Question:
I have read that abstinence-only programs just don't work. But I'm really worried that my Jason, my 16-year-old, needs to be taught to respect his girlfriends more. How can a school sex ed class instill that in him?Answer:
ParentingTeensOnline expert, Martha R. Roper, M.A. , discusses "How can schools encourage teens to be more ethical?". Martha has been a teacher since 1970, and a nationally known health and sexuality educator for 25 years. She has a B.S. in Education from Texas Christian University, and a Masters Degree in Family and Community Relations from Columbia University Teachers' College in New York. She answers:
Schools are only a part of what makes adolescents who they are. It’s unrealistic to expect a sex ed class, or any class, to teach students what they need to hear at the moment they need to hear it. Parents and peers have the most influence on kids, so filling your child’s lives with athletics and co-curricular activities is one way to promote your values and control who is in the peer group. Parents want help from schools, and it is realistic to ask your school to set a tone of decency about respect, responsibility, honesty, integrity, and other moral values, so perhaps you might check to see whether your school has a character education program in place. If not, you could start the conversation with the principal or a school board member. A good source for information is Search Institute. http://www.search-institute.org. I think the question behind the question is: How can I help my son think less about “sex” and more about friendship with the girls he dates. The short answer is: You can’t. However, you can make sure that your son has many conversations with you about sexuality and that there are books and positive internet sources about sexuality available for him near the family TV.