Life is a plethora of choices I love calling life a smorgasbord. You can go to this table and have a little bit of this, and go over there and have a little bit of that, then dive at the dessert bar.  Today I feel like talking about a big part of the human smorgasbord, and guiding young people. Todays is sex education day. No not sex, AHHHHHHH help help!  Being a health instructor I do see many things that bother me, and are half-truths presented at the entire picture. That is unethical at least, and a bold lie at worst.

Sex education would be very easy if we were amebas, you eat, you split into two, eat more, and split in two again. Even if we were dogs it would be easy, female dog reaches estrus, male dogs smell it, come hit that, then puppies are born.  Do we humans get it that easy, NNNNOOOOOOO! But we can keep perspective on it. I teach sex as I do life. It is another set of choice you will have to make, the more true information you have, the better your choices will be.  So I am going to “fail” abstinence only sex education.

Before any of you release the attack dogs on me, remember I said abstinence ONLY education. First lets examine where healthy sex education and abstinence only education agree. Sex education for young people does and should encourage abstinence. No pregnancy, no infections, no other issues. Now we will branch off where we disagree and where ab-only education fails.

The journal of adolescent health showed that 85% of young people break the until marriage oath. ( people under 20) Not having any other education than don’t do it until married guess what, they go straight to unprotected intercourse. Well we know what is going to happen with unprotected intercourse. So what happens next? Government and busybodies go up in arms over the teen pregnancy rates, and demand more abstinence education to stop the screwing.  The same journal article shows that billions are spent on ab-only education, thing is we the people are financing more and more failure.  Promoting something that is a proven failure confuses me. See no sex, heard no sex, speak no sex is not human nature, and to ask a young person, or any person to fight millions of years of hard wiring is ludicrous. 

The options? Abstinence does include (coughing) masturbation. (whew I said it and the sky did not fall). It is a very valid choice for young people, and is not evil, nor will you go blind. Your body is not filthy, your thoughts and urges are not dirty. They are part of being human. It is really no different that eating or breathing. So you are not going to hell or going to go blind. 90% of all people admit to having done this, 10 % lied about having done this.

Even with in the realm of young persons first romantic relationships it is a sound choice. All kid these days have cell phone, why not call each other while alone, and talk about XXX? Even if they go so far as to (bleep) in the same room, they can agree to a "one must be dressed" contract. They gain the human intimacy, they get the urge out of the way, no pregnancy, no infection, no harm. To counter the argument that this will lead to intercourse faster than abstinence. No, the young people are not thinking in all or nothing. It actually teachs young people negoation and relationships skills. (J Am Psychoanal Assoc. 2008 Mar;56(1):123-46.)

The next option is (if I can say it), “going down.” (wow  I have a filthy mouth today huh? smile) Again they can have a one-person dressed agreement and the others gets to be the “treat.” This does carry more risks, as we are now as high as lottery odds of infection or pregnancy, not zero. It can be mixed with option one to give more things to do other than have intercourse.

Of course next we hit the on the hot topic of news shows. Condoms. There is a mountain of research that demonstrates that this barrier is 98% effective when used properly. They always have been 98% always will be 98%. You get to be far more intimate with your partner, and the risks are now 2 in 100. Actually you still have a higher risk of a car wreck than infection or pregnancy.  Of course those are mathematical odds, children of broken condoms will attest to that.  The odds are not better than outer-course, they are better than unprotected sex, big difference.  But in the universal scheme of things it is far far safer than unprotected sex.

So with young people having options they know of they can make better choices. Virgin until married is a valid choice, being a responsible person with your body is also a choice, neither is completely wrong or completely right. As a health fitness profession I am ethically bound to provide accurate information to empower people.

We need to remind young people, actually all people. It is your life, it is your body, you are in command, you own your decisions. Not some government official, not some yap dog on TV, not some local official, not someone who wants to screw you, nobody is more qualified to say what happens to your body. Everyone has an agenda including you, but we know where the lines are and where when they are crossed.  Anyone who tells you that you are not qualified to make your own choices is not on your side. They are only interested in their own agenda. The first thing any manipulator will do is limit your choices. Life is not that small, don’t let the small brains convince you other wise. Informed consent is your right, and anyone with your best interest in mind will see you have it.

Off the top of my head here are some headlines I doubt we will ever see.

Psychic Wins lottery!

Clinton was telling the truth from the start

Oil companies admit to price fixing, and lower prices

Government reduces self 50%

Schools return PE programs to an hour a day

Honest and fair tax system initiated

The People hold politicians accountable

People being more courteous

Fewer people on cell phone, and paying attention to driving

Honest person wins political office

Politician Apologises

News show has useful information

Britney Spears shuts up, and goes home to care for family

Straight guy wins home decorating contest

Pro athletes ask for lower salaries, and display good sportsmanship

Family and child friendly shows top TV prime time ratings charts

Businesses opening in inner cities all over USA

Prison population decreasing

American obesity rates plummeting

Corporate CEO resigns before plundering company assets

Foreign companies out sourcing jobs back to USA at fair wages

Women find Mike in Boise the hottest guy in history, and are lining up at the door with money, Wife says it is ok!

