There’s a big controversy going in our city about sex education in the public schools. Most parents in our community don’t want their children to learn about different types of birth control. They think teens should be told that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy. Well, actually, they’re right. But it doesn’t take a six week class to explain that. And do teens need instruction on the mechanics of procreation? All they need do is go to the movies or watch cable TV to see how the act is performed. The question is: should schools teach about sex at all?

Having attended parochial schools for 12 years, I never received sex education. From the first grade on , we children celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception, without having the slightest idea what it meant.. What was a virgin, I used to wonder? That was the extent of sex education during my school years. On the other hand, I don’t recall my public school friends attending sex education classes. . But somehow, by the time we were teens, all of us understood” sex.” . How did we find out? Word of mouth, mostly. Or maybe pamphlets provided by our parents. The nuns warned against the sin of “petting” in religion class. And yes, we knew that abstinence was the only sure way to prevent pregnancy. Which led to a lot of fooling around without “going all the way.”

However, some people had sex, anyway. Consequently, they got pregnant, which was a major social disgrace. In 1965 only 3% of all white births were outside of marriage, and 24% of black births. Somehow, the majority of young people had a pretty good idea about birth control, even though they didn’t learn about it in school.

But in 1971, all public schools were required to implement a sex education program. Strangely enough, that didn’t help matters. By 1978, 20% of white births and 75% of black births were to unmarried women. Now, movie stars and TV personalities brag about getting pregnant outside the state of matrimony. Almost half all births are now to single moms. it’s ’s important for kids to know about STD’s, but that topic could be covered quickly in a basic health class. It’s not rocket science.

Should teachers in public school be asked to teach about sex?

SHOULD PARENTS EXPECT TEACHERS TO ASSUME THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SEX EDUCATION?

I know this is going to sound old fashioned, but shouldn’t parents be the ones who decide how their children learn about sex? And if parents don’t take this responsibility, should it be passed on to the public school teachers. ? They’re teachers, not parents. It seems like an unfair burden.

And why should strangers be allowed to tell our children how, where, and when to have sex? Shouldn’t the parents’ cultural and spiritual values guide their children’s decisions?

The problem isn’t about what schools should teach about sex, but whether they should be teaching about it all .

Most everyone who lives in a metropolitan area has grown accustomed to seeing homeless people at the library. We also know that soup kitchens serve hundreds of people every day. It’s a fact of life that makes us uncomfortable, because we don’t know how to deal with it But when I saw a lady coming out of the handicapped stall at the library with wet hair, it really hit me in the gut. Should a homeless lady wash her hair at the library?

Should the library allow homeless to clean up in their restrooms — SHOULD LIBRARIES ALLOW THE HOMELESS TO USE THEIR RESTROOMS TO CLEAN UP?

It wasn’t clear if she had washed her hair in the hand sink before she went into the stall, or worse yet, dunked it in the toilet. She seemed disoriented. The bathroom smelled of her dirty bags . There were food crumbs scattered all over the floor. After an initial reaction of revulsion, I was overcome with feelings of sympathy. The woman wasn’t that old—maybe fifty. She was someone’s child, granddaughter, maybe mother or wife. She was a human being in desperate need of help. And I had no idea what to do. And so, I merely smiled and left.

I couldn’t erase the scenario from my mind. What should I have done? I turned to an internet chat room (Reddit) and asked for other’s opinions. Most agreed that there was nothing I could really do, except smile and leave. Other’s felt that the library should not tolerate this type of thing because the woman could have Aids, STDS , and other infectious disease that could endanger others. Some said I should have reported it to an employee of the library.

I surfed the internet to see what other libraries do. Many cities like Seattle have specific policies and procedures for dealing with the homeless. https://www.newstatesman.com/world/north-america/2018/12/how-seattle-s-public-library-stepping-deal-city-s-homelessness-crisis Some have social workers available to help those in need.

I ‘m not sure if librarians are in a position to deal with such problems. In our town, various non profits provide homeless shelters. But shouldn’t the government bear some responsibility ? Homeless people were probably once taxpayers, maybe served our country in the military. At the very least, we should have public bathrooms where the homeless have access to showers. I know that security would be a problem, but it seems like that could be dealt with. The poet John Donne would tell us that any man’s misery diminishes us, because all of us are involved in mankind.

‘No Man is an Island’

No man is an island entire of itself; every man

is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe

is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as

well as any manner of thy friends or of thine

own were; any man’s death diminishes me,

because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom

the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

John Donne, 1624

Tag: stds

SHOULD SCHOOLS TEACH ABOUT SEX?

HOMELESS LADY WASHES HAIR AT LIBRARY