Since gay couples have become more open in the US, should US schools teach kids about gay couples?

Umm just teach them normal sex ed like I had in school. Gays don’t need special treatment

What are condoms, how you can spread STDs, how to avoid them, what STDs do to you (very very nasty 7th grade slide show), the basic biologlical conceptgs (babies etc), and thats all.

Gay or straight, same concept. Just be sure to mention that the above is important weather you are hetero or homosexual.

what exactly would be the topics?

Sure. The purpose of the school is to prepare the children for the world outside, and teach them about the many aspects of life.

@ragingloli I believe the proposed topics would be pretty basic, along the lines of “sometimes, men love men and women love women”. It is intended for young children.

If schools talk about family structures, they should acknowledge all family structures. The schools answer to all citizens and are responsible for educating all students. If some parents do not want this discussed, they can pull their children out of some classes or out of school altogether; if they are unhappy with the education their children receive as a result, well, them’s the breaks.

I don’t understand why the religious wingnuts seem to think that if they can prevent something from being talked about, it will go away. Even if they could somehow manage to prevent it from being mentioned at all in school, do they really think that their kids won’t hear about gay marriage on the evening news?

I really don’t think that is necessary.

I think an explanation to children that, as @The_Compassionate_Heretic said, “sometimes, men love men and women love women” would be fine. But it should be a part of sex-ed or health and not its own subject.

I’m not sure it’s necessary nor appropriate for school.

It depends on how it is approached. If they are going to teach hetero-normative literature to the children and teach them about that family structure, then yes, they should include something like Heather Has Two Mommies.

@cwilbur That kind of thinking is what is messing this country up. We can not cater to every single group. Its all this socialist “lets be fair to everyone” kind of shit. This sounds nice on paper, but realistically the needs of EVERY group can not be met.

If you teach about christianity you have to teach about Islam, Judism, Budhism, Hinduism, Wicketism, Witchcraft, Peganism…..

If you teach about straight people you have to teach about Gays, Asexuals, Bisexuals, Transgenders, Sex-change people, Confused people, Gays but not totally there yet gays…..

If you give government handouts to the Cubans, you must also give them to the Asians, Blacks, Jews, Hatians, Bahamians, Arabs, English, Scotish, Canadians, Mexicans…..

cmon…

There are too many minority groups. Gays are a small minority. Humans are not meant to be gay (from an evolutionary standpoint), because that violates the very principals of procreation (The evolutionary drive to pass on ones genes). No wonder why they are a minority, it is natural. Natural selection is designed to handle things like this (these genes to not get passed on, obviously)....

I do not hate gays, but I dont think they need to be catered to. They should just live their lives and be happy.

@critter1982 in what way is it inappropriate?

@cwilbur makes a good point that public schools should ”...acknowledge all family structures…”

@TheWeedMan It’s interesting that you think being gay goes against nature/procreation, since there are many other species of mammals that mate within their same gender during times of overpopulation. It seems that you have a very basic understanding of nature/procreation.

If you don’t address it in school, you teach the kids something else. That it’s deviant and something not accepted. Also you leave it up to parents and friends to form a perception about it. Not always such a good idea.

If it’s deemed not appropriate, nothing about sex ed or social studies are.

When we do not educate the masses on a particular aspect of society, we breed false information.

With false information comes misconception; with that comes prejudice and, eventually, hate.

They will eventually learn of homosexuality – would you rather that come from a skewed and biased perspective (possibly bigoted friends, family members), or a somewhat controlled curriculum, designed to introduce the concept that two members of the same sex can fall in love and have a healthy family?

@TheWeedMan haha. What makes the the majority so great that they are above learning of the minority around them?

@drClaw THey may mate with the same sex for other reasons, but there is no way in hell mating with the same sex alone will pass on genes (unless it is a hermaphroditic animal which I think there are some).

Humans are not hermaphroditic, and can not procreate with the same sex. Never tried but it seems impossible.

