For 47 minutes they (parents and students) took turns at the microphone (at the school board meeting), alternately praising and punching the April 10 discussion at Boulder High, during which members of the panel talked graphically about sex and drugs. During that talk, members of the panel made statements that, among other things, masturbation is appropriate behavior for 12-year-olds and that students should enjoy themselves as they experimented with sex and drugs.
At Foxnews.com I viewed a video clip from Bill O'Reilly's show, one in which he plays audio from the discussion. He also has video from the above-mentioned school board meeting. Both were pretty startling.
"On April 10, a wonderful thing happened at Boulder High," Wallace Westfeldt, a parent, said. "Talking about sex is important, particularly with adolescents fueled with hormones who face this on a daily basis."
I know it sounds old-fashioned to say this, but we didn't need such talks to encourage us in the 80's. It's not like we weren't having sex in the 80's, and we didn't even have the internet from which to learn more than we needed to learn about sex. We certainly didn't need to be compelled by our teachers (as some students were in Boulder) to attend talks about how sex, with either or both genders, is perfectly fine for teenagers, or how difficult it can be to (I'll sanitize the words they used regarding this point) "maintain an erection" when using a condom because "it doesn't feel as good", or how drug use is acceptable. Oddly enough, the adults at my school thought that such details were beyond the acceptable bounds of their mission. Apparently, the Wallace quoted above wouldn't agree with me on what's considered appropriate topics for discussion with students. I wonder how Wallace would have felt about having students attend a pro-war rally, since teenage boys have lots of aggression due to their testosterone levels...
One interested observer at the meeting was Silverman, the attorney and KHOW talk show host who said he was glad to hear the school board had sent a letter home to parents in the district telling them that mistakes were made April 10.
He also said the debate has ignored the fact that Boulder High students perform extremely well on various academic measures.
Ah, yes. If the kids perform well enough academically, only then is it acceptable to encourage them to have sex and take drugs. Idiot.
If anything good came out of this, it's that even more post-Churchill attention is being directed at Boulder and the left-wing radicalism it supports as a community.
5 comments:
There must be something odd about that area of the county... I have a friend who grew up there and her parents encouraged her to do it all- as long as she maintained her grades and stayed out of trouble. They saw it as a normal part of adolescence and wanted their daughters to "get it out of their system" while they were young. Her parents also gave her a hard time when she began going to church- it was ok in the beginning, when she was "exploring her spirituality", but when she began making better choices because of her faith, they actively discouraged her. What is up with these people?
I'd say it's the lack of oxygen at that altitude, but that wouldn't explain the rest of the great state of Colorado.
I can't believe the dialogue I heard at this assembly. The administrators at this school are shameful. It is disgusting and frightening that adults validated this behavior. If this assembly had occurred at my school I think most of the teachers would have made their students leave. The topics discussed weren't appropriate for a locker room let alone a classroom. Why do we even wonder why the teenagers of this country are so messed up? I am stunned that this was considered proper to speak about in a school. The parents who condone this are the same type who feel it is more important to be a friend to their kids rather than a parent. It's so much easier to be a friend than a parent. Unbelievable.
Yow. On one hand, yes, the kiddies will try sex (we're wired to do just that) and possibly drugs. On the other, we (schools) are primary authority figures/ethical models for kids. We have an absolute moral responsibility to tell kids not to engage in harmful behaviors that vex far too many adults.
By this, I don't mean we should engage only in "don't do it or your naughty bits will fall off" sex education. A lack of knowledge in any field is not to be desired. But we should be telling the kids that there are consequences for any behavior and that some of those consequences are so damaging that it is best to put off some pleasures in the pursuit of greater and more lasting goals. Is not teaching kids to sublimate passing, temporary pleasures in favor of larger, more meaningful goals not part of what we do?
And there is absolutely no doubt on one issue: We cannot, ever, condone illegal activity, and we surely cannot recommend that students do it. Even if such idiotic support from teachers is not strictly illegal, it is certainly sufficiently stupid to call into question one's continued fitness to serve as a teacher.
Boulder. Pshaw!
Mike,
Good call. I think you were able to get to the point. Kids will do stupid things without our help. But they need to be told that some behaviors have consequences that are too dangerous and damaging. Some pleasures need to be put aside until the consequences are acceptable. Rarely are they acceptable for teenagers. Teens need to have grownups who will tell them that some things are WRONG. Let their friends tell them everything is OK. Everything is not OK.
Post a Comment