An abstinence program for middle school students...

[M.D. Holloway]

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...

[unclebilly]

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.

[onewhippedpuppy]

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

[vash]

Originally Posted by M.D. Holloway

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

i call the first 4 first base.

the next 2 second base

the next one third base

last two - home run

???

[M.D. Holloway]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

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

public

[rattlsnak]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

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.

^^ I agree!

[Cdnone1]

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.

[aschen]

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.

[porsche4life]

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!

[id10t]

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 ...

[Rikao4]

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

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

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!

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.....

[wdfifteen]

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.

[porsche4life]

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.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

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.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by Cdnone1

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.

...that you're paying for.

That's the saddest part.

[djmcmath]

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.

[Seahawk]

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.

[widebody911]

So did you learn anything?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

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