EDIT:
Re-read your response. Good point about the overpopulation. Preserve the community as a whole. In the human population though, straight people seemed to be selected over gay people.

Gays are still a minority in society though and should not be catered to

I certainly think it’s a good idea but I actually think sex ed should be taught in the same way that it is now We are all equals and if it is taught separately or differently it might put across the idea that it is wrong or unaccepted. Perhaps it should be discussed though and it may teach kids to be more accepting and open minded.

@TheWeedMan I think that @drClaw was trying to point out that we, humans, are over populated and, as with some species of animals, breeding with the same gender is a natural bi-product to PREVENT more reproducing because we don’t NEED more offspring….

Some kids are going to ask “why does my friend at school have 2 daddies or two mommies?” Telling kids why this is, is not a bad thing.

@TheWeedMan using condoms and other contraceptives doesn’t actually further procreation either.

I can’t believe that this is an issue really, 2009 in america. It just shouldn’t be. I wonder if our grand children will giggle or be appalled. Probably a bit of both.

I would also like to add that you don’t have to teach about everything in school. I do however think that if you ARE going to teach about one thing you need to teach about the alternatives…

For instance, if you ARE teaching about heterosexual relationships, than it is only fair to talk about homosexual relationships (I don’t know what schools people went to, but I don’t remember learning about it in grade school and I’m not that far out of it). If you’re going to teach religion, unless it’s a “Christian Religions” class, you should cover as many different religions as possible. However, most of this doesn’t happen in grade school because it is mandatory for ALL children to attend and they shouldn’t be forced to learn about SOME things that parents deem inappropriate (however short sighted that might be from the parents), so we stick to basic Math Science English and History curriculums. I have always figured that college is when most people broaden their horizons and are exposed to more diversity.

This wasn’t the case for me, but I raised by and EXTREMELY liberal mother and have always been friends with the kids who are “different”.

Considering I was never really taught normal marriage or relations in school, I would go ahead and say there’s no real need. But the realist in me knows that there is a need, especially in the States. So yes, a small lesson in sex ed class would be appropriate.

@drClaw: The real issue at hand is tolerance. Learning to accept behaviors, cultures, and religions that do not agree with our own. If you start teaching very young children about the intricacies of cultural discord and societal and social misunderstandings it will only lead to more and more and more questions of which should not be taking time from gradeschool basics. And when it doesn’t take time from other subjects, it will be discussed on the schoolyard. I don’t think you want your son or daughter forming an opinion on this matter, based on the opinion of some other kid. I think it’s inappropriate in that homosexual marriage, is still a highly debated topic, one that will likely not be able to be expressed from a teacher without that particular teacher expressing their particular view (whether it be pro or con). Additionally, this is a highly debateable moral issue among so many people. Just like I don’t want my government telling me what I can and cannot do with respect to morality, I don’t want public schools teaching my children about highly debateable moral issues.

@critter1982
“Learning to accept behaviors, cultures, and religions that do not agree with our own.”

yes and that is why it should be taught at school, because the parents often can not be trusted with that task, especially in southern regions.

@TheWeedMan: If you can’t treat the matter fairly—and discussing one man, one woman relationships, or talking about heterosexual family dynamics in health or home economics classes, without even acknowledging that a significant number of people do not seek out or enjoy those relationships is not treating the matter fairly—then you shouldn’t treat the matter at all.

“We can’t treat every minority fairly, so we’ll only talk about the single majority” is utter bullshit.

@ragingloli: I disagree. Teaching people that 2 guys or 2 woman can love each other is not the same as teaching tolerance. Parents will tell their children whatever they want them to believe (with respect to moral issues). It is not the schools job to teach this. It is the schools job, along with everyone else in the world, to teach kids respect and tolerance of those different than you. Again, teachers will have their own opinion on homosexuality and I don’t want my child’s teacher telling my child what or what they shouldn’t believe. The topic is still too highly debateable, and likely will be for along time.

Yes. I don’t understand how there could be any question. My kids’ school teaches it, as well as many other topics. The kids from this school are sought out by high schools in the region.

