An abstinence program for middle school students...
 

So, here is the content of the flyer they emailed me today:

Parents and Guardians,
Please attend a parent preview presentation for 180 Degrees, an abstinence program for middle school students.

180 Degrees is an abstinence education program that presents the startling reality of the consequences of premarital sex and the benefits of healthy relationships. The presentation will include: staggering statistics, how to set physical boundaries, and how to make a decision towards sexual abstinence until marriage. This is NOT your typical sex education class…this is an interactive discussion that allows you to ask all the questions you never felt you could ask. (This is YOUR TIME.) You know a lot has changed…and you may just learn something that you never knew! This presentation is created to turn our thinking about sex around a whole 180 degrees. It’s harder than ever to make good choices, but YOU can stand for purity and SAVE sex for marriage, but first you have to… GET THE FACTS!


And here is the outline:

180 Degrees Outline: Building Relationships
• When should you start dating?
• Why do people date?
o What are the costs of being in a relationship in middle or high school?
o What are the benefits of being in a relationship in middle or high school?
 Does one outweigh the other?
 There is no need to feel pressured into relationships in middle school.
• Only date “marriage material”.
o What would your perfect husband or wife be like?
o You should never compromise your standards.
• Don’t put yourself in tempting situations
o What are some tempting situations we can avoid?
 Alone with boyfriend/girlfriend
 Talking on the phone late at night
 Having conversations about sex (i.e. sexting: texting about sex and/or sending inappropriate pictures)
 Hiding relationships from your parents
• Drugs and alcohol are risky.
o These impair our judgment and can lead to bad decisions.
• How far is too far? You SHOULD set boundaries when you are in a relationship.
o 9 Steps of Intimacy
 Hugging
 Holding hands
 Closed mouth kissing
 Open mouth kissing
 Touching over clothes
 Anytime clothes come off
 Touching private parts
 Oral sex – anytime someone’s mouth touches someone else’s private parts.
 Sexual intercourse
o How far do your parents want you to go?
 Talk with them about this subject.
o Abstinence is not just about sexual intercourse but saying no to ANY sexual activity including touching private parts and oral sex. And no one should pressure you to do these activities.
o Legal ramifications of teen sexual activities and sexting, sending and distributing inappropriate pictures.
• The Sex Test – What are some possible consequences of having sex before marriage?
o What is abstinence?
 Waiting on sexual activity until marriage.
o What does STD stand for?
 Sexually Transmitted Diseases
o How many STDs are there?
 Approx. 27
o Some STDs are viruses (T or F)
 True
o 1 out of every 10 young adults get and STD (T or F)
 False – 1 in 4
o What is the most common STD?
 HPV
o 1 in 10 girls get pregnant? (T or F)
 False – roughly 1 in 4 sexually active teen girls
o You can get all STDs from oral sex? (T or F)
 False – you can get 26 out of 27 STDs from oral sex.
o You can get an STD from skin to genital skin touching? (T or F)
 True – only 3 of them
o You can tell who has an STD from just looking at them? (T or F)
 False
o You can get an STD from someone without symptoms? (T or F)
 True
o Condoms protect 99.9% from pregnancy and STDs. (T or F)
 False – They do offer some protection but abstinence is 100% effective.
• Sex is not a negative activity but simply one that should be valued enough to wait until marriage. That will give you the greatest chance to have happy and healthy relationships – which is our goal for you!

For even more information, please visit our website at 180 Degrees.


I question not only the 'facts' stated above but also that this program is a school based program. Sex Ed in schools has been a topic of controversy for many years now. I remember sex ed as being a joke.

So, I ask the PP brain trust:
1) these stats accurate?
2) should a school be promoting such a program? Granted maybe they want to provide parents with info in order to make better parenting choices but they don't think parents know this stuff?
3) should there be a counter-program that is the antithesis of such a program to provide balance? (I bet it would sell out!)

the whole thing sorta smacks of the religious right and maybe this should be in PARF...

Most parents leave teaching their kids up to the school these days.

Given the above, this program has merit.

Most people on a 'Porsche Enthusiast Forum' are not the 'Most Parents' referenced above.

Is this a Christian school? I see no issue with teaching abstinence, but it's not a very realistic approach.

i call the first 4 first base.

the next 2 second base

the next one third base

last two - home run

???

public

^^ I agree!

