Wisconsin DA Threatens Arrests Over Sex Ed 703
WrongSizeGlass writes "USA Today is reporting that the DA of Juneau County, Wisconsin, is warning teachers that they could face arrest over the new sex-ed curriculum. District Attorney Scott Southworth said a new state law that requires students learn to use condoms and other contraceptives 'promotes the sexualization — and sexual assault — of our children.' Southworth also said, 'I'm not looking to charge any teachers. I've got enough work to do.'"
Re:Why not make it voluntary? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Why not make it voluntary? (Score:2, Informative)
It is. RTFA.
Re:Why not make it voluntary? (Score:4, Informative)
I was going to moderate this thread, but I had to point out that the law is not mandatory at either the school or student level. Schools can choose not to teach sexual education. Parents can opt their children out of it as well. That's why this prosecutor is being so fricking ridiculous. If the legislature, school, and parents decide that this education will help their children, who is this prosecutor to say otherwise? I hope someone sues.
Re:Why not make it voluntary? (Score:3, Informative)
It's my personal belief that kids should be taught this at home.
Public health and public safety have nothing to do with your personal belief. Which is why you will be vaccinated regardless. Newborns will be screened for metabolic disease regardless. You will be ticketed for speeding regardless. And your kids will receive certain information at school regardless.
Because while YOU may be a responsible parent, there is a significant number of IRRESPONSIBLE parents. The idea is that the government must ensure that this information is made available to everyone because kids contracting HIV, Hepatitis B/C or gonorrhea, for example, are a PUBLIC HEALTH risk.
Especially in a public health care setting, where it is the taxpayer who is/will be footing the bill for treatment.
Re:Why not make it voluntary? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Sex (Score:2, Informative)
The hypocrisy in US in unbelievable. Violence and killing people is all okay in TV...
Despite what the media sensationalizes, we have a much bigger problem with teen pregnancy than teen gun violence.
Re:Same guy? (Score:5, Informative)
Sadly it seems he won his $160 back.
http://www.nacua.org/documents/southworth.html [nacua.org]
What an asshole.
Re:He's another twit (Score:3, Informative)
However, statutory rape doesn't apply when both parties have consented, but are both underaged. It's called the Romeo and Juliet rule
Actually, that doesn't exist in most states. Only 21 (IIRC) states have that type of exemption. Wisconsin is among those that don't.
Re:EndGame (Score:1, Informative)
You exagerate a bit. What's toppling the Catholic church is one step more than child porn, it's actual rape of children.
Sex Ed outside US (Score:5, Informative)
First off, sorry for the long post
Second off, Seriously WTH??
I'm a teacher at a danish public school and what the DA is suggesting here is almost criminallly negligent in Denmark.
The pupils here HAVE to learn how to use contraceptives, it's the law. IMHO anything else is shooting yourself in the foot.
Not teaching them these things will not prevent the kids from having sex. I've never quite understood the whole American "If we don't talk/think about it then it doesn't exist!" attitude. To be fair though, it's not just the americans. Earlier this week I watched a documentary about British teenagers and their knowledge about sex and it was horrifying. Chicken skin as condoms, rinse out with cola, eat indian food the day after you've had sex. These were somewhat widely spread beliefs among teenagers on how not to get pregnant.(it's 4 in the morning atm and I can't remember what the documentary was called, but I'll find the link to the statistics later after I've slept)
Anyway, enough of my ramblings.
I'm glad to hear that Mrs. Helen don't see things the way the DA does. I can not for the life of me see how not teaching about contraceptives would be the better choice. Hindering the spread of STD's and minimising unwanted teen pregnancies would only seem like a good thing, no?
let's just for arguments sake do a little thought experiment.
Based on the belief(my belief at least) that teens will have sex no matter what we tell them i see a few different scenarios.
1: Teens have sex -> Teens don't use protection -> By sheer dumb luck nothing happens.
2: Teens have sex -> Teens don't use protection -> STD gets transmitted -> Numerous doctors appointments and various medication that in the best case kills the STD and in the worst case the girl will not be able to bear children later in her life.(drastic contrast I know, but entirely possible and it serves the example well)
3: Teens have sex -> Teens do use protection -> If used incorrectly there's a high probability that we'll end up as in example 2
4: Teens have sex -> Teens do use protection -> If used correctly the risk of STD's or unwanted pregnancy is reduced to a virtuel minimumm.
Feel free to correct these if you feel I've messed up, I AM going on my 28th hour awake.
So even the knowledge of contraceptives can be hurtful if it is not well founded.
Granted my students look at me like I've lost my mind when I bring bananas and condoms to class, and granted they're quite shy and embarresed at first, usually we'll just end up having a laugh about it though.