Short Answer: Yes it should be taught (longer answer below).

It would make sense to teach sexuality of any sort within its regular curriculum (which I strongly believe needs to be changed). And within health education classes then yes homosexuality should be addressed. I don’t even see why it couldn’t be addressed in Science class to a limited point (ex: when talking about animal reproduction).

I also think that teachers should be openly allowed to answer questions if children, of any age, should ask them as long as they answer the questions appropriately for the age of the child and the situation.

It should be normalized instead of taught as a form of “tolerance”. If it is taught as tolerance then that is great. I believe in tolerance and teaching it. I would just prefer, however, for it to be normalized in education and thus not a “big deal”.

And as long as it is part of the educational system we should stick to the facts or basic information and not being putting our opinions in here and there (well as much as is possible). Controversial topics should not be ignored, opinionwise, but they could take up in a debate class or in an appropriate forum where the teacher is allowing both sides of the “argument” to be displayed. But again I prefer it to be basic education that is normalized and not controversialized.

@TheWeedMan the reason why many of us would advocate discussing same sex practices in sex ed is because it’s not always like hetero sex and there are important facts teenagers needs to know…i’d say that we don’t have to single out any sexuality but in our discussion of sex practices it shouldn’t be assumed that they’re only doing it penis into vagina – that’s heteronormative and problematic, to me

10 % of our kids ARE these gay people. We owe it to them to be guided as well. I have no idea what sexuality my son will have. I would hate to have him go to school and learn that his homosexual feelings wasn’t addressed by society, and deviant. I have no problem with the society being heteronormative. But scissors need to be made for left handed people as well.

Making a mental note to find out how my childrens’ school approaches this subject.

I think schools should foster tolerance and acceptance, allow teachers to honestly answer questions from the children, and provide all children with a safe haven. Ideally, kids who have two mommies or two daddies would be just as welcome to talk about their families as other kids. Hateful language and bullying would not be tolerated, and classes such as history, social studies, and health would look at aspects of homosexuality in our society. In an even better world, the kids would learn tolerance at home and see Mom and Dad interacting with friends who are in same-sex relationships (hopefully marriage, and I only say that because I look forward to the day it is legal everywhere).

I find it interesting that this subject is of so little interest to young children. We have a couple of friends who are in same-sex marriages. Our daughter asked about it once, seemed perfectly bored by our explanation, and has never brought it up again. Even when a friend of ours refers to himself as the kids’ “Auntie,” they just accept it. I’m glad we have these friends to help reinforce the ideals we want to pass on to our children.

@MissAusten I love hearing about other children who are like my brother and I were. My “Uncle” Greg is my mothers oldest and dearest friend and when she told us he was gay we both kinda just shrugged and went “And?”

The same thing happened when a friend of mine introduced me to her mothers. She actually thanked me later because she has had friends react REALLY badly or start asking her questions and I just kind of went with it. Good for you raising your daughter to treat it as an every day perfectly normal occurrence!

@MissAusten that’s because kids have no clue that they need to be ‘uncomfortable’ with this – that’s the thing about kids – they’re inherently tolerant until taught differently

I’m not necessarily sure that family structures need to be taught in school at all. But if you are convinced that they should be, you have to include information regarding homosexuality as well.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Yes, and I think the best way to counter that kind of “learning” is to not give the impression at home that there’s something wrong, shameful, embarassing, or inferior about other lifestyles and/or cultures.

@MissAusten certainly, this is the way it is in my household but believe me my parents are another story and they watch the kids sometimes and they just have terrible things to say about other cultures/sexualities – and I will have to do a lot of countering

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Luckily, kids look to their parents more than anyone else. When I worked as a daycare teacher, I had some kids that I spent a full 40 hours a week with. You’d think I’d rub off on them a bit, but the habits and attitudes from home couldn’t compete with daycare. This is one reason why it cracks me up to hear people complain about “strangers raising kids” at daycare centers.

