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It is not sex and the body it is the robbing of innocence what is left anyways and leaving kids to be kids for as long as possible.
Just because adults know about things does not mean all children know.
Funny how the libs are brushing a wide brush to say all kids know when they don't like the same brush stroke to lump them all together.
She is in HS! How long do we want "kids to stay innocent" and still expect them to be adults and sometimes be out on their own by age 18? This is just stupid. It's not as if it was an elementary school kid involved.
There were 450 girls in my high school, and I can recall off the top of my head at least six who became pregnant and several others who disappeared for several months. I'm sure there would have been others that I didn't know about.
I think if people really thought back they would remember girls that left "to help take care of grandma, aunt "Mary", whomever", and came back a year or so later.
Hiding sex and/or making things "evil" can cause sexual dysfunction later in life.
I'm sure there are some 14 yr olds who don't have sexual thoughts or much curiosity, everyone matures at a different rate and not all kids think the same. But on average they are familiar, and it's to the average and not the exception that we teach. It's always been that way and always will be.
Questioning is always good. The schools have degenerated. One school made news a couple of years ago for instructing their students to "mutually masturbate" as if they could keep the pregnancy rate down with that instead of Birth Control!
Thank goodness parents raised heck about it, as they should have.
Do you have some links to this story? Something other than FoxNews???
All I know is 40 years ago there was not much teen pregnancies in school. We had maybe one girl drop out because she got pregnant. Now look at what is happening. The proof is in the pudding.
Perhaps you should write that as "all I assume is 40 years ago..."
The rate of teen childbearing in the United States has fallen steeply since the late 1950s, from an all time high of 96 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in 1957 to an all time low of 49 in 2000 (see chart below). Birthrates fell steadily throughout the 1960s and 1970s; they were fairly steady in the early 1980s and then rose sharply between 1988 and 1991 before declining throughout the 1990s. In recent years, this downward trend has occurred among teens of all ages and races.
Interestingly it is likely the same expanded access to information that causes you concern that has also given you the false impression that teenage pregnancy is recent trend. It was happening back in your happy safe days 40 years ago, you just didn't read about it as much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Konraden
Why do we readily accept violence in our culture, but shun anything to do with the human body? We are a backwards people.
I'm not sure this is really accurate. From this thread it appears the majority are on the same side as you are... there are only a few posters still clinging to this "backward" notion that teenagers need to be shielded from the reality of their bodies and sexuality.
My dad was the product of a teen pregnancy in the 50s, just as his mother was the product of a teen pregnancy in the 40s - and those were far from isolated instances!
We talked about masturbation at slumber parties when I was 9 or 10 years old - that was almost 15 years ago. Even if a 14 year old isn't actively doing it, she absolutely knows what it is. Hell - I would consider it parental failure for a parent to not have addressed that before that age! Masturbation was wrapped up in talks about periods and puberty for me.
While her parents are more than welcome to have their daughter not read the book, it's interesting to me that they feel the need to flaunt their lack of mentoring and parenting skills on national news. She's in high school - why is she not more prepared?
Last edited by charolastra00; 01-29-2012 at 07:51 AM..
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I'm not sure this is really accurate. From this thread it appears the majority are on the same side as you are... there are only a few posters still clinging to this "backward" notion that teenagers need to be shielded from the reality of their bodies and sexuality.
I haven't read the book.
There's a right way for young teens to learn about their bodies and sexuality. Is learning 'how to' perform sexual acts from that particular book appropriate ? I doubt it.
Gee, what happened to the "classics" ? Do they not read them in school anymore ?
Does it HAVE to be about sex ?
The book is not about sex. It is about a teen growing up on a reservation, surrounded by extreme poverty and alcoholism. It's wonderfully written, Sherman Alexie has an almost lyrical style. It is the kind of thing that should be read in high school since it makes you think and sparks discussion. Kids who are growing up facing dysfunction in their surroundings can relate, and kids who live idyllic lives start to get a sense of some parts of the world outside their paradise. Plus the protagonist as wicked sense of humor, so the book is also funny while dealing with serious subject matter.
If this was assigned in 5th grade I would totally agree, but high school? 14 is to old to expect " preservation of innocence". Anyone who has made it through the first couple of years of middle school has had an earful already. That ship has sailed.
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That ship has sailed.
