From the AJC on Friday.....
OUR OPINIONS: Sex miseducation
DeKalb parents were smart to say it's a mistake to teach teens that abstinence is their only course
Staff Friday, February 4, 2005
Bruce Cook, tapped 15 months ago by Gov. Sonny Perdue to lead the Department of Human Resources board, is a very smart guy. He went from co-chair of a sex education study panel at his son's school to founder of one of the nation's largest abstinence-only publishing companies, Choosing the Best.
So when Cook faced a roomful of parents with Ph.D.s at DeKalb County's Shamrock Middle School last week, baring both their research and their teeth, he wisely stepped back and let county officials deal with the heat for adding the Choosing the Best program to all eighth-grade health classes.
And that's who deserves the flogging.
Choosing the Best's sex education course relies largely on fear to persuade teens to abstain from sex until marriage. There's nothing wrong with putting a little fear in 14-year-olds, but the program twists statistics to make its case, in essence misleading children in order to help them. That's what upset DeKalb parents, especially those who work in AIDS research and health and know the importance of honesty in such discussions.
Why did DeKalb schools embrace Choosing the Best without reviewing its scientific accuracy, those parents asked. (While the curriculum was approved by a review committee, it turned out later that it had never been sanctioned by the DeKalb school board, as required.) Apparently, school officials were sold by the ease with which Choosing the Best can be taught, since it includes videos and workbooks. Central office staff could not explain to skeptical Shamrock parents why the sex ed course already in place in DeKalb wasn't sufficient, beyond the fact that Cook's program came free of charge.
The Bush White House is investing heavily in abstinence-only programs, allotting $170 million this year alone for such programs. Choosing the Best received a three-year federal grant for nearly $1.5 million in 2001 and last year won another three-year grant, for $2.4 million, to serve eight Georgia districts, including DeKalb, Fulton and Rockdale.
Cook contends that children are ill-served by what his books deride as Planned Parenthood's abstinence-plus approach. Telling young people that they should not have sex, but urging them to use precautions if they do, sends a mixed message, he says.
The Choosing the Best program doesn't deal with contraceptives at all, which the Shamrock parents argued ultimately puts kids at risk for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy if they do have sex.
"Yes, we would all like our children to be abstinent, if not to marriage, at least darn close to it," says Shamrock parent and biologist Sarah L. Pallas. "But you can't take this head-in-the-sand approach. You still provide them with the information to protect them."
The parents prevailed, at least for the moment. Chastised DeKalb officials agreed to suspend the teaching of Choosing the Best in Shamrock until more "dialogue" can occur between the school and parents.
But the whole controversy about abstinence-only education has to move to a larger stage than a middle school cafeteria in central DeKalb. The $170 million question is whether federal tax dollars should underwrite sex education programs for teens that essentially ignore sex.
Cook says "yes," and cites statistics showing that just about everyone abstaining from sex --- perhaps with the exception of the Virgin Mary --- graduated his program. Neither Cook nor his literature mentions that 88 percent of teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage eventually break that pledge, according to a study based on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
In other words, no matter how much Americans want their children to delay sex until marriage, most don't. Pretending otherwise --- in the name of protecting kids --- does just the opposite.
So when Cook faced a roomful of parents with Ph.D.s at DeKalb County's Shamrock Middle School last week, baring both their research and their teeth, he wisely stepped back and let county officials deal with the heat for adding the Choosing the Best program to all eighth-grade health classes.
And that's who deserves the flogging.
Choosing the Best's sex education course relies largely on fear to persuade teens to abstain from sex until marriage. There's nothing wrong with putting a little fear in 14-year-olds, but the program twists statistics to make its case, in essence misleading children in order to help them. That's what upset DeKalb parents, especially those who work in AIDS research and health and know the importance of honesty in such discussions.
Why did DeKalb schools embrace Choosing the Best without reviewing its scientific accuracy, those parents asked. (While the curriculum was approved by a review committee, it turned out later that it had never been sanctioned by the DeKalb school board, as required.) Apparently, school officials were sold by the ease with which Choosing the Best can be taught, since it includes videos and workbooks. Central office staff could not explain to skeptical Shamrock parents why the sex ed course already in place in DeKalb wasn't sufficient, beyond the fact that Cook's program came free of charge.
The Bush White House is investing heavily in abstinence-only programs, allotting $170 million this year alone for such programs. Choosing the Best received a three-year federal grant for nearly $1.5 million in 2001 and last year won another three-year grant, for $2.4 million, to serve eight Georgia districts, including DeKalb, Fulton and Rockdale.
Cook contends that children are ill-served by what his books deride as Planned Parenthood's abstinence-plus approach. Telling young people that they should not have sex, but urging them to use precautions if they do, sends a mixed message, he says.
The Choosing the Best program doesn't deal with contraceptives at all, which the Shamrock parents argued ultimately puts kids at risk for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy if they do have sex.
"Yes, we would all like our children to be abstinent, if not to marriage, at least darn close to it," says Shamrock parent and biologist Sarah L. Pallas. "But you can't take this head-in-the-sand approach. You still provide them with the information to protect them."
The parents prevailed, at least for the moment. Chastised DeKalb officials agreed to suspend the teaching of Choosing the Best in Shamrock until more "dialogue" can occur between the school and parents.
But the whole controversy about abstinence-only education has to move to a larger stage than a middle school cafeteria in central DeKalb. The $170 million question is whether federal tax dollars should underwrite sex education programs for teens that essentially ignore sex.
Cook says "yes," and cites statistics showing that just about everyone abstaining from sex --- perhaps with the exception of the Virgin Mary --- graduated his program. Neither Cook nor his literature mentions that 88 percent of teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage eventually break that pledge, according to a study based on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
In other words, no matter how much Americans want their children to delay sex until marriage, most don't. Pretending otherwise --- in the name of protecting kids --- does just the opposite.
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