Woman Sentenced On Mail Fraud Plea

Aborted Landing Shakes Up Passengers 
Delta Flight Headed Into Avoca 
Lands In Allentown After Pilot Makes 2 Tries To Set 
Down In Shifting 
Winds

Wednesday, November 30, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 8A 





Restraint may be best approach to sex education &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And what, you might ask, is so bad about teaching eighth graders how to use
condoms? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The above editorial on local AIDS education begs that question. Eighth
graders are pretty sophisticated these days, after all. Some could probably
tell their teachers a thing or two about condoms (and much more besides)Why
can't Wyoming Valley schools acknowledge this sophistication, and end the
hypocritical timidity with which they treat sex and AIDS? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Because a stated goal of AIDS education is to decrease teen sexual
activity. And graphic instruction about sex and birth control, by giving those
subjects the schools' seeming stamp of approval, risks increasing teen sex
rather than decreasing it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The words "stamp of approval" are the key. Parents suffer this agony in
their own lives. Jaded veterans of Woodstock I now find themselves hoping
their kids lead rather prim and proper lives. It would take a tolerant parent
indeed to smile and nod at a 15-year-old daughter who brings her boyfriend
home for the night. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 So how does a parent teach about birth control, without also sending a
message of lowered expectations? How do you say, "Here's what to do" and "Do
not do it" at the same time? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 However they resolve this dilemma, few parents likely do so by teaching
about sex in a clinical, non-judgmental way. But public schools often do.
Schools tend to ignore moral questions altogether, and present sex ed
dispassionately. Neutral words such as "safe sex" are used. Value-laden words
such as "promiscuity" are not. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But of course this just replaces one morality with another. And as a code
to live by, neutrality isn't much of a restraint on human nature, which is
exactly why parents seldom use it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In an article in the October Atlantic magazine, sociologist Barbara North
Whitehead looks at the research on comprehensive sex education in schools. Her
conclusion: "(B)etter communication about sex does not seem to contribute to
higher levels of

Restraint May Be Best Approach To Sex Education 
And What, You Might Ask, Is So Bad About Teaching Eighth Graders How To Use 
Condoms? 
The Above Editorial On Local Aids Education Begs That Question. Eighth Graders 
Are Pretty Sophisticated These Days, After All. Some Could Probably Tell Their 
Teachers A Thing Or Two About Condoms (and Much More Besides).