A step backwards

[_Simpson_ 250]

MAUSTON, Wis. – Mike Taake has taught sex education for 30 years, and he says he knows what doesn't work: just telling kids to wait.

The Mauston High School health teacher has used abstinence-only and comprehensive curriculums, and he said students need all the information they can get about sex to make the best choices. But teaching them about contraceptives could land him and other teachers in court.

Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth last month sent a letter to area school districts warning that health teachers who tell students how to put on a condom or take birth-control pills could face criminal charges. The warning has left many teachers, school administrators and parents flabbergasted.

"Seems like a step back in time," Taake said of Southworth's logic.

Southworth, a Republican and a Christian evangelical, took issue with a law Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle signed in February requiring schools that teach sexual education to adopt a comprehensive approach.

Southworth warned that teaching a student how to properly use contraceptives would be contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor punishable by up to nine months behind bars and a $10,000 fine. He said it would be promoting sex among minors, who are not legally allowed to have sex in Wisconsin.

"It puts the school kind of in the middle between two sides, between the government and state telling us what should be taught and what people think should not be taught," said Scott Lenz, a health teacher in the New Lisbon School District. He said he would teach contraceptive use if he got the approval of his school board.

Southworth said he doesn't want to drag teachers into court but feels he was ethically responsible for warning them of the new law's potential consequences. He urged the school districts to refrain from offering sex education courses until the Legislature repeals the law.

"Listen, there's a real problem with the law," he said. "I didn't pick the fight. The Legislature dumped it in my lap."

Southworth didn't cite evidence in his letter showing that teaching someone to use contraceptives makes them more likely to have sex. But in an interview Thursday, he pointed to Milwaukee Public Schools, which teach a comprehensive sex education curriculum but still struggle with high teen pregnancy rates. Sex education experts, however, say many social factors influence teens' decisions to have sex, including lack of parental supervision and poverty.

Janine Geske, a Marquette University law professor and former state Supreme Court justice, said she didn't understand Southworth's legal logic. She said that if he tried to prosecute a teacher for adhering to guidelines approved by the Legislature and governor, the case would likely be dismissed.

"To be frank, I can't follow exactly what he's trying to get at," Geske said. "If a teacher is educating a student pursuant to state law ... I don't see how under any examination (that) could be criminal."

In Wisconsin, children under age 17 who have sex with each other can be prosecuted as juveniles. Seventeen-year-olds who have sex with one another can be convicted as adults of a misdemeanor.

Wisconsin schools aren't required to teach sex education. But under the new law, which was backed by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, schools that do must teach a range of topics, including the benefits of abstinence, the proper use of contraceptives, how to make responsible decisions and the criminal penalties for underage sex. Parents can choose to keep their children out of the classes.

Southworth says he's not trying to bolster his reputation as a social conservative for a potential run for higher office, but his stance has proved popular with anti-abortion groups.

Juneau County, a poor, rural county between Madison and the Minnesota border, is about evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Voters narrowly backed former President George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections, but sided with President Barack Obama in 2008.

The county's teen birth rate last year was 33.9 per 1,000, which was three percentage points higher than the state rate, according to a 2009 health report by the county and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Matt Sande, the legislative director of Pro-Life Wisconsin, which opposes the new law, said every district attorney in Wisconsin should follow Southworth's lead.

"We commend him for his courage, his frankness in exposing the consequences of this irresponsible new law," Sande said. "If I were a district administrator, I would want to know the impact."

And Janet McCauley, a speech teacher in the Mauston district, said she thinks the new sex education guidelines promote "sexual curiosity" and that Southworth's warning was necessary.

"This is dangerous to our young people. I just think the whole bill wasn't thought out enough."

But many parents said they were befuddled by Southworth's warning.

Audrey Jensen, whose 16-year-old daughter, Justina, is a sophomore at Mauston High School, said Southworth is trying to censor what students learn, usurping the role of parents. Children will have sex regardless, she said, and they need all the information they can get.

"I think he's actually a little unrealistic," said Jensen, 47. "Obviously he doesn't remember being a teenager."

Mauston High School quarterback Brady Nelson, 16, said sex education doesn't encourage teens to do it and Southworth should leave health teachers alone.

"It teaches you more about the bad side of it than the good," he said. "You're not going to learn any other way. You can't really charge a teacher for teaching us about the ways of life."

Taake said he intends to teach contraceptive use and isn't worried about being prosecuted.

"It's not just teaching them how birth control works. It's everything else that goes with it," he said. "To arrest me for teaching correct birth control and the student makes the wrong decision and gets pregnant, that's not my decision."

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[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Children will have sex regardless, she said...

Not necessarily. Just mandate that all schools be single-sex and ban male-female mixing outside marriage. Hey, it works in Saudi (for the most part).

