Wake County Abstinence Only Policy A "Laughing Stock"
Letter to the Editor
News and Observer
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
A Laughingstock
I am proud to have been born and raised in the South. Like many natives, I have spent time defending against prevailing stereotypes, such as Southerners being less educated. However, the new sex education policy proposed by certain members of the Wake County school board makes that defense more difficult. This policy will make Wake County the laughingstock of the country.
No matter how innocent its proponents may make the policy sound, several of its statements are medically inaccurate, unsubstantiated by professional scientific literature and are totally "nonacademic." The statement that the law regarding "homosexual acts" must be discussed as a transmission route for STDs/AIDS is silly, as this state law addresses everyone, including heterosexuals.
When certain board members tried to force this kind of language on professionals teaching this curriculum in 1997 they "shut down" and didn't teach anything. Afterwards, Wake County revised the curriculum three more times because teachers, administrators and parents felt uncomfortable teaching medically inaccurate information directly against professional standards. I can guarantee that teachers will not be perfectly agreeable this time around.
Perhaps school board member Bill Fletcher couldn't find a similar policy elsewhere [mandating that school employees teach about abstinence whenever sexual subjects are discussed] because other school boards around the country take academic integrity seriously.
Connie Domino, R.N.
Raleigh
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