[Paul]

Originally Posted by Duke

The only thing that works is communication and understanding at both ends of the spectrum. That means a teacher and a student tackling the issues head on. How likely is that to happen in today’s society?

I understand where you're coming from Duke but actually I've been involved in an abstinence program which encouraged me to stay abstinent. The difference for me is I learned what I needed where I was supposed to, at home.

When did it become the school's responsibility to teach your kids basic things like sex ed. and abstinence, personally I think it's retarded. What kind of parents leave it to a school system to teach their children the basic facts of life? What kind of message does that send to the child when even mom and dad can't sit down and explain how things work and give you their views on healthy sexual behavior? Now I do understand that there are situtions where there are no parents, single and both parent families where the parents can't talk to the child, are afraid to or are living a lifestyle which is just a bad example and the kids wouldn't learn any other way except from the school or their friends, in fact I'm happy the school does teach sex ed. etc. for this reason, all I'm saying is this area is definetly the parents responsibility and the fact that they neglect to take a role in the teaching of these things says a lot about our society and the way sex is viewed.

As for " it's another entirely if the very ideal your pushing is one you've disobeyed", I concur. However people can realize the mistakes they've made and teach others what they wish they had done. Also most likely a child isn't going to know much if anything about the sexual practises of the teacher in question. Personally I think it's much more important that abstinence be taught by whoever, rather then not, and as a parent if you're concerned about these issues you should do it right, do it yourself and do it at home.