LizzieC
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I graduated from a high school in Dallas that, when I attended, had absolutely no form of sex education, comprehensive or otherwise. Now my brothers are attending that same high school and tonight my mom became PTA president. Traditionally this office is somewhat inconsequential, but fortunately my mom has already begun to use this position of relative power to improve the education of the students at the school.
This school is an inner city public high school with a ridiculous number of teenage pregnancies. And yet, when they finally added a sex ed program it was completely abstinence only and is taught by uber right wing, Christian fundamentalists. When teaching my brothers he not only spoke about the religious implications of sex without any regard to scientific fact, but also went so far as to declare homosexuality wrong and immoral. All of this to a class of fifteen year old students at a PUBLIC school. In no way should this be acceptable.
Tonight my mom initiated her battle for comprehensive sex ed at my alma mater and I have no doubt that it is a battle she will win. It may take time and a lot of persistence, but I have faith that eventually reason will conquer ignorance. In a state like Texas it is often hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to sex education, but it is people like my mom who are willing to step up and fight the good fight for one school that will allow the students of Texas access to comprehensive, medically accurate sex ed.
I graduated from high school in dallas too, and my brother just finished his freshman year at a public high school (not DISD though). I had a lot of friends who went to Hillcrest and T.J., and I attended an alternative program in which we started at our closest DCCCD campus when we turned 16, and it was pretty terrible program. A lot of my high school age friends got pregnant (or had their partners get pregnant), or simply didn't know anything about sex-ed, and a lot of them have faced consequences that could have been avoided if they had been educated about their body, the risks, and how they could have protected themselves beyond "just saying no."
Rock on for Dallas Sex Ed Reform!