Sex Ed Worth Talking About Some More?

The last few days have been very baby-centric. Kyla says hello to all. Back to the blog today with a comment on Sex Education.

I had followed this through St Vrain Valley School District Board minutes (p. 15), and in the Times Call today it hits the front page: Who should be teaching kids about sex? The Boulder High Conference on World Affairs panel flap brought this to a point. Concerns raised by those afraid of sexual discussions between adults and minors: the appropriateness of birth control and homosexuality as they relate to moral judgements. What if something is presented as fact that bumps against a belief system that says said fact is morally wrong?

Is public school sex ed troubling to you? I'm sure it's different now than when I was in junior high; I think you had to have a permission slip and could opt out if your parents wanted.

With the District saying they want to be sure they follow state laws requiring science-based instruction, it seems that parental permission to take the class is the way to address the concerns of people not wanting their kids to learn anything other than home-based dogma. Fair enough, they'll learn it on their own eventually.

Propping Up The Schools

I wrote about the Erie High School Education Foundation this month for the Yellow Scene and their vision to provide additional academic programming to augment what the St. Vrain Valley School District can provide. The District has launched a new website to promote 50 ways individuals, businesses and groups can partner with the schools and sponsor/help/donate/etc.

Does this mean the school district needs more money? The level of outreach appears to be based on staunch financial need, not just a desire to get more parents and the public involved in activities. Of course, given the District's budget scandal a few years ago from a mixture of arguably criminal mismanagement and lax Board oversight, the District still has a lot of ground in the trust department to make up before more school bonding will pass.