I have reported to you a number of times about the trends in sex education in our schools and how we really need to support laws, like the one in Ohio, where authentic abstinence is the expected standard.
So this applies to middle and high schoolers. But what about younger children? Unfortunately, the trend now is toward certain elements of sex education being presented to grade school students, and I recently gave a speech outlining some of these trends in Ohio and elsewhere. You can watch our webinar about this HERE.
One area where this may show up in Ohio is through Erin’s Law, which is also in many other states. The Ohio law passed several years ago, and requires that lessons on child sexual abuse prevention be presented to children at least once a year. The state of Ohio has posted recommended lessons schools can adopt.
Yet there’s been a problem with this law in other states. Some states allowed Planned Parenthood to make these presentations, and we know they are reliably untrustworthy when it comes to children. Planned Parenthood loves to teach students about the issue of “consent,” and saying “no” is part of teaching children about the risks of predators.
But what about sneaking in a message that children also have the right to say “yes”? Some of these vendors offering lessons for Erin’s Law will tell children that “when they are older,” they will have the right to say “yes” to sexual activity. Some of these lessons also promote transgender concepts and refer children to explicit websites for more information.
So in Ohio, because of pro-family voices at the Statehouse, no providers of abortion, like Planned Parenthood, are allowed to present the very sensitive topic to children. Praise God for that. And also, parents can opt out of the Erin’s Law lessons if they feel this is something potentially too traumatizing for their children.
But a misuse of Erin’s Law is not the only area where inappropriate sexuality messages might be delivered to grade school children. The topics of puberty and hygiene in health classes, often delivered by a school nurse, are another area to watch. There’s a trend toward more and more graphic material, and many times today, both boys and girls in 4th, 5th or 6th grade will hear all about puberty and body changes together in the same class. And the anatomy detail is sometimes way too explicit.
One teacher told me her girls were horribly embarrassed and it became a subject where boys teased girls after class. Why not have separate classes? This is just one more area where some instructors seem clueless or uncaring about the innocence and dignity of children.
And then, of course, some schools promote homosexuality and gender confusion to children at younger and younger ages. Teaching that these are ever good options, or that people are born this way (not true) is always wrong and parents need to be watchful for this.
To watch our webinar on this topic, go HERE.
