Quote on Sex Ed Didn’t Say Enough

Regarding the article on March 30, “Sex Education Curriculum OKd,” the quote attributed to me does not convey a clear understanding of why I spoke disapprovingly of the proposed curriculum.

As it stands, the curriculum is a compilation of bits and pieces from various sources--a lesson here, and an excerpt from a book there. The curriculum is often immature in approach, reinforces gender stereotypes about sexual behavior and attitudes, and many times is not even related to sexuality. For instance, one long lesson is on refusal skills for use of tobacco. This will not change the sexual behavior of teen-agers. About the only change that might occur is that we might see a decline in the amount of teen-agers who light up after sex.

Studies show that comprehensive sexuality education works when it directly discusses, among other things, pressures to engage in unprotected intercourse, models of skills and behaviors to resist those pressures and provides practice in practical skills and behaviors, such as practicing avoiding unprotected intercourse. The Simi Valley curriculum does none of those things.

The curriculum also includes outdated material (I had to point out to the district that the lesson on AIDS was 10 years old and contained outdated and erroneous information). And although they have promised to revise it and keep it current, why was it included in the first place? Where was the care in putting this curriculum together?

Sadly, this curriculum is the result of society’s continuing conflicting emotions, or sometimes intolerance, over emerging sexuality during childhood, the fact that adults still deny the reality of adolescent sexual activity and will not deal with it directly and honestly, and that our board members were not willing to take the bold step to do what is in the best interests of the students they were elected to serve.

PAIGE MOSER, Simi Valley. Paige Moser is coordinator for the Simi-Conejo chapter of the National Organization for Women.