Funny that!
Comprehensive and frank sex education has evidently led to an increase in teen pregnancies, contra the expectations of its proponents.
Apparently, giving teens easy (and parentally unsupervised) access to condoms, various birth control pills,and even the morning after pill, coupled with encouraging teens to talk openly and frankly about Sex…
…could have increased the number of pregnancies, by tempting them to become sexually active at an early age.
As teh Shaidle would say: “Shocka!”
Or…not. Not. Surprising. At. All.
But wait, there’s more:
The evidence is now overwhelming that these schemes [the condoms, the pills, the whole shabang -- Ken] are not effective in cutting teenage pregnancy rates. An improvement in wider educational standards seems to be the most significant factor in reducing teenage pregnancies; yet the Government has failed there, too, especially among the children of poorer families, where the problem is greatest.
In other words: putting condoms on bananas and giving kids the ability to obtain birth control and/or abortions behind the backs of their parents, surprisingly, actually TEMPTS kids into experimenting with sex, rather than encouraging them to be responsible about it and maybe hold off a bit until they’ve got their life on track.
Meanwhile, actually TEACHING these same kids — imparting basic life skills like math, spelling, reading, and a sense of history — and doing it well turns out to be what’s best for them…and, as an added bonus, tends to also reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy!
Who could have guessed that teaching kids to — and HOW to — get their lives in order would have the added effect of giving kids pause about irresponsibly and prematurely engaging in an activity that could end them up an impoverished single parent on welfare by age 17? Who could have foreseen that by focusing on giving kids drive and direction, and by keeping sex as a “back burner” topic, teens themselves — from every social class — would figure out how to more correctly order major events in their lived (e.g. graduate first, baby later)? Who could ever have thought that the best way to lift kids out of poverty would be to ensure they get a good education, which opens up their job options later on in life…and might just help them realize that an early pregnancy,rather than being something desireable or normal, is in fact a part of the reason their own parents ended up poor?
Oh, wait…social conservatives have been saying this for years, and the Church for even longer. That whole “delayed gratification” thing.
Nice to think that Britain, at least, might be waking up to these facts. Or should I say…”rediscovering” them?
I started blogging back in 2004 -- in May, if the Wayback Machine is to be believed. Not that I remember the exact day. To be honest, I didn't take it that seriously then; it was a fun distraction, but nothing more.
That all changed, I think, once the Danish cartoons were published, and the assault on the right to freedom of expression became very visible. With the recent issues in Canada concerning the "human rights" commissions, the gravity of the matter has only increased, and my interest in blogging has increased right along with it.
I used to blog at a domain called Time Immortal, but it seemed to be the right time for a change -- there's been a lot of that in my life of late. Hence this blog: a fresh start, and proof positive that I won't shut up even if I get shut down once in a while.