Always late to the party
In the private school I attended, sex ed wasn’t a subject but homosexual couples were discussed because we did have several kids with same sex parents. In public school, homosexuality was an included subject in our sex ed/health and safety class. To my knowledge, there were no complaints from anyone’s parents and no outbursts from students. I believe it’s a necessary part of socialization for kids to at least be addressed in response to what _The Compassionate_Heretic said, re: “why does my friend at school have 2 daddies or two mommies?”... “sometimes, men love men and women love women”.

Basic sex is basic sex. I do not believe should they get a special chapter. Just my OPINION so don’t jump on me!

I always find it fascinating when people talk about “special treatment” for minorities…it’s not special treatment if it’s the same treatment as the majority…it’s being treated as an equal…not “special”

@justwannaknow I don’t think anyone’s jumping on you
what you think is ‘basic’ isn’t necessarily so
as in same sex sex is just as basic to me

So, is the issue about adding homosexuality to sex education or really just a ruse?
This is just the old gay rights issue is it not?
Sorry folks, would rather my child be taught economics then sex education. As early a kindergarten. We have been procreating just fine since man has been doing the “slippity slide.”
There are too many other reasons why our current generation is doing what is doing. Sex ed is just desensitizing our youth. Like the “sexy” clothing you buy your child and the pornographic television you let them watch.
I remember my son, he was around 8ish and his friend, ( same age) she started singing, “dam if we could be lovers.” Sex education is a something to do about nothing.
Homosexuality, that is something totally different.

OK, I’m not convinced that sex education is important.

@hitomi Fantastic Response!

@ChazMaz yes, what is desensitising the youth is the media, where sexuality is depicted as something “hip” and “cool” without ever showing the consequences. And it is essentially inescapable.
Sex education is there to be a counter weight to the image that the media portrays, by teaching the youth how sex really works, what consequences it bears and how they can protect themselves from unwanted consequences.
In a country where parents are too stuck up to teach their children the facts in time and instead bet on an “abstinence only” policy that is apparently ineffective if you care to look at the teen pregnancy stats compared to other western nations, sex education is currently a more important issue in the US than in any other western country.

Damnit, I mean’t “now” not “not.”

@ChazMaz: Sex ed is not about how to procreate, but about how not to procreate. Would you rather have your children running around thinking you can’t get pregnant the first time they have sex? Or that you can’t get pregnant if the guy pulls out, or if you only have sex at certain times of the girl’s cycle? Or that you can’t get HIV if you’re only having straight sex?

Because sex is everywhere, there needs to be someone giving children information on the consequences of sex. Many parents just don’t do this, under the delusion that their kids (unlike everyone else’s, naturally) will just wait until marriage. That’s why sex education needs to happen in schools.

(Every one of those examples in my first paragraph is something that someone in my high school told me as 100% true. There were a lot of pregnant teenagers in my high school.)

What are you asking? Should schools teach the same things they teach about straight couples. I have taught for 20 years and in my school everything they teach about couples applies to both straight and gay people. You can’t possibly think HS kids are studying the Kama Sutra. It is about safe sex, treating people with respect and taking care of a baby doll that wets and cries for a week.

@RedPowerLady Thanks!!

I’m struggling to remember being taught about “couplehood” per se in school. I’d teach facts as relevant to the topics one is covering. I don’t think there’s any need to ever go into the mechanics of love and relationships in school, these are thins that can’t be taught, and no one should try. I think just about any concept that is appropriate to teach in schools could be done in ways that are gender and orientation non-specific.

I think some of the confusion is inherent in associating information about gay people/non gay within the context of sex ed. Gay folks are gay when they are paying taxes, taking out the trash, taking care of elderly parents, etc. Sexual orientation and sexuality are entirely different subjects.

There are MANY issues not related to sexual behaviors that impact gay folks in ways that heterosexual folks are not impacted. I think when role models are discussed, we should include all types of role models so every kid in the class has someone they look to.

