Whitby Free Press, 14 May 1980, p. 12

The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PAGE 12. WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 1980, WHITBY FREE PRESS IBetween You andMe By RUTH CHAMBERS Sex education just vm SWanda& THE COMPLE a FOLD ING LAWN CHAIR 5 x 6webs 7 49 /ISIT1 Tony Martin atL »E HARDWARE ST' -îHU -T BT DOINION HARDWARE ?9 BROOK ST. àS 68-3540 Last week, 1 was asked to go to a meeting with a large group of people. I went. The topic was sex education in the schools. To say 1 arn dismayed and shocked is putting it mildly to say the !east. "Family Uife" education to me, is a misnomer. Many in- terested, thinking parents and taxpayers are very concerned and questioning this program. I have talked to as many people as possible in a short time and read as much as I could, as much as Urne would ailow. A thank you, to ail the people who gave of their tume and helped me. Ib is not possible for me bo write as I would like to. I will just ramble on and touch the fringe of many areas. After I listen to other opinions and read more I shaIl write again, probably next week. The family is alive and welI, not ail families but moet. The school sysbern is there to serve the people not to take over the obligation of the family. The Canadian Bifi of Rights affirms the position of the family as the supreme social unit ini a society of " free men and free, institutions." Too, the United Nations Universal Deciaration of Human Rights, article 26 states, "Parents have prior right to choose the kind of education which shail be given their children. " Group bherapy or "social and personal development ac- tivities" may encourage participants to take problems to the group rather than the family and certainly can discourage in- dividual responsibility and decision makting. We must say that there are children who need help outside of the family. The school and state are there to provide that heip. I have talked to interested teachers who provide a wonderful service to children who need extra input from someone. Some parents, few maybe, need instruction and guldance too. The undermiming of the family unit is the beginning of the end of the country and ulblmely the world. Where are we at when we teach children about sexual desires and various forms of birth control without morals? What about the quality of life? We now realize that not ail laws, agencies or institutions are supportive of the family. Many may be disigning ways of replacing the family unit with the "more expert" government committee, centre or process. Most people do not want the so caled "experts" to take over the proper function of the family. Better to be informed than ignorant. Yes. But to whab degree? In the 1950's there was a great centralization of schools, huge bureaucracies, complicated and very, very ex- pensive. Now the "fad" is sex and I'rn told very much em- phasized at teaching schools; it's the "in" thing. Fads have their time and fade away. Dom the damage done fade away? We live in a very permissive society now. Boy and boy, girl ] and girl or what have you? Anything goes in some circles. The 'progressive" thinkers. Do we wanb our children involved in this type of thinking? We have to be responsive to other people's needs. Morality is not something thoughb up by old fashioned people. It's needewd for survival, countries and people cannot survive without it. Aduits have enough trouble with their own sexualiby. Can you imagine being 13 Or 14 and having to cope with your emotions in a sexual experience' We seem to be assumlx'g that many youngsters are into this type of thlng and must be ad- vised, instructed and taught ail the why and wherefores. We are findlng that there is a tremnendous increase in sexualtiy since this type of education has been offered. Rather than decreasing the pregnancies we hear talk of addling nurseries to somne schools s0 the mothers can go to school and have thier babies near them t1 Venereal disease is at an ail time high and some types resist treatment. A pretty picture. Why are we closing our eyes? The line of least resistance? Is it easier to pay taxes than to sit up and take notice. What about the abortions we pay for? birth control clinies for "kids" to go to if they can't talk to their famnily or their own doctor? Sexuality has always been wîth us, since the beginnlng of Urne. It takes discipline and moral values for moat of us to deal with it. People were just as sexual 50 years aga. To listen to sonie people one would think everyone was s0 inhibited that sex was a complete no-no. This is nonsense, of course. I'm sure sorne of the greatest love stories took place in the past century, most likely not to return. Do not influence my ehildren in certain areas is a common cry. We don't all have the same values. The price we may have to pay in the next twenty years may be very high for a "fad" and ail this permissiveness. - If you are concerned, ask for a fulf disclosure of planned programs. Ask what materials wiil be used. Ask to see the filmns. Who wii be teaching these things? Full qualified people? Highly unlikely, but ask anyway. A lot of fathers are concerned. Many of thern went to the meeting I went to. In fact I think there were more men than women and this is not the norm as a rule. Lots of womnen have a hard time getting their husbands out at night to meetings. We shouid be teaching self worth, self development and self evaluation, a wholesome set of values. Children must be en- couraged, to develop attributes as intellectual curiosity, awareness, perserverance and sensitivity. For many today, liberty means licence and success means money and power so we must stress ideals and true purpose of existence. There is a graduai deterioration of traditional culture, morais and standards in our nation. The children of tody will be the nucleus of our family units and our hopes for the future. Freedom demands responsibility, for ourselves and for others. Children too have to understand thernselves as well as people of other cultures. Every country has its culture, al peoples of these countries their own set of values. Students should be aware that our relationships with others affects our decisions and therefore our value systems. Let us not rob our young people of their youth. "To be truly human is to be conclous of human weakness, but confident that it can be overcome," ... Romaro Guardini. EDITOR'S NOTE: Miss Chamber'. column does not necessarlly reflect the opinion of the Whîtby Free Press or Its Individual staff mnembers. D.Q. supports commtmity Ail too often people view retail outlets, restaurants, etc., as purely commercial enterprises and we don't realize just how involved they become and what an important role they play in our community. The Whitby Dairy Queen Brazier restaurant and proprietors Ron and Jackie Beck are good examples. For the lasb few years the Beck's have provided a 15 per cent discount every day of the year to any and al patients from the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital and ai. the end of each Sunimer season they "treat" the patients with a free gift Of 200-300 Dairy Queen novelty producta such as Diily Bars and Dixie Cups. On top of that, the restaurant supports màny of our young people through sponsorship of local teamns in softbail, minor hockey and other sporting activities.

Powered by / Alimenté par VITA Toolkit
Privacy Policy