|
International News
Canada: Graphic Sex-Ed Booklet Distributed
A presentation at an elementary school in British Columbia went terribly wrong when students mistakenly received a graphic sex guide that contained, among other things, information on various sex acts and tips on how to reduce the chances of passing HIV or Hepatitis C while using recreational drugs during sex. Parents took to social media to express their outrage and share stories of their children coming home from school with the graphic sex guide and asking questions. School officials issued an apology to parents saying they didn't "completely review" the booklet prior to distribution, which seems incredulous, given the importance and wide-reaching effects of sex ed.
State News
Nevada: Pushback on Controversial Sex Ed
One week after the Board of Trustees approved new sex ed standards for the Washoe County School District, representatives of the Latin community filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office saying that they were not given enough time to properly review and understand the curriculum before it was voted on. Although the district has no date scheduled to discuss the curriculum again, the group has asked that a hold be put on the curriculum until all members of the community have an opportunity to review and understand the materials.
Texas: Reproduction in Kindergarten?
In his recent health care review, Texas Education Board Commissioner, Mike Morath recommended new policies that would introduce sex ed in kindergarten. According to this article, the lessons would include "material about forming healthy relationships, personal safety, anatomy and reproduction." But some parents want no part of it, with some saying, "in no way do I think that is at all appropriate for anybody under the age of puberty."
Washington: Parents in the Dark
State policy requires schools to provide parents a 30-day notice prior to sex ed being taught to their kids. It also allows parents the opportunity to review materials and opt their children out of the class if they desire. But this didn't happen at one Olympia area school, where students participated in "mortifying" condom demonstrations. After hearing about the explicit nature of some of the lessons, one parent said, "I’m not against the sex-ed, but if I knew this was the way [the teacher] was going to teach it, my daughter would never have been in the class.” School officials admitted that they inadvertently failed to send out the required notice and tried to reassure parents by saying, "there is a specific plan and staff direction going forward to assure that doesn’t happen again."
Opportunities
SRA Educators Needed in Southwest Ohio!
Maximum Freedom, Inc. is looking for educators to go into Jr. and Sr. high school classes with a 4-day presentation that will empower teens with knowledge and strategies for making healthy choices regarding high-risk behaviors, relationships, and sexual activity.
This is a part-time position requiring a commitment of at least 2 weeks a month. Find out more information about Maximum Freedom here.
If you are interested, please contact Sue Benskin at sbenskin@maximumfreedom.org.
Resources
Understanding the Impact of HIV
This resource from the CDC breaks down HIV data by incidence, prevalence and diagnoses. Among other things, it shows which part of the country bears the highest burden of HIV infection as well as what particular communities are the most effected.
Parent Corner
The Newest Trend in Sexting
As if teen sexting isn't troubling enough, Instagram has taken it to the next level. The latest trend in sexting is to create short, looping videos of oneself in different levels of undress using Instagram’s Boomerang app. Now, instead of a still image, someone can take a video of any body part and send it, solicited or not, via a messaging/texting app or AirDrop to anyone. Users say it "adds a level of life and movement to their sexts, but it’s not as revealing or scary as an actual video." Sadly our young people are increasingly being bombarded with the message that teen sex and all of its derivatives are fine as long as they are done "safely." As adults, we need to be directing them and providing much needed pushback against this disturbing trend.
Young People Doing Good Things!
Teens Turn Love of Origami Into Clean Water
Isabelle and Katherine Adams were just 8 and 5 when they learned that every 15 seconds a child in a developing country dies because of unclean water. Inspired to do something to change this statistic, they began selling origami creations to provide clean water for those in developing countries. Eventually their project grew into the non-profit organization, Paper for Water. Isabelle and Katherine, now 15 and 12, have raised over $1.5 million and helped fund 170 water projects in 17 countries!
|
