/movies they watch. Sex is all over the media.
This is the most ridiculous post I have ever read. Teens are going to have sex and there is no way for parents to stop it short of locking them in their rooms until they turn 21, chastity belts and the like. Teenagers hormones will not be denied. They don’t need ads, music or tv and movies with sex to encourage their sex drive; their hormones are more than enough. Banning them would have no effect. It is a fact of life that teens are going to have sex and the best we can do is educate them.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:05 pmOne of my sisters got pregnant when she was 13. She participated in a program in which she traveled to a lot of schools and told students about how hard it was being a teen mother. On top of teaching teens about birth control, I think they should be giving a very clear picture of how hard it is to take care of a baby at all, how much harder it is when you’re young and without resources, and what horrible consequences there can be for inadequate care of infants—especially neglect. Too many girls, especially, think that babies are little tabula rasas that are immune to social stress, that you can play with like dolls, that give unconditional love (rather than requiring it).
September 28th, 2009 at 9:28 pmThis abstinence-only stuff is unreal, given its refusal to confront the basic hard facts about teens today.
I don’t suggest that teens become sexually active, but a good number of them will do so anyway.
I would rather see them given some sensible information, instead of all these chastity pledges and virginity rings, laced with evangelical dogmatic nonsense.
How many of you were still virgins at the age of 18?
September 28th, 2009 at 9:45 pmHave fun! Because English is written to create implications, and ultimately achieving a precise degree of distraction! (C-) Why that, of all things? The headline, “Texas Schools Move Away From Abstinence-Only Education: We Don’t Think It’s Working,” is confusing, and potentially misleading! For example it might be asked, exactly who is it that doesn’t conclude the success of early education, TP, or the Texas school system??
Now, let’s turn to the king of nonesense, Lewis Caroll, who is actually an expert in logic, fantasy, and spirituality! It was once upon a time, that he had precisely, and thoroughly indicated, “Twas brillig and the slithy toves,” (a.k.a. similar groups of people, and multiple purposes!?) “Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:” and that would be his single, and solitary purpose for writing, after all!??
Please try ‘clarity’ about your subjects in general, TP, e.g. more correctly phrased, “Texas School System Doubts Effectiveness of Early Education Program, And No Definite Alternative Is Sought!?”
September 29th, 2009 at 1:13 amGregor Samsa says:
Have you ever heard about age appropriate sex education?
They seem to have an amazing capability to forget what that means every time we explain it.
.
EdgeOnIt says:
Have fun! Because English is written to create implications…
I notice you substited the word “Early” for “Abstinence-Only” by the end of your rant, with some Lewis Carroll in the middle waved around as distraction.
And no, the Texas Board of Education hasn’t worked out exactly what the new program will be, but I would hope it won’t be abstinence-only, because that doesn’t work.
I would have thought that simple message was quite clear. Perhaps the confusion is on your end.
September 29th, 2009 at 2:30 amIs this the same Texas Board of Un-Education who wants to mess with history books……….with false info?
September 29th, 2009 at 4:13 amWe had comprehensive sex ed in my school. Only one girl in my entire graduating class had a baby while we were in school, and she had been told by her doctors that she couldn’t get pregnant due to endometriosis. Surprise! Actually, her family was thrilled, because they thought she’d never be a mother, so when it happened, to them it wasn’t a tragedy, it was a miracle.
And the rest of us finished high school without kids. And it certainly wasn’t because people weren’t getting laid. It was because we were taught accurate information regarding sex, pregnancy, and disease, and given the opportunity to obtain condoms from the nurse or guidance counselor’s office, no questions asked.
And no, I’m not from a typically liberal state. I was born and raised in a town of 3,000 in Northeast Kentucky that is heavily old and Baptist. So, it has little to do with presence of liberalism or conservatism and everything to do with having some common sense.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:53 am#48 – Politically Superior says:
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
———————————————————–
“You see libs, kids, especially teenagers, are not good decision makers.”
Sarah Palin. ‘Nough said about that decision the age of the person who made it.
“Here’s my take on it, teens should not be having sex at all. Theres no way to make them stop but you can try by taking sex out of the music they listen to and the tv/movies they watch. Sex is all over the media.”
September 28th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Sounds like an idea, but how are you going to do that? Force song writers, at the business end of a rifle, to stop writing about sex? Pay them to write about bunnies and flowers and happy-time unicorns? Are you going to force all the magazines in the world from publishing pictures of women in biknis? Shut down CSI: Miami by passing legislation against exposing the body? Sic the law on the press that publishes the sexual indescretions of all the politicians of the world? (You’d have to fine all the conservatives for shoving the Pres. Clinton affair in everyone’s faces.)
If we try to hide the facts from teenagers, they’re going to do what they want to do anyway. The best that can be done is to encourage them to wait, but also give them the information to protect themsleves if they do decide to not wait for marriage.
