In January, NBC News, in conjunction with People magazine, surveyed 13- to 16-year-olds on their attitudes about intimate physical contact. The survey found 27 percent were sexually active, but that leaves 73 percent who are not.

Why, then, not focus our program on encouraging those who are abstinent to continue on that path, while trying to turn around the 27 percent who are sexually active? Instead, we seem bent on encouraging the behavior we claim not to want.

While the elites argue against abstinence, it works when it's tried. In a March 5 letter to the editor of The Washington Times, Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Wade F. Horn wrote: "At least 10 published studies - four in scientific peer-reviewed journals - have shown that (abstinence) education helps youth delay the onset of sexual activity."

According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 91 percent of adults and 94 percent of teens believe teens should be given a strong message from society that they should not have sex until they are at least out of high school.

That high percentage apparently doesn't extend to administrators in the Montgomery County public schools. Initially, the school system proposed using a video "show and tell" to teach the students how to put a condom on a cucumber.

Should they decide to employ a teacher to demonstrate the process, here's my advice for the lowly employee who will have to buy the cucumbers at the supermarket. If the checkout person says anything, your response should be: "I'm just buying some evolving pickles."