[Niels Bohr 72]

Children will have sex regardless of education. However, if we know that, then teach them about contraceptives or birth control atleast. So they know that they won't have babies.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Children will have sex regardless of education. However, if we know that, then teach them about contraceptives or birth control atleast. So they know that they won't have babies.

Yes, books make awesome contraception. I don't care how hard you shoot, no way it penetrates a book.

[_Simpson_ 250]

Children will have sex regardless of education. However, if we know that, then teach them about contraceptives or birth control atleast. So they know that they won't have babies.

Not all children, a lot of children would wait for religious reasons alone. Then theres the children that do listen to their parents and get the importance of waiting.

[Niels Bohr 72]

I make a poll and ask how many people lost their virginity when they were under 18.

Not all children, a lot of children would wait for religious reasons alone. Then theres the children that do listen to their parents and get the importance of waiting.

[_Simpson_ 250]

I make a poll and ask how many people lost their virginity when they were under 18.

Quite a few, I dont argue that, all I am saying is that there is no shortage of people who did wait and the "Children will have sex regardless of education" comment you made was inaccurate.

[SMOKE 1,426]

I make a poll and ask how many people lost their virginity when they were under 18.

make sure you ask males if it was by choice or genetics. you need to account peoples looks too in order to have an accurate poll.

[Darnell 8,479]

Poor Mike. With the current legislation in place - he needs to get his teachers' agent to find him a different class type for the upcoming semester, and absolutely stop teaching sex / sexual education immediately.

[trillium13 84]

I find it interesting how the anti-abortion crowd is also anti-birth control.

[Danno 1,228]

I really think this who topic is BS, what seventh grader doesn't know how a pregnancy happens.

We had sex ed in my school some how I knew All I needed to know without it.

The bigger question is, why would anyone thing the School is going to teach your 14 yr old Daughter how to navigate her way through sex if they can't teach her on-grade Math?

And if they can't get kids educated enough to compete globally, what are they doing eating up more of the classroom day putting condoms on dildos?

-----------------------------------------

Abstinence works

Program’s subjects include STDs, contraceptions and self-worth.

By Valerie Huber

Parents and policymakers must clearly understand the vast differences between abstinence and so-called comprehensive programs. Both have been repeatedly misrepresented in the media.

Abstinence programs offer a holistic approach, teaching teens how to build healthy relationships, increase self-worth and set appropriate boundaries in order to achieve future goals. Abstinence education shares the realities of sexually transmitted diseases and the best way to prevent them. Accurate information about contraception is provided, but always within the context of abstinence as the healthiest choice. The realistic limitations of condoms are shared but without the explicit demonstration and advocacy that characterizes "comprehensive" programs.

According to published research, abstinence programs are successful in delaying sexual onset and in helping sexually active teens choose to abstain. In Georgia, for example, teen pregnancy rates have been cut in half, dropping for 11 straight years since the state mandated abstinence education.

Abstinence opponents cite the narrow Mathmatica report as evidence against abstinence education. But a principal researcher of the study states results shouldn't be used to draw sweeping conclusions, in part because the study evaluated only four of 700 abstinence programs. The relatively new programs targeted young adolescents and provided no follow-up. The real "take away" from this research is targeting youth at only young ages is not enough, and as is true of any health message, abstinence must be reinforced throughout the teen years.

Studies show "comprehensive" programs do little more than promote contraceptive use, spending less than 5% of their course time promoting abstinence. A recent Health and Human Services study found that "comprehensive" programs exaggerate the effectiveness of condoms and encourage a false sense of protection. Further, the study noted that one popular program promoted graphic sexual behavior such as showering together as an acceptable "abstinent" activity.

Not surprisingly, a recent Zogby survey shows that when parents understand what abstinence vs. "comprehensive" sex education actually teaches, they prefer abstinence education by a 2-1 margin. The health and future of our teens depend on a common sense approach that works.

Valerie Huber is executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association.

Posted at 12:21 AM/ET, July 30, 2007 in Election 2008 - Editorial, Elections/Voting - Editorial, Ethics - Editorial, Lifestyle issues - Editorial, Medical issues - Abortion - Editorial, Medical Issues - Editorial, USA TODAY editorial | Permalink

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[Niels Bohr 72]

Seems like your not an engineer or qualified to talk about math education. Speak for yourself. Those who experienced it are better at talking about it.

[trillium13 84]

Anyone ever visited YahooAnswers? There are a lot of kids out there who know NOTHING. There's so much misinformation out there, it's frightening.

[_Simpson_ 250]

I find it interesting how the anti-abortion crowd is also anti-birth control.

Thats a bumper sticker approach.

Thats like trying to make the argument how can you be pro-life but be for the death penalty.