As the appalling details of New York City’s newly mandated sex ed program trickle out, parents have reacted with shock and disgust—and rightly so.
In August 2011, Mayor Bloomberg announced the return of mandatory sexual education classes to New York City schools, targeting black and Latino teens in particular ---two groups with soaring STD and pregnancy rates.
The sex ed initiative claims to support abstinence as the best way to avoid pregnancy and STD/HIV. And when the program was announced, the city’s Deputy Mayor, Linda Gibbs, proclaimed the city’s good intentions: "We want to help kids to delay the onset of sexual activity, and if they choose to engage in sexual activity, to do it in a healthy way."
Fine words, but utterly contradicted by the facts. The program promotes sex while giving lip service to abstinence. Worse, it does so in graphic detail, portraying as normal every kind of deviance (one supporter called them “alternative ways of having sex”).
There’s nothing healthy, however, about introducing 6th graders (as young as 11 years old—some still pre-puberty) to anal sex, bestiality, or porn. The suggested curriculum resources, like Columbia University’s explicit sex website, Go Ask Alice, provide additional instruction on kinky “toys” and degrading activities as if they were perfectly normal. In case you doubt my summary, here's an example from this "resource" that New York City recommends their children visit. (And if you, as an adult, are offended at reading it, just imagine its impact on a twelve-year-old: " Rimming, also called anilingus, refers to making oral-anal contact. While sometimes a precursor to anal sex, rimming is a form of stimulation that can be its own means to an erotic end."
The New York Post obtained copies of recommended course workbooks—something plain old parents have not been permitted to do yet—and discovered a world of perversion wearing the cloak of “comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically accurate sex ed.”
But in fact, even apart from the course’s offensive messages, medical experts dispute the accuracy of its content. Dr. Miriam Grossman, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, author, and sex education expert, evaluated the recommended materials and found “significant flaws” in the curriculum, ranging from inaccurate descriptions of medical risks to recommendations based on erroneous views of child development. (Access her full report here.)
While the materials minimize the health risks of casual sex (whether “protected” or not), the course as a whole does far greater damage. It sends the message that sex is as pedestrian as ordering a coke and fries—just a whole lot more fun. While some selections on the sexual menu may be healthier than others, when it comes to sex, there’s really no wrong choice. In fact, right and wrong seem to have no place in the discussion at all.
And what if parents disagree?
The program, as written, provides only a limited opt-out---parents may remove their child only from the classes that deal with contraceptive methods, including condom instruction.
And what about all that messaging that sells meaningless sex, in all its “alternative” forms?
Mandatory.
How to Save Your Family: Fight Back, Opt Out, Say No.
The NYC Parents Choice Coalition is fighting back. Drawing support from parents and local politicians, the Coalition urges concerned citizens to contact Mayor Bloomberg, Education Chancellor Walcott, borough leaders and family advocates to protest the mandate. Sign their petition as well. It demands abstinence-centered education in the city schools, so that parents will have the freedom to instill their own values in their own children. And if you don’t live in New York City, forward this column to someone who does; encourage them to speak up and fight back.
Back in August, when the New York City Department of Education announced the sex ed mandate, its efforts were applauded by all the usual suspects, including Planned Parenthood and the pro-abortion lobby, NARAL Pro-Choice New York.
Their enthusiasm should serve as a warning to parents:
"As groundbreaking as this mandate may be," stated NARAL Pro-Choice New York, "it should be the beginning and not the end of the city’s efforts to provide students with the comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically-accurate sexuality education they need."
If this is only the beginning, parents better resist now. It’s only going to get worse.
We have their word on that.