When my son "graduated" from a public middle school here in LA there were four eight graders with their own children and one girl on stage (thirteen years old) that was nine months pregnant with her second child.
One of the saddest things I have ever seen.
Anything, and I mean anything that might help is a good idea.
My son is off at College and those children now have seven year olds.

http://vaperforms.virginia.gov/image...atebyState.png

I meant to post this in yesterday's similar discussion


Personally I think any education program for kids that is not based on data and facts is a bad idea. I dont mind encouraging kids to be abstanant, but you better be realistic and teach them frankly about pregnancy and STD prevention.

Absistence worked well for Bristol Palin....


I'm sorry but kids have thick heads. You've got to hit them wth hard facts and make sure if they are having sex that they do it safely. Just telling them why they shouldn't, will only push them to it!

Us having a "suprise" younger sibling when my oldest daughter was 10, and then making sure she got to take care of some dirty diapers and feedings kinda put the lid on any thoughts for her. Even now at 15 she's telling her sexually active (very active in one case) friends that dealing with a baby is far from fun ...

I'm sorry but kids have thick heads. You've got to hit them wth hard facts and make sure if they are having sex that they do it safely. Just telling them why they shouldn't, will only push them to it!

agree...
Most parents just bury their head & hope for the best...
= lot's of babies & ruined lives...

flip side...when you have 3 kids before 20...
your spawn will ignore you as well..

remember telling my niece...
14 going on 25 & very pretty..
just keep your panties on for a while longer...

he's not like that...
then he's gay..
no he's not..
then he's a dog..I'm a dog..Men are dogs..
and remember this..
your not just sleeping with him..
your sleeping with every skank he's tapped ..kapiche..
in other words..Love isn't always forever..
Herpes is....

btw,,info and advice didn't sink in..
she had 3 kids before 22..

Rika

Absolutely. My kids go to a Catholic school, where abstinence is the only form of birth control taught. But these are teenagers, and they are just as horny no matter their religious denomination. I will be telling my kids that we prefer they abstain, but they are old enough that they make their own choices. If they choose to have sex, they damn well better use protection.

Telling a teenager that they can't do something because you said so is a tried and true path to failure. My parents took that approach to drinking with me, it didn't work out so well.....

It's great that they are talking to you first. You are a smart guy and a good dad. The school can help you, but don't leave sex ed up to them.
Kids are smart, and as porsche4life said, they have thick heads. They will spot a hard sell and phony statistics in an instant and use it them to do just the opposite. I would do some research, challenge any stats that can't be supported.
I don't see anything wrong with this approach, but I would talk to my kid honestly about it, man to man, so to speak. You seem to have a relationship with your son that would allow you to do this.

I will say explaining the legal ramifications of sexting to them is smart. More than a few young men's lives have been ruined because a girl sent them photos and then her daddy found out.

Hell yes! I had that talk with my son the instant I enabled iMessage on his iPod, and he's only 11. Electronic is forever.

...that you're paying for.

That's the saddest part.

I'm honestly all for presenting kids with realistic sex ed. Not merely a "how to" guide, but "there are risks and rewards here, you need to understand what you're getting into, and you don't really *need* to do this if you don't want to."

Anecdotally, I've known a shocking number of grownups who were having unprotected sex with people they knew they didn't want to raise kids with. Heck, one of my coworkers -- a college-educated woman -- was surprised when she delivered a baby. I work with homeless youth, many of whom have kids of their own, largely because they just don't understand the natural byproducts of sex, and that they don't necessarily have to have sex just yet.

I applaud the fact that the 180 Degree folks are engaged and willing to try.

The only 180 Degree program I was interested in high school was reverse cowgirl but I digress.

Good on 'em.

So did you learn anything?

Reserve? As in "keep that one in reserve for when the other positions get too routine?"

:p

I believe those stats.

I reserve the right to reverse:D

I can't believe my tax dollars are going to this (I live in Texas). It is thinly veiled bible beating IMO.

I am all for proper sex education, but to say it is to "stand for purity" is ridiculous. Teach kids the cold hard facts about careless sex (STDs, pregnancy), the ramifications of sexting, date rape, etc, but to say someone is impure because they have sex is stupid.

Dang! Middle School?

I feel old for having Sex Ed in HS.

We had sex ed in middle school - way back in 1976 and 77. Just sayin. Agree the focus should be on safety and consequences. Let the parents inject their particular morals at home. Or not.

Abstinence? It works so well that we are now 7 billion people on the planet.