The funny thing is that pre-marital sex was a problem in the 30’s, 40’s & 50’s, it just wasn’t talked about because everyone thought that the teenagers of the time would be encouraged to have sex! Talk about shoving your head in the sand and pretending that something doesn’t exist.
September 29th, 2009 at 9:09 amI still don’t understand how abstinence only education could last more than three minutes. After you say the (perfectly true) sentence, “The most effective way of not getting pregnant and not getting sexually transmitted disease is to abstain completely from sex,” isn’t that it? What do you do for the rest of the period, let alone the rest of the school year?
September 29th, 2009 at 9:14 amThanks
September 29th, 2009 at 9:37 amSesli Chat
Sesli Sohbet
You, my friend, do not live in Texas as I do. There is no intelligent life down here.
These people lead a conversation with their bible and “that’s how my parents and grandparents did it.”
There are still more George Bush bumper stickers than Obama.
George Bush!
Yes Texas is becoming more blue, but very very slowly. Honestly the racial demographic changes have more of an effect than anything. Amnesty would give Democrats 3-5 points in Texas, as everyone against it already votes Republican.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:10 am#72 – pbeeg says:
———————————————————–
“I still don’t understand how abstinence only education could last more than three minutes. After you say the (perfectly true) sentence, “The most effective way of not getting pregnant and not getting sexually transmitted disease is to abstain completely from sex,” isn’t that it? What do you do for the rest of the period, let alone the rest of the school year?”
September 29th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Yuor forgot about the first 2 minutes of prayers, the following 15 minutes of carefully chosen Bible verses about marriage (omitting the ones where a woman is a man’s property, and all the times in which the invading “God’s army” used the captured women as whores), the 10 minutes of the instructors “temptations of the flesh” before he/she got married, and then the round up at the end where everyone is expected to say how much they love Jesus and God, and how they’re all going to stay sex-free until marriage.
Then they close the meeting with another prayer in which they claim they’ve never had a thought about sex before marriage. Afterwords, the boys & girls talk about how they’re going to “save themslves” as they walk away, and about a third of them end up going out and have sex, expecting to never get any STD or get pregnant because they prayed about it.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:12 am#74 – Scott Schindler says:
———————————————————–
“You, my friend, do not live in Texas as I do. There is no intelligent life down here.”
September 29th, 2009 at 10:10 am
I’ve lived in Lubbock (96), San Antonio (00-02), Dallas (02-03) and Austin (05-07) and I’ve found that intelligent life in Texas depends on one’s exposure to the right-whiners. The more right-whiners you get, the more lemming behavior towards “God said it, I believe it!” you get. I found quite a few people in Austin & San Antonio that would consider someone else’s opinion, even though they considered themselves to be conservative. Only a few in Dallas, and none in Lubbock.
I even once heard someone say “God gave the King James Bible to Moses, and that’s good enough for me!”. Of course, that was in Lubbock. Funny thing, I saw him at the local head-shop later that week. I guess as long as he “claims” to be a Christian then he can do anything he wants to do.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:21 ampbeeg says:
I still don’t understand how abstinence only education could last more than three minutes. After you say the (perfectly true) sentence, “The most effective way of not getting pregnant and not getting sexually transmitted disease is to abstain completely from sex,” isn’t that it? What do you do for the rest of the period, let alone the rest of the school year?
Have sex.
.
Democrat Soldier says:
I even once heard someone say “God gave the King James Bible to Moses, and that’s good enough for me!”. Of course, that was in Lubbock. Funny thing, I saw him at the local head-shop later that week. I guess as long as he “claims” to be a Christian then he can do anything he wants to do.
The burning bush, yo.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:53 amDumb Question:
Could the high rate of persons without health insurance be related to the high rate of STDs ?:
Above identifies Tx as having high rates of STDs and Teen Pregnancy.
For many STDs, untreated STDs can be passed along to the next person but if treated, they are then not passed along.
Texas also has one of the highest rates of persons without health insurance.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:15 pmEl Bruce: Si, senior!? In my private thoughts, in a speeding car, I captured the three options from this headline: TP, OR Texas schools, OR all schools at large may disapprove of abstinence education! Two points come up:
1) It is limiting: if a community prescribes abstinence education and attitudes, it limits (down) the time spent on a normal span of subjects.
2) It is expansive: abstinence education embellishes, or provide useful study guides for community’s curricula.
IMO, if students begin abstinence education in early grade school, or very near to graduation, families suffer negative pressures, due to conformity stress, or lack of controls on new behaviors i.e. grade school ’sex education’ programs were tried in the sixties, and now divorce rates for the next generation are high(?).
September 29th, 2009 at 10:43 pmThank you for your sharing.!
October 3rd, 2009 at 9:53 am