Wanderings of the Mind

Remember my earlier rant on abstinence only education and the poking fun at previous VP candidates daughter?

Well there's been a two year study of Texas school systems curriculum on sex education, and holy shit. It's no wonder they have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country.

This is also why its up to individual parents to be aware of what is being taught to your kids in school. Sadly Texas is one state where I'd never send my kids to public school in.

All that federal government money spent to scare kids away from OMG EVIL SEX!

Complete text of the story from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram below for your viewing pleasure.

Follow up:

(bolding emphasis is mine )

Report sharply criticizes sex education in Texas schools
The overwhelming majority of Texas schools use scare tactics and spread myths in place of teaching basic sex and health information that students can use to protect themselves and others, according to a report released today by watchdog group Texas Freedom Network.

TFN’s two-year study of education materials from 990 Texas school districts showed that about 94 percent of public schools use abstinence-only programs that usually pass moral judgments while either downplaying or ignoring contraception and health screenings.

Two percent ignore sex education, according to the report, written by David Wiley, professor of health education at Texas State University, and Kelly Wilson, assistant professor of health education at Texas State.

They put much of the blame on school administrators’ fear of controversy and religious groups that teach that sex is shameful.

Texas continues to have one of the nation’s highest teen pregnancy rates despite receiving more federal abstinence funding than any other state.

"I thought I was no longer capable of being surprised by the ignorance among our students," Wiley wrote in the report. "Then last year a sincere male student asked aloud, 'What is my risk for cervical cancer?’ Clearly, ignorance surrounding sexuality and health is a problem among young people today."

Wiley and Wilson analyzed thousands of pages of curriculum materials, district policies and other documents that were obtained from nearly all the state’s 1,031 public school districts through requests under the Texas Public Information Act.

Findings of the report, Just Say Don’t Know: Sexuality Education in Public Schools, include:

Most Texas students receive no instruction about human sexuality apart from the promotion of sexual abstinence.

Sex education material used by 41 percent of school districts includes factual errors. Most errors involve condoms (41 percent) and STDs (38.9 percent). Often the errors are about condoms’ low effectiveness. Instruction about HIV and human papillomavirus is especially prone to error. For example, some materials list the tears, sweat and saliva of an HIV-infected person as being dangerous, although no case of HIV has ever been shown to result from such contact.

Shaming and fear-based instruction are standard means of teaching students about sexuality.

About 81 percent of districts receive no formal recommendations on sex education from state-mandated local advisory councils.

Instruction on human sexuality often promotes stereotypes and biases based on gender and sexual orientation. For example, one abstinence-only program used in 53 school district says women need "financial support," while men need "domestic support," according to the report.

Some Texas classrooms mix religious instruction and Bible study into sex education programs. "Hardly a page can be found that does not include multiple references to Bible verses, invocation of Christian principles, even attempts to proselytize students with the Christian plan of salvation," the report states about a program called Wonderful Days used by three districts in the Fort Worth area.

To fix the problems, the report suggests that districts appoint at least one certified health professional or educator to their state-mandated school health advisory council and have that council review sex education policies every three years. Districts should also use qualified, trained classroom teachers and materials from reputable sources.

The state should decline federal funds for abstinence-only education and adopt textbooks that emphasize abstinence while providing medically accurate information, the report suggests.

The districts and their health advisory councils largely decide what subjects are covered under health education, Texas Education Agency spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said.

Kathy Miller, president of the Freedom Network’s Education Fund, said in a news conference announcing the report Tuesday in Austin that she wants education programs to encourage abstinence.

"But we must stop burying our heads in the sand about high teen birth and STD rates and make sure young people get the medically accurate information they need to protect their health and their futures," Miller said.

The Star-Telegram recently reported that since 2001, the Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district’s eighth-grade science curriculum has taught that if used correctly, latex condoms are 80 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. But the success rate of condoms when used correctly is 97 to 98 percent, according to most experts and manufacturers.

H-E-B officials said they don’t know where they got their information. In January the district, in an addendum, corrected the information in its online curriculum. A district review committee has found several other problems, administrators say, and is now working to correct them.

"Our goal is to try to have it ready in August for the beginning of ’09-’10 school year," H-E-B spokeswoman Judy Ramos said.

One of the few school districts to receive a kind word in the report was Fort Worth. The authors praised the district for having a health advisory council that promotes abstinence as the most appropriate and effective means of contraception but that also recognizes a need for further education presented in a thoughtful and nonjudgmental way.

"This information is not often taught beyond high school," said Georgi Roberts, the district’s health and physical education director. "Our students need accurate information for when they make decisions as adults."

Link to source article