Opting In
Recently there has been some discussion, and apparently some confusion, about the parental notification process for the Family Life and Human Sexuality curriculum. The fact is, a parent must actively give permission for their child to attend the classes. There is one example of a permission form on the MCPS web site.
Last night one of our members went to the Family Life Meeting to preview the Health curriculum material at their high school. Interestingly, though it was open to the public, she was the only person who bothered to attend -- most people have confidence in the schools. Anyway, at the meeting she picked up the current permission form, which is a little different from the online sample. I will add these differences to the example below:
This permission slip goes out stapled to a long letter from the principal explaining exactly what the course is about, explaining what the options are, gives phone numbers, etc.
You hear stories of kids taking these kinds of courses without their parents finding out until later. As you see, this doesn't happen in Montgomery County. If you don't sign the slip, your kid doesn't take sex ed. Plus, you can choose what kind of alternative your child will receive. Granted, these are not classes but packets of instructional materials, but then, almost everybody lets their kids take the course.
Last night one of our members went to the Family Life Meeting to preview the Health curriculum material at their high school. Interestingly, though it was open to the public, she was the only person who bothered to attend -- most people have confidence in the schools. Anyway, at the meeting she picked up the current permission form, which is a little different from the online sample. I will add these differences to the example below:
FAMILY LIFE AND HUMAN SEXUALITY AND HIV/AIDS PREVENTION
SAMPLE PERMISSION FORM
_______________ _____________________
Student Name Daytime Phone Number of Parent/Guardian
Please check YES or NO for each of the three questions below.
I give permission for my student to receive instruction on human sexuality. YES _____ NO _____
I give permission for my student to receive instruction on sexually transmitted
diseases, including HIV/AIDS. YES _____ NO _____
I give my permission for my student to view the video and receive instruction on proper use of a condom for sexually transmitted disease prevention. YES_____ NO______
If you did not give permission for either of the above units, please circle the title of one of the alternative units of instruction listed below that you would like your student to be assigned as independent study.
1. Abstinence only. Student assigned this unit will receive information about sexual abstinence and no information about methods of contraception.
2. Self-esteem, personal and family relationships, and environmental health. Students assigned this unit will receive no information about human sexuality.
3. Independent study project. Students assigned this project will be required to select and complete an independent study project on a health-related topic.
If you do not give permission for your student to receive instruction on proper uses of a condom for sexually transmitted disease prevention, your student will be excused to the Media Center for that 20 minute lesson.
__________________ __________________
Signature of Parent/Guardian Date
(Please complete and return this form to school by ___________________________.)
This permission slip goes out stapled to a long letter from the principal explaining exactly what the course is about, explaining what the options are, gives phone numbers, etc.
You hear stories of kids taking these kinds of courses without their parents finding out until later. As you see, this doesn't happen in Montgomery County. If you don't sign the slip, your kid doesn't take sex ed. Plus, you can choose what kind of alternative your child will receive. Granted, these are not classes but packets of instructional materials, but then, almost everybody lets their kids take the course.
posted by JimK at 12:58 PM
17 Comments:
Gosh, Jim, based on the ranting I heard from CRCers- I thought every student in MCPS was being forced to learn erotic, exotic sex acts. Lookee here- your child can't even learn about STIs, much less condom use or see a video on condom use without explicit parental permission. So why do these people and their Florida and Virginia partners want to tell me what my kid can learn and see? We don't make their kids learn about STIs or contraception so what is their problem?
Who knew it could be so simple...either yes or no what a parent allows their child to participate in for health curriculum. No one is forcing anyone..either sign or not.
Those two groups should just opt their kids out..simple. That persmission slip is as simple as it gets.
Well, it's an improvement over the old form but if you don't turn in the form, the teacher will call the house and try to talk you into signing it. When one called our house last year, she said she had never heard of a kid actually otping out. The health course my son was taking was an honors one so she said she wasn't sure yet what she was going to have to add to make it more advanced. I presume the kids read the Kama Sutra.
You know, though, most parents will sign anything the school sends home. Not because they agree with- some don't care, some don't feel they have any influence, some hope to curry favor to get consideration for their kids, some hope to avoid displeasing teachers who have the power to harm their kids' future. If you sent home a permission form for an abstinence program, you'd get the same response.
There's also another factor. At our local high school, the teacher are notorious for not following policy without consequence. What makes us think they'll follow through on this?
"Gosh, Jim, based on the ranting I heard from CRCers- I thought every student in MCPS was being forced to learn erotic, exotic sex acts. Lookee here- your child can't even learn about STIs, much less condom use or see a video on condom use without explicit parental permission. So why do these people and their Florida and Virginia partners want to tell me what my kid can learn and see? We don't make their kids learn about STIs or contraception so what is their problem?"
Andrea, would be OK if the school teaches a Bible study class on sexual morality, as long as it gets the parents' permission?
Kay
######## is a choice.
Well, it's an improvement over the old form but if you don't turn in the form, the teacher will call the house and try to talk you into signing it. When one called our house last year, she said she had never heard of a kid actually otping out. The health course my son was taking was an honors one so she said she wasn't sure yet what she was going to have to add to make it more advanced. I presume the kids read the Kama Sutra.
You know, though, most parents will sign anything the school sends home. Not because they agree with- some don't care, some don't feel they have any influence, some hope to curry favor to get consideration for their kids, some hope to avoid displeasing teachers who have the power to harm their kids' future. If you sent home a permission form for an abstinence program, you'd get the same response.