I know sometimes I really go off on the school system. I do respect most teachers, I really do. It is the public politics that torque me off to no end. Some mouthpieces out there are more worried about their agenda being taught to kids over any useful life skills. To sound JFK like, it is not what our young people should be doing, it is what are we doing for our young people?

When people who are clueless to the demographics and dynamics of your particular school set policy the only logical conclusion is disaster. No child left behind looks great on paper, a looks to make school responsible. Until you realize that schools are not given the resources to make these things happen. Then there is the wonderful fact of non-English speaking students.  Educated children do not appear out of thin air anymore than money does.

What ever happened to teaching kids useful things? Like how to manage a bank account? How an auto loan and home mortgage works.  What types of loans there are and how the interest works, and how you can save or get shafted for thousands of dollars? Math, science, history, and how government works?  The fact the founding fathers were not perfect, but they did demonstrate that with out rights to life, liberty & property, one is not free.

Seems more attention and lip service is given to weather Jonnie comes from a daddy/daddy home or a mommy/mommy home rather than just living and learning. Jonnie should not be harassed about it, but beyond that, who cares? Have qualified people ready if Jonnie has questions, but beyond that, if Jonnie has no issues, let’s not make any for him. There are not many life skill considerations given to single parents, and that is far more common than homosexuality. Sex is a part of life yes, who you are screwing is as much of a choice as your career, religion, political beliefs, ie another set of choices one will have to make, and will be part of who you are.  However we do not need to wig out over it, nor shove the ideals of the few down kids throats.  

I wont even touch Creationism and Science. Luckily most people are rational and realize you cannot get into MIT with a creationism background, nor would someone going to theologian school spend a lot of time on physics (typically). So a majority of the people blend religion and science quite well. 

The right to believe in one or the other is personal choice, we should agree to disagree, and realize it is more important we all have the right to pursue those beliefs. The old quote “I disagree with what you say, but defend your right to say it.”  Teaching kids to celebrate civil rights will help do away with all this politically correctness, racism, and other nonsense. Live and let live. Also free speech does not mean you do have a right to never be offended.  Idiots get to speak out too, luckily the truth always comes to light.

You play exactly as you practice, so why not teach the kids what they need to reach their goals, and let them play at life until their “game time” comes?

I should have seen this coming, well actually I did. My son brought home a flyer asking about school uniforms.

They claim the positives are:
Better learning climate
Better discipline
Better student safety
Modesty standards
Clothing label disputes

Do you support school uniforms?

Check YES or No

 My Formal reply to the school: (Wow they actually had a comment section)

There is little evidence correlating, school uniforms and the asserted “positives” listed above.  The climate of learning comes from parents, teachers, and wise policy makers.  We would remove our children and relocate them to a non-uniform school.  This makes home schooling and tax vouchers necessary for our family.  It is unfortunate that uniforms are already decided on and this flyer is an attempted to mask the already made decision, and make it appear parents have a say in their children’s education.

What the (expletive!) Uniforms have nothing to do with quality of education, that would be something like, parents/educators doing their jobs. What the hell is this, Nazi Germany? 

It is not so much the uniforms per say, it is the fact this whole thing is a ruse, they are running the gambit found here. http://www.ed.gov/updates/uniforms.html

That stupid manual from the US department of ed tells you how to buffalo the parents into this bullshit idea. They site zero scientific research, it is out of thin air correlations, and made up crap. Stupid (expletive) side step the procedures by government or administrators really really tick me off! BAAAH BAAAH I am a sheep let me just do what you say, why should I think for myself, it might inconvenience those in authority. And the divine right of those in authority cannot be questioned, so let me kiss that mighty ass! What next fences and people with guns? Boy I feel so safe now, the sheep are safely in the pasture. Baaa F-ing Baaa!

What the (expletive!) does government know about educating kids? Government simply wants parents to take all the expense and responsibility for the children, but give all the power to government!  Nope does not work that way!  (Expletive!) Politicians try to blame failure on the people, but pat themselves on the back for success. A dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t situation that is the definition of dysfunctional!  

If I have to get two jobs so they can be schooled the way we find appropriate so be it! Those (expletive!) can go (expletive!)themselves  (expletive!) in the(expletive!) bathroom(expletive!) (expletive!) (expletive!) (expletive!). I did not have children so they can fulfill some state agenda. 
So in short I do not support school uniforms, and my children will not attend a school that requires them.