Unthinkable to have such a program in public school in California, for sure.

G

Middle school is the new uni.
I consider it unfair to that person who wishes to pursue abstinence on motives other then their own. .

I think that there is no place in middle school for sex education unless specifically enrolled by parents. Similarly in High school. I only wish they spent as much effort on math and science. Most "sex ed" materials that I have seem just make it more glamorous. Parents should determine when and how their children are exposed to some of this matter.

Whether or not you think kids should be screwing in middle school, it's happening. This isn't the '50s any more. Better to educate than have a bunch of teen moms to deal with!

I agree re: it smacks of the religious right and most sex education in TX public schools is not reality based, just based on wishful thinking. In the great state of TX abstinence is the officially endorsed method of sex education in public schools although schools have the option to enhance to include reality it to but most don't.

Perhaps that is why TX (last time I looked anyway) led the nation in teenage pregnancies and teenagers with 2 kids.... another of those were # 1 moments to brag about.

When our son was in eighth grade at a public school (after being home schooled), it was an eye opener. Girls were always asking him if he wanted a blow job. And these were decent girls.

Ironically i went to a catholic high school in the 90s and sex ed was more balanced than you would think. They did try the time honored fear tactics of a lifetime in hell for promiscuity or however that works.

However they did quickly go to the subject of if you must, put a condom on etc. The best / worst part I remember was the slide show of graphic STDs. Not that is an effective fear tactic!

I remember how much it pained my bilogy teacher to teach intelligent design as a subject with any sort of scientific merit. I could tell even as an ignorant kid somebody made her do it.

To try an stop a teenager from having (or at least craving) sex is tantamount to not allowing them to yawn or eat. Its not possible. I have impressed upon my soon-to-be 17 year old son that respect and responsibility are the most important of all things sexual. That includes texting and emails and what have you. He has severed relations with several girls because they sent him nude photos. He deleted them immediately for fear of getting arrested for child porn. Has he had sex? Yup. Is he active with the girl he is seeing now? He says things haven't gotten to that point yet but I fully expect them to no matter what I tell him. Bucks in rut. You can't fight chemistry. I just make sure I tell him on a constant basis that he must show her respect. That he must not be irresponsible. I also make sure he understands that the girl is someones sister and daughter and ask him how he would feel if someone mistreated his sister (who he is very protective of). So far so good....for now.

Like trying to teach a shark to be a vegetarian

All I will say is, thank God the bourbon was in my glass case vs mouth. Because it burns coming out my nose.....

I find it interesting that they believe they can have a "discussion" with middle schoolers about sex. Not many middle schoolers are going to have confidence to be open with their questions in a class of peers.

I am also not sure why promoting that abstinence is the best way to avoid pregnancy and STD is solely a religious policy. It is medically accurate, is it not?

My only objection is that they aren't presenting all of the options. Kids WILL have sex, so you can either equip them with the correct information or leave them to figure it out, which is how kids end up with kids.

I agree. It doesn't take a medical degree to realize that abstinence is 100% effective whenever it is used.

In most cases, elaborate sex education for kids that are too young simply makes it more glamorous and less scary. It makes them feel adult enough to understand the mechanics and it charges them with the responsibility to do it correctly, so of course they feel they must be old enough to start at 11. We should probably teach them to mix martinis and smoke a bong correctly then as well. Teach them to drive a car too...just in case they steal one (so they will be safe). Kids will be kids.

I have no clue what it's like to be a middle schooler these days. When I was that age I was curious about girls, but bikes and gokarts were so much more interesting. We had sex ed as about a freshman but it wasn't taken seriously. I remember the teacher saying something about putting your dick back together with duct tape.

It is solely religious because sexual "purity" is a religious goal. Avoiding unwanted pregnancy and disease are secular goals. There is a difference. Abstinence as an element of comprehensive sex education is fine. Abstinence only is a historical failure.

Humans are not biological machines, we have free will and make our own decisions, often against our own best interests. Abstinence only education would only be effective if our all children behaved like robots, unfortunately many of them seem to insist on acting like humans.

Abstinence only education, as opposed to comprehensive sex education has been shown over an over again to be ineffective when applied to real people.

PLOS ONE: Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S

When I was in 8th grade, one of my 7th grade neighbors got pregnant. The father was another 7th grader. Middle school is NOT too early for sex ed, because middle school is not too early for sex.