Within the context of sex ed, obviously all potential behaviors and their relative safety/lack thereof need to be addressed. When I teach the class, I say, if your sex partner is a girl, here is what you need to know and if your sex partner is a boy, here is what you need to know. Folks can sort it out for themselves and I have found parents very tolerant of this approach.

@Kayak8 Great Answer. I really appreciated reading it.

“Because sex is everywhere, there needs to be someone giving children information on the consequences of sex.” Ya know what, show me how to use a condom, and if that gets my thingie where I want it to go sooner, so be it. By the way, before there was sex education us guys had condoms in our pocket. Sex was always everywhere. I understand the thinking that by making it easier to teach a child and, provide condoms you can prevent unwanted pregnancies. I am sorry, sex ed is just really soft porn, with a message. Is sex ok for our children as long as it is safe sex? I guess it is better then nothing. You got me there. (sarcasm) Maybe it is just the way it is, since we now live in a society where two paychecks are needed to support a home.
Sounds like a gateway drug conversation to me. Does sex ed lead to more sex, it sure creates open thought amongst kids. Does Marijuana and alcohol lead to stronger drugs?
Still not convincing me.

@ChazMaz Your logic is flawed…you are contradicting yourself in your own argument…you’re saying that BEFORE sex-ed, sex was everywhere, that means that even if we DON’T teach SEX in schools it’s still going to happen….If they’re going to be having sex anyway shouldn’t we ensure that they are educated and know the risks and can make educated decisions as opposed to trusting that they’ll make the right choices by instinct?

I also don’t disagree with using scare tactics (horrifying pictures of the effects of STDs and descriptions of the expenses of having a kid) to make kids realize that they really just shouldn’t be having sex at a young age, but…well…you said it, it’s going to happen so we should make sure that they know what’s going on and can be as safe as possible about it.

What would be taught? I know that if I was taught growing up that “sometimes women love woman and men love men” that my life would have been much easier growing up. Maybe I wouldn’t have thought I was some kind of freak for liking other girls. Either way I think sex ed should be taught in school. Without details just the facts. It’s not that hard and it’s in the real world. I think people should get over it.

@TheWeedMan prefect!

Relationship skills are relevant no matter what kind of relationship you have. My children’s school has a program called “choices” where they deal with a lot of kinds of choices kids will face as they grow up, including, but not limited to issues related to sexuality and sex.

In the real world, sex takes place in the context of various kinds of relationships, from love in marriage to stranger rape. Our children, I believe, should be taught about these things in the context they are found, not contextless.

However, this can only be done when the values of parents are fairly uniform. Otherwise you have all kinds of trouble as some parents think the school has no business dealing with these things, and other have a problem with the particular curriculum. Some communities deal with this by offering parents the choice of opting out their kids.

No matter what, these things are controversial, and may always be controversial. They are divisive politically, religiously and socially. This is a shame in my opinion, but I don’t see how it will change. There will always be some people who resist education.

It should be integrated in a matter-of-fact way into whatever curriculum already exists. Like @MissAusten, we have a married (sadly, not legally) male couple as our good friends and frequent guests in our home. Our kids accept this as completely normal, and that is as it should be.

@switchhitter – funny, I’d expect someone with a name like switchhitter to be more open to the concept of same sex couples. Oh well, rather than focus on the semantics, I suppose I should count up the ways your post is ignorant.

1) I know more straight couples than gay couples who engage in anal sex, so equating homosexuality with anal sex doesn’t really seem to make much sense.
2) Female gay couples don’t have a cock between them (at least not an attached one) and therefore could not participate in the aforementioned ass-stuffing with one’s cock.
3) Many gay male couples do not engage in anal sex at all.
4) Both manual and oral stimulation, as well as the usage of various store bought toys are every bit as common forms of homosexual intercourse.
5) There is nothing mentioned above…oral, anal, manual, toys, that straight couples do not also partake in.
6) Most sex ed is not about the mechanics of the various types of sexual stimulation, but more about the general idea of what sexual intercourse is and it’s potential consequences from both the stanpoint of biology and human health. For this reason, if the purpose was to teach about procreation of the species, it would be irrelevant to mention anal sex, and if the purpose is to teach about proper hygiene, health and sexually transmitted diseases, it is far more appropriate to discuss not every mechanical machination that is possible in copulation between various groupings of people, but the general idea that swapping of bodily fluids during any sort of intercourse could have adverse hygienic implications.

