WN: Sex Ed for Kindergarteners 'Right Thing to Do,' Says Obama

[Guest LadyC]

I think its a fine line. Teachers should not go into any detail at all, but they are not always going to be able to simply dismiss it either.

let me start by telling JUSTINM... great post! you did such a good job that i don't have much left to say.

but i do have one thing to say.... forrestkc, if i'm not mistaken, you have children, right? didn't you adopt two kids, or am i thinking of someone else? if you are a parent, you should KNOW that YES, you can dismiss a subject quite easily from a five year old. it's called acting like the authority, not the buddy. kids have short attention spans. you tell them it isn't going to be discussed in this setting, tell them who to ask, and then change the subject.

and then, since we know eventually the kid will remember to ask again, and probably not at the appropriate time, it would be wise of the teacher to send a note home to the parents saying "your child has been asking these questions, it would be a good time for you to discuss it with your child as you deem appropriate".

it's really that simple.

question, forrestkc,

if your child's friend was over at your house and asked YOU the question, how would you respond?

[JustinM]

I took "the test" as entertainment, I already knew what kind of person I was, but for the rest of you, here's the stats:

Your Score

Your scored 1.5 on the Moral Order axis and -6.5 on the Moral Rules axis.

Matches

The following items best match your score:

System: Conservatism

Variation: Economic Conservatism

Ideologies: Conservative NeoLiberalism

US Parties: Republican Party

Presidents: Ronald Reagan (96.88%)

2004 Election Candidates: George W. Bush (83.17%), John Kerry (71.88%), Ralph Nader (53.12%)

Statistics

Of the 342680 people who took the test:

0.5% had the same score as you.

84.3% were above you on the chart.

4.1% were below you on the chart.

23% were to your right on the chart.

71.2% were to your left on the chart.

So, liberals can label me a liberal neocon.

[Ovedya]

No school system has the right to undermine my parental philosophy regarding the sexual education of my children. If I don't want my 5-year-old to know about the birds and the bees, I should have the right to tell the school board where to stick their curriculum.

[Ovedya]

Grace to you,

It's not the Teacher nor the schools job to educate your child about sex.

This is just another step towards allowing the School system a little more control in the life of your child. It is an incremental suggestion. Yes, he certainly doesn't mean handing out condoms to your 5 year old, at least not yet.

It's just a matter of time until some well meaning but absurd person takes the mantle of that responsibility.

Maybe we should teach 5 year olds about alternative lifestyles too?

Peace,

Dave

Like it or not, schools are put into that position by students. If a 5 year old asks a teacher where babies come from, then we ought to determine an acceptable answer beforehand.

If a 5 year old asks his teacher in a room full of students why Sally has two mommies, then we ought to determine an acceptable answer beforehand.

The only acceptable answer is, "Ask your parents."

[forrestkc]

I think its a fine line. Teachers should not go into any detail at all, but they are not always going to be able to simply dismiss it either.

let me start by telling JUSTINM... great post! you did such a good job that i don't have much left to say.

but i do have one thing to say.... forrestkc, if i'm not mistaken, you have children, right? didn't you adopt two kids, or am i thinking of someone else? if you are a parent, you should KNOW that YES, you can dismiss a subject quite easily from a five year old. it's called acting like the authority, not the buddy. kids have short attention spans. you tell them it isn't going to be discussed in this setting, tell them who to ask, and then change the subject.

and then, since we know eventually the kid will remember to ask again, and probably not at the appropriate time, it would be wise of the teacher to send a note home to the parents saying "your child has been asking these questions, it would be a good time for you to discuss it with your child as you deem appropriate".

it's really that simple.

question, forrestkc,

if your child's friend was over at your house and asked YOU the question, how would you respond?

We have two kids. A son and an adopted daughter. As to how I would respond to a question asked by one of our kids friends that was over at our house, it would depend on the question. I would probably tell them to talk to their parents about it, but like I say I say it would depend on the question. I mean if one of our son's friends asked about Harper and if she has a mother and a father, I would say yes she does have them back in China. If they went further, I would say yes it does take a mother and a father to make a kid. That would be the extent that I would go into it, beyond that, it would be up to the parents. Thats all I think should happen in the classroom as well.

You can't just totally muzzle teachers though. For example, if your talking about baby birds to 5 and 6 year olds, you might point out that they have a mommy and a daddy. If they ask, then you would point out that all animals have mommies and daddies. If they then asked about people, your not just going to then say "Ask your parents". Like it or not, we live in a diverse society, and questions about it are going to come up and at times are going to have to be addressed. They should not be going into any detail at all, but on the other hand, we don't want classrooms where all the kids in the class think there is something wrong with Sally because she has two mommies either. This is the point of individual communities setting standards and guidelines on how to deal with these issues.

[Ovedya]

When you give teachers leeway like this to teach children about sex it often doesn't matter what kinds of limitations are built into the curriculum, teachers will go too far. Many teachers just consider curriculum a place to start.

[forrestkc]

When you give teachers leeway like this to teach children about sex it often doesn't matter what kinds of limitations are built into the curriculum, teachers will go too far. Many teachers just consider curriculum a place to start.

If you don't establish guidelines, then you are essentially telling them to just wing it, and thus giving them the ultimate leeway. I think the reality of this is that the issue is quite a bit more nuanced than you guys would like it to be.

[Guest LadyC]

forrest, i'm glad to see that you said the extent of anything beyond that would be to refer them back to their parents, and that it is also how you feel it should be handled in a classroom.

that's really all the guidelines there needs to be. and if the teacher can't shut up beyond that, then either she needs a muzzle, or even better, a new career.

[ladypeartree]

I am a teacher albeit in Britain and not in the usa ...we too have sex education on the curriculum ( for the past 10 years ) at the earliest stage it is simply to teach the children to name body parts ...and no we do not go into the names of "private" parts When a child in the youngest classes asks "where do babies come from " just telling them that they come from mummy is the normally aceptable thing as so many have mums who are pregnant or other mums coming in and out of the school very obviously pregnant and they almost all know that mummy grows a baby in her tummy ....that is all they need to know from teacher

[rtwo]

Did anyone actually read the article before they jumped to the conclusion that Obama must support teaching condom use to Kindergartners?

From the article:

"he "does not support teaching explicit sex education to children in kindergarten. . . The legislation in question was a state Senate measure last year that aimed to update Illinois' sex education standards with 'medically accurate' information . . . 'Nobody's suggesting that kindergartners are going to be getting information about sex in the way that we think about it,' Obama said. 'If they ask a teacher 'where do babies come from,' that providing information that the fact is that it's not a stork is probably not an unhealthy thing. Although again, that's going to be determined on a case by case basis by local communities and local school boards.'"

And what is wrong with this?

Now I know you're kidding, right?

And people why I am against "compulsory" education!

In a room full of students, what do you want a teacher to do when a kid asks where babies come from? What do you want them to do when a child asks why another child has two mommies? Do you want them to just wing it, or do you want the local communities to come up with standards for an acceptable answer?

I certainly don't want a government run institution to decide the answer for me -- and now, I don't want the -community- to determine the acceptable answer. The community is, often, wrong -- and hasn't the right to raise my children.