Let's help

[CreativeMind]

Originally Posted by transjen

Wish i attended a highschool like that when i was a teen Jennifer

Unfortunately, that's one of the BIGGEST parts of the problem. Namely, trying to determine "when" it's appropriate for schools to get more involved, and when we should let kids learn or explore things more openly.

In general, most people believe that kids -- certainly young kids -- should be allowed to be kids and there's a sort of "child-like innocence" that should always be protected -- at least for a certain amount of time. In other words, we should let kids play in the sandbox and let them believe in Santa Clause, and we shouldn't be SO quick to ram sex down their throats and turn kids into adults. And that's where the problem REALLY starts since we (as a society) are still having MAJOR problems addressing this. Case in point...

A few months ago there was a news story you might remember. A woman was teaching a class that involved hooking her laptop up to a projector in the classroom. The only problem was, when she booted up her computer porn started to suddenly flash on the screen. Once she saw what was happening, the teacher instantly tried to shut it down -- but the fact that porn was shown got her into instant trouble. She was sued by some parents who felt that their kids had been exposed to sexually explicit material. On the flip side, some experts testified on her behalf in court. They basically noted that in examining the computer, she had actually gotten an internet virus a day or so before and simply didn't realize it. In other words, she thought the computer was fine, so she innocently booted it up in the class...and then suddenly -- BOOM -- the virus kicked in and porn screenshots took over. The defense team argued she wasn't to blame and it could have happened to anyone, though they likewise noted it was a cautionary tale for anyone who surfs the Net these days and what could happen to you (and your computer) if you're not careful.

When that story hit -- as is usually the case with "hot topics" of the moment -- there was a flurry of debate about schools and libraries and computers and the internet. For the most part, most communities and jurisdictions have decided that spam filters and porn blockers are legal on computers in schools. Courts have ruled that in order to safeguard children, filtering computers on school grounds does NOT violate First Amendment rights. Meanwhile, those same courts have ALSO ruled that such filters are ILLEGAL in public libraries, since an adult SHOULD have full access to the internet -- for example, someone who is poor and can't afford to have a computer at home, and thus they have no other choice BUT to use a computer at their local library. That person, as an adult, should NOT have his First Amendment rights to see whatever he wants infringed upon.

The reason I bring this up is because just the other day (and again you might have seen this on the news) is there was some controversy over a school that was blocking access to GBLT web sites because someone felt the sites were PORNOGRAPHIC and blocking them was warranted. Yet on the opposite side, Gay activist groups felt the sites were INFORMATIONAL and that by denying kids access to the sites, the school was infringing on their basic rights to explore their own sexual identity issues.

So now we've come full circle to the issue everyone fights tooth and nail over because it really IS a very telling personal stance: At what age do you think we should let kids in school be taught certain things? And assuming we can even agree on an age, then "what" are you willing to discuss in school?

Me, I remember taking sex education my freshmen or sophomore year in High School. And as I seem to recall, my parents did have to sign off on it. It wasn't an enforced class in the curriculum, which meant parents could still have a choice in the matter. But we had the class then...at the start of High School...because it made the most sense. High School was pretty much the time that your hormones rage, so it made the most sense to pull kids aside THEN and say "Hey you! Mister and Miss Hormone! Here are some things you'd both better know RIGHT NOW to be safe." And the way I see it, Sex Education didn't turn me into a sex crazed maniac -- instead it gave me answers and made me realize how easily teen pregnancy could happen and how easily STDs can be transmitted and all sorts of things I'm glad I found out about before it was too late. That was a case where education worked because it gave me answers to things I needed to know, and in the end it DID protect me.

But as I said, we still have a LONG ways to go since it often seems that we can't even agree to TALK about these things. When you take a topic for debate off the table COMPLETELY and say "Nope, I'm not even willing to discuss this, I'm not even willing to HEAR your ideas", then it's going to be one, long, uphill battle for change to truly take place.