I even know a colleague of mine encouraged her pupils to learn how to put on the comdoms using only their mouths, both the girls AND the boys(Who knows, some of them may be gay and this might come in handy?) This is far from standard curriculum though and not something any school here would reccomend. But as teachers we do have a lot of leeway to use the techniques we see fit.
oh and as a last little side note here. We DO teach our pupils about alcohol, both in general and from personal experience uusually. They're gonna try it at parties anyway, so might as well prepare them as best we can. I'm not saying we bring alcohol to school, that's highly illegal, but we do talk about it in almost every aspect. The taste, smell, looks, effect(good and bad) etc. as do we when it comes to sex. The teachers have to make up with themselves if they want to include personal experience or not, but talking about how sex feels(both physically and psychologically) and what the goods and bads are about it, tends to have a lot more succes than just dry boring anatomy facts and standard info on STD's. Of course the anatomy, biology and the STD info is required teachings, but just listing facts is a dead sure way of not getting your pupils attention.
Re:Translation for the legislative impared. (Score:5, Informative)
Teen pregnancy rates dropped from 1990 to 2005 to the lowest level in decades. Drug abuse rates have actually been decreasing on a gentle slope. Divorce rates have declined from 0.47% of the population in 1991 to 0.37% in 2004.
How's that war on actual facts going?
Re:Sex (Score:3, Informative)
You have to remember who originally founded the US in the first place - puritanical religious nutbags.
Utterly false. Nevermind that the timeline is wrong--the first colonists in the US were Corporate profit mongers, not religious refugees, the Puritans were not, well, puritan.
Actual Puritans (as in, Purify the Church of England) were not as sexually repressed as other religious sects that arrived later (as evidenced by their personal letters), so long as the sex occurred within marriage.
Moreover, the political culture of the founding of the US was Deist, not Puritan. Compare John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, George Washington, etc. with actual Puritans such as Thomas Gouge, William Bridge, or William Ames.
Re:Translation for the legislative impared. (Score:1, Informative)
Using condoms isn't a crime for anyone
is a crime for >80% of the high school students in your state.
See 948.02 for the under-16 case and 940.09 for the over-16 but under-18 case.
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0948.pdf [state.wi.us] [PDF]
http://law.marquette.edu/lawreview/Spring%202006/Olszewski.pdf [marquette.edu] [PDF]
Re:Translation for the legislative impared. (Score:2, Informative)
[ AH FUCK UNCLOSED TAGS DAMNIT REPOST. ]
Using condoms isn't a crime for anyone.
The Honorable Representative should read her own laws, because it most certainly is a crime for a person to use a condom (properly) if the other party to the condom usage is under 18 (under 16 and it's a felony). If both are under 18, then it is mutual statutory rape under the laws of the fine state of Wisconsin. So yeah, Mrs. Roys, using a condom is a crime for the vast majority of high school students in your state.
I hasten to say that I'm not at all supportive of the DA's theory that a teacher who instructs students on proper condom usage is somehow responsible for their subsequent crimes. I just wanted to point of that the Representative made a transparently false factual statement about the law in her own State.
See 948.02 for the under-16 case and 940.09 for the over-16 but under-18 case.
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0948.pdf [state.wi.us] [PDF]
http://law.marquette.edu/lawreview/Spring%202006/Olszewski.pdf [marquette.edu] [PDF]
Re:Translation for the legislative impared. (Score:5, Informative)
Drug Use [ncjrs.gov]
Divorce Rates [divorcereform.org]
For those not inclined to RAnyFA - they all agree with the GP.
Re:Translation for the legislative impared. (Score:2, Informative)
Citations for either of these posts ?
A quick wiki search gives me this :
"Married adults now divorce two-and-a-half times as often as adults did 20 years ago and four times as often as they did 50 years ago... between 40% and 60% of new marriages will eventually end in divorce. The probability within... the first five years is 20%, and the probability of its ending within the first 10 years is 33%... Perhaps 25% of children ages 16 and under live with a stepparent." —Brian K. Williams, Stacy C. Sawyer, Carl M. Wahlstrom, Marriages, Families & Intimate Relationships, 2005
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce_in_the_United_States]
Re:Translation for the legislative impared. (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/05/1/gr050107.html [guttmacher.org]
Teen pregnancy has not skyrocketed. The proportion of non-marital births has increased.
Re:Applied skills (Score:3, Informative)
More souls for Jeebus. All multiplication is fruitful.
Every birth is a miracle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeavNauY59o [youtube.com]
Re:Translation for the legislative impared. (Score:3, Informative)