There's also another factor. At our local high school, the teacher are notorious for not following policy without consequence. What makes us think they'll follow through on this?
"Gosh, Jim, based on the ranting I heard from CRCers- I thought every student in MCPS was being forced to learn erotic, exotic sex acts. Lookee here- your child can't even learn about STIs, much less condom use or see a video on condom use without explicit parental permission. So why do these people and their Florida and Virginia partners want to tell me what my kid can learn and see? We don't make their kids learn about STIs or contraception so what is their problem?"
Andrea, would be OK if the school teaches a Bible study class on sexual morality, as long as it gets the parents' permission?
"You know, though, most parents will sign anything the school sends home. Not because they agree with- some don't care, some don't feel they have any influence, some hope to curry favor to get consideration for their kids, some hope to avoid displeasing teachers who have the power to harm their kids' future. If you sent home a permission form for an abstinence program, you'd get the same response."
Hmmm, back when I was in health ed class (10 years ago) I remember at least 1 student, and possibly more, whose parents had not given permission for the sex ed portion of the curriculum. So it DOES happen. And if I recall, the student was an extremely intelligent teenager who continued to get good grades and did not incur any wrath from the teacher.
I would say that if a parent is afraid to stand up for their convictions by signing a simple form then how are they going to stand up for their convictions and actually have a talk with their kids about sex and abstinence? Likewise, if a parent just doesn't care enough about the issue to have their child opt out, then do they really care enough to have a discussion with their child? My guess in both cases is that these parents wouldn't be talking to their kids about sex at all. Hiding your head in the sand doesn't make the issue go away. Kids that don't receive information from their parents about what they believe about sex and all of the necessary information about how their body is developing and changing are going to wind up a lot worse off than if the parents had taken the initiative to say no to the curriculum and then actually teach their kids something. Part of the reason sex ed is taught in public schools is because many parents have a difficult time discussing these sensitive issues with their children. The school system is teaching what it thinks is the most comprehensive knowledge necessary so that teens can make informed choices in the future.
There is no reason why a parent cannot refuse to give permission to the school to teach this information if they have differing beliefs, as long as they teach their kids SOMETHING. There are too many teens in this country who are winding up with unplanned pregnancies or STDs because no one ever told them how to prevent them. Avoiding the issue with your teen will not make it go away, it just makes it more likely that your child will wind up making uninformed decisions because they weren't given the information necessary to protect themselves.
"Hmmm, back when I was in health ed class (10 years ago) I remember at least 1 student, and possibly more, whose parents had not given permission for the sex ed portion of the curriculum. So it DOES happen. And if I recall, the student was an extremely intelligent teenager who continued to get good grades and did not incur any wrath from the teacher.
I would say that if a parent is afraid to stand up for their convictions by signing a simple form then how are they going to stand up for their convictions and actually have a talk with their kids about sex and abstinence? Likewise, if a parent just doesn't care enough about the issue to have their child opt out, then do they really care enough to have a discussion with their child? My guess in both cases is that these parents wouldn't be talking to their kids about sex at all. Hiding your head in the sand doesn't make the issue go away. Kids that don't receive information from their parents about what they believe about sex and all of the necessary information about how their body is developing and changing are going to wind up a lot worse off than if the parents had taken the initiative to say no to the curriculum and then actually teach their kids something."
I agree with you up to here, Andrea. I know there are other kids that opt out but the teacher was trying to make me think otherwise.
"Part of the reason sex ed is taught in public schools is because many parents have a difficult time discussing these sensitive issues with their children. The school system is teaching what it thinks is the most comprehensive knowledge necessary so that teens can make informed choices in the future."
So, you think, the government has no business deciding whether to a parent should be able to kill a child but once it's allowed to live they should decide what it's taught.
"There is no reason why a parent cannot refuse to give permission to the school to teach this information if they have differing beliefs, as long as they teach their kids SOMETHING."
Not the business of big brother, Sam.
"There are too many teens in this country who are winding up with unplanned pregnancies or STDs because no one ever told them how to prevent them."
I know. Society, starting with public schools, have failed to support sexual morality.
"Avoiding the issue with your teen will not make it go away, it just makes it more likely that your child will wind up making uninformed decisions because they weren't given the information necessary to protect themselves."
Only monogamous marriage based on traditional morality will afford absolute protection.
A question for anonymous...Do you think sex ed should be taught in schools???? If you believe yes...why? If you believe no..why not?
"A question for anonymous...Do you think sex ed should be taught in schools???? If you believe yes...why? If you believe no..why not?"
I'm not answering any questions until I get a straight answer about the outside groups from a TTF rep.
I think Jim answered you already. But why is that important to you?
"I think Jim answered you already. But why is that important to you?"
If he did, I missed it. Who was the group?
Well anonymous since you have said nothing negative about teaching sex ed in schools...we will assume you are just fine with it.
"Well anonymous since you have said nothing negative about teaching sex ed in schools...we will assume you are just fine with it."
Ah, yeah, OK, Kay. That'll have about as much basis as all your other assumptions.
Man! You guys are really stonewalling on the name of that group. Must be really...never mind.
Anonymous said...
Man! You guys are really stonewalling on the name of that group. Must be really...never mind.
*****************
Yank yank goes the anonymous chains....
"anon free"
Gee, Anon, why don't you call Oliver Stone and see if he wants to do a movie about this?
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