And to answer your question, how do you teach a child to do x and tell him it’s the right thing to do, the answer is you don’t tell him that x is the right thing to do, or y, or z for that matter. You tell him that the right thing to do is what fulfills his desires, and teach him how to protect himself from the potential dangers of fulfilling these desires, and let HIM decide what is the RIGHT thing to do for HIMSELF. Yes, even if that’s sticking his cock up another guy’s ass. Unless you’re planning to personally suck on that aforementioned cock after it’s been up someone’s ass but before it’s been washed, I fail to see how that decision would affect you in any way.

@dalepetrie: Do the couples you know really discuss the intimate details of their sex life, such as whether or not they engage in anal sex, with their friends?

@cwilbur Mine do. We might be a bunch of pervs, though.

Some are very frank and open about it, others don’t talk about it at all. My statement that I know more straight couples who engage in anal sex than I know homosexual couples that engage in that behavior is 100% accurate. My wife and I are close friends with perhaps 5 or 6 straight couples and 2 gay ones. Of the 2 gay couples, one couple has made statements that I take to mean that they do engage in anal sex. The other does not discuss such things. Of the straight couples we know, 4 don’t discuss such things and the two that do have yes, stated they have engaged in this activity. So, I know of 2 straight couples but only 1 gay couple who for sure have anal sex. Personally, I don’t discuss these things and I really don’t need to know this information, I don’t care what you do or don’t do in your bedroom. My point however is that somewhere between 5 and 10% of the population is gay based on studies I’ve seen, which means there are at least 9 straight couples for every gay couple…and though anal sex is not for everyone, I suspect that given the sheer numbers we’re talking about, it’s pretty safe to say that more straight couples have anal sex than gay couples…as a percentage, probably not, but overall, I’d bet a pretty penny on it.

As someone who works in HIV, I just want to add a caution about anal intercourse. We are seeing more and more girls (read teens) who typically have male sex partners 5 years their senior. The guys are convincing them to have anal intercourse telling them that 1) they will still be a virgin and 2) there is no need for condoms as she can’t get pregnant. Some of these girls are getting HIV as a result.

We have to talk about what behaviors are dangerous more than who you are doing it with. I still hold that “if you are a girl or have sex with girls, here is what you need to know and if you are a boy or have sex with boys, here is what YOU need to know.” The orientation, experimentation, etc. really is irrelevant.

Disgusting,vile,unnatural,immoral.

@switchhitter

None of which has anything to do with anything.

Funny, what I find disgusting, vile, unnatural and immoral is when one person tries to force his views on another and insists that everyone live their lives in a way that he can understand, rather than letting people be who they are and not worrying so much about the choices they make.

@switchhitter
“disgusting” as cheese is to asians, totally dependent on how you were raised, and thus, subjective.
“vile” see above
“unnatural”. simply not true
“immoral” so is eating lobster according to the bible. morals differ from culture to culture, and are thus, relative

@ragingloli It sounds like somebody’s troll account, nick and all.

@switchhitter
you don’t even believe what you’re saying

To everyone who is commenting on what switchhitter is saying…at this point we’re just feeding a troll…ignore him and maybe he’ll go away and this can go back to being a productive discussion

@TheWeedMan DITTO!

They don’t teach about couples anyway. They teach sex ed. Not the same.

@DREW_R

When’s the last time you’ve been in a sex-ed classroom?

@switchhitter What is a Gay Pensioner? And, I wouldn’t be happy to walk in on my sixteen year old having sex with anyone.

@switchhitter Are you f’ing kidding me? I asked you a serious question, and you throw that back at me? Ok, I’m done with you.

