Dirigo. Off the top of your head, do you know what this word means? If you’re not proficient in Latin or a Mainer I’m guessing you don’t. Dirigo means “I lead” and it also happens to be the state motto of Maine.
But what, you might ask, does Maine’s state motto have to do with abstinence-only-until-marriage education? For starters, dirigo is a good description of Maine’s attitude when it comes to sex education. Maine is taking the lead.
Last week the Maine Department of Education sent out a letter to school superintendents letting them know that the program Heritage of Maine did not meet state standards for comprehensive sexuality education.
That’s right, Maine has standards for sex education. Not only that, but Maine’s standards are some of the most comprehensive in the country. (You should keep in mind that many states do not even require schools to teach sexuality education or STD/HIV education.)
Maine’s legislative standards define sex ed as "education on family planning and sexually transmitted diseases, that is medically accurate and age appropriate; that respects community values and encourages parental communication … that promotes responsible sexual behavior with an emphasis on abstinence; that addresses the use of contraception; that promotes individual responsibility and involvement regarding sexuality; and that teaches skills for responsible decision making regarding sexuality." Sounds pretty good to me.
The letter from the Department of Education made clear that just because Heritage of Maine is a federally funded program, it does not mean that its curriculum meets the standards the state has put in place for its students. In fact, if you visit the Heritage of Maine website and look at a sample outline it is clear that there is no information on preventing pregnancy or STD transmission in the program.
Perhaps it is time for the rest of the country to follow Maine’s lead (or should I say motto).
“Notice: New York City Department of Education Policy prohibits condom demonstrations in classrooms.”
Just in case New York City teachers are unclear, every page of the new Health Teacher curriculum discussing condom demonstrations has a sticker affixed to it with the above warning. God forbid teachers actually show students how to properly use a condom.
Mind you for the past 14 years condom demonstrations were allowed in New York City schools, but apparently a model of a penis (or even an innocuous cucumber) as part of a lesson on how to correctly put on a condom was just too much for the Department of Education to bear.
It’s been 20 years since the New York City health curriculum has been updated. Yes, you read correctly, 20 years, and in addition to these stickers, so-called modernization of the curriculum includes a complete lack of information on birth control for middle schoolers, and a brief discussion of sexual orientation, albeit only in the context of AIDS, for high schoolers.
Even more surprising, these changes to the curriculum come in the face of a report by the New York City Department of Health that more than one in 10 public school students have had sex before the age of 13 and almost of quarter of those teens having sex did not use a condom at last intercourse.
Who knew modernization of the curriculum would mean moving backwards?
Just in case you were curious below are the proper steps for using a male condom.
Store condoms in a cool place out of direct sunlight (not in wallets or glove compartments). Latex will become brittle from changes in temperature, rough handling, or age. Don’t use damaged, discolored, brittle, or sticky condoms.
Check the expiration date.
Carefully open the condom package — teeth or fingernails can tear the condom.
Use a new condom for each act of sexual intercourse.
Put on the condom before the penis touches any part of a partner’s body.
Hold the condom over an erect penis.
If a penis is uncircumcised, pull back the foreskin before putting on the condom.
Put on the condom by pinching the reservoir tip and unrolling it all the way down the shaft of the penis from head to base. If the condom does not have a reservoir tip, pinch it to leave a half-inch space at the head of the penis for semen to collect after ejaculation.
In the event that the condom breaks, withdraw the penis immediately and put on a new condom before resuming intercourse.
Use only water-based lubrication. Do not use oil-based lubricants such as cooking/vegetable oil, baby oil, hand lotion, or petroleum jelly — these will cause the condom to deteriorate and break.
Withdraw the penis immediately after ejaculation. While the penis is still erect, grasp the rim of the condom between the fingers and slowly withdraw the penis (with the condom still on) so that no semen is spilled.
Remove the condom, making certain that no semen is spilled.
Carefully dispose of the condom. Do not reuse it.
Do not use a male condom along with a female condom. If the two condoms rub together, the friction between them can cause the male condom to be pulled off or the female condom to be pushed into the vagina.
“I felt like both sides ought to be properly taught… so people can understand what the debate is about.”
“I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought… you’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is yes.”
Any idea where these quotes came from?
If you guessed President Bush, you’d be right.
It appears that the administration is in support of teaching various viewpoints and exposing kids to different schools of thought. At least, that is, when it comes to teaching about intelligent design and evolution. Of course, it’s clear that the administration does not have the same kind of commitment when it comes to teaching sexuality education.
Abstinence should be stressed to teens. However, it’s not enough to tell teens that they shouldn’t have sex until marriage and equip them with a virginity pledge and a pat on a back and hope that it all turns out okay. Pledges don’t protect teens when they do decide to have sex, and 88 percent of teens who take virginity pledges have sex before they are married. Most pledges are broken, and when that happens the only thing that will offer teens protection from unintended pregnancy and STDs is information. It’s this information, however, that the administration is hell bent on suppressing with its support for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs — programs that have been shown to teach false, misleading, or distorted information about reproductive health.
Let’s take President Bush at his word. We can impress on teens the importance of abstaining. Impress on them the risks that they may face if they do have sex. And we can also provide teens with information so that if they do decide to have sex they can protect themselves.
We can, as the president would say, properly teach both sides.
