What You Told Us

In the previous issue of Teacher Talk (Vol. 1 No. 3), we discussed the topic of sexuality in the schools. We want to share some of the thoughtful responses we received.

An anonymous reader responds:

"Forget the abstinence crap. Sure, you can mention it, but get realistic! Anytime you mention that as the primary option, the students will shut down and not listen to anything else. Get real."

Mary Guiden writes:

"I was very disturbed with the `Resources for Sexuality Education' because you included two fear- and shame-based curricula, Respect, Inc. and Teen Aid, Inc. as a resource for educators. You neglected to mention in your article that programs based on concepts such as Sex Respect present information that is inaccurate, manipulative and biased. If nothing else, I would hope that you could at least include the contact information for Planned Parenthood's "R.E.A.L. Life" (Reality-based Education And Learning for Life) program."

Teacher Talk wanted to present the issues in the debate about sex education and sexuality in public schools. Hence, we listed a range of curricula. Since our publication, an article in The Journal of School Health indicated that Sex Respect does not meet guidelines for a comprehensive sex education curriculum.