@anyone,point is,if you are not affected then it’s ok,NIMBY

@switchhitter
the examples you give above are things having to do with abuse not sexuality
and the last time i saw NIMBY was in my environmental class
and the people that use it in that context are also mistaken, like you

Don’t taunt the troll children, just ignore them . . .

Pedophilia, incest, rape, statutory rape and abuse of the handicapped matter every bit as much regardless of whether it involves people of the same or opposite sexes. but I know you can’t fix stupid, so I too am done wasting my breath.

“shouldn’t we ensure that they are educated and know the risks and can make educated decisions as opposed to trusting that they’ll make the right choices by instinct?”
Fight it all you want. Instinct WIll always find its way. Schools want to help. Create an intranet so our children can avoid predators. Provide sex education to parents, since these days they are the broken link. These 45 min. encounters (in school) only arouse the instinct in them all. It is just wrapped up in a pretty bow. Educators can pat themselves on the back, thinking a job well done.
Keep your children busy, get them off the Internet, XBox, or play-station. Have them cut the grass, make their bed and earn paying for the cel phone and car. Idle hand produce idle minds. Which “can” equate to sex sooner then needed.
Does sex ed work? Would like to seem some reputable statics to that matter, besides of it sounding like a good idea.

Am I weird that I don’t find it necessary to speculate or focus on other people’s sex lives?

It’s pretty clear that switchhitter is just here to troll—the proper response is to just flag him, and let the moderators take care of it. If he keeps on posting flame-bait, he won’t stay here long.

I personally wouldn’t trust just any teacher to explain homosexuality. They’re still too many people that regard it as wrong for me to assume that all teachers would be able to explain things without subconsciously (or consciously) communicating judgment. I kinda wish race had been handled like this when I was younger. Adults were so paranoid about racism that they couldn’t stop telling us kids not to judge Suzy because she was black. Seriously, kids don’t think of those sorts of things unless you introduce them to them.

If I were a teacher or a parent, at this point in time, I probably wouldn’t talk about homosexuality at all unless a child specifically asked about it. I think this is one of those things that, once kids start asking about it they’re ready to be answered, in an age appropriate way.

@fundevogel

Well, you have a point about potentially judgemental teachers. One of my health teachers in high school crossed out all references to condoms in our texts because “he was a Roman Catholic.”

@Ivan that’s ridiculous

@fundevogel You make me think of a song from the musical South Pacific (I’m a musical theatre junkie)...it’s called “You Have to Be Carefully Taught”...the idea is that no one is intrinsically racist or sexist or bigoted in any way…the only way a child will grow in to someone who hates people for those reasons is by being TAUGHT to hate. Children don’t even see the differences in people, much less judge them for those things.

@Ivan I can’t help wondering how the text read without “condom”. Perhaps he should have replaced it with another word, like the inverse of the game people play with Harry Potter when they swap the word “wand” with “penis”.

I know people who live their lives dressed like they are on the deck of the enterprise. Spend their weekends hanging out with their friends that are dressed like Klingons. Go to their home and you would think you were on the set of a Star Trek movie. They believe in aliens, and got to the dessert often waiting for their “friends” to show up. There a more people like this then you can imagine and they take it as far as possible. Ya think they are crazy? Tell them you think so, and they will consider you closed minded. They have good jobs, love their children, make good money and pay their taxes.
So should we also add the Klingon mating ritual to sex ed in schools?

@ChazMaz
sure, why not.

Sex ed doesn’t belong in school actually. That is the parents job. Didn’t have such a screwed up society before the jobs, such as “sex ed” and disapline, were taken out of the parents hands and put in the frigging governments hands.

School is about the education you need to lead a successful and healthy life. We teach about nutrition and health as part of it, there is no reason we should skip comprehensive sexual education—it is a vital part of keeping the population healthy and disease to a minimum. Sure, you can eat on your own, but you deserve the chance to know that a healthy balanced meal will improve your overall quality of life. Similarly, you will discover sex on your own, but you deserve the opportunity to know how to engage (or choose not to engage) in those urges safely.