Posted on 06/10/2002 4:35:38 AM PDT by Pern
Isolated incidents of oral sex on campus and talk among middle-school students of the behavior occurring at off-campus parties has alarmed some Fayette County school administrators and parents who plan meetings on the topic.
Physicians, including one who has seen an increase in sexually transmitted diseases among middle school students, and other professionals are promoting frank discussions about oral sex to discourage students from engaging in it. Still, all agree the practice is limited to a small number of students, some of whom do not equate oral sex to intercourse.
Since Beaumont Middle School principal Tom Mowery wrote to parents in December asking them "to be aware of the prevalence of oral sex at off-campus parties at the middle-school level," administrators at one school referred an incident to law enforcement, and administrators at another school, Jessie Clark Middle, called in parents to discuss a situation.
Diane Woods, the district's middle school director, put the topic on the agenda for a future principals meeting. She said she was notified of a report of oral sex occurring between two students on campus at Tates Creek Middle School several weeks ago.
Without releasing specifics, Tates Creek Middle School assistant principal Earl Stivers said the incident was investigated "both by law enforcement and administratively."
Students' remarks have made doctors and parents fear the activity is more widespread.
Dr. Hatim Omar, a University of Kentucky specialist in adolescent medicine, said that just since January, he has treated at least 10 middle school-age students for sexually transmitted diseases they said they had contracted through oral sex. That's up from six cases in 2001 and two each in 1999 and 2000.
Four students, treated for tonsillitis caused by gonorrhea, attributed their conditions to so-called "head parties," Omar said.
Also since January, he has seen students from every middle school in Fayette County who admit that they have engaged in oral sex or attended parties where students have engaged in oral sex.
Parents and administrators are responding. Besides principals addressing the topic, Beaumont PTA president Debbie Boian wants middle school PTA leaders to discuss developing programs at each school to talk to students about risky behavior.
"It's easy to say, 'Oh those kids are just bragging about having oral sex,'" Boian said. "But if there is any truth to it, you should" address the issue.
Nationally, public-health experts report that teen-agers appear to be engaging in high-risk sexual practices without caution and with alarming casualness. Nearly 1 in 10 reports losing his or her virginity before the age of 13, a 15 percent increase since 1997, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to several surveys, as many as half of teens ages 13 to 19 say they have had oral sex. Other communities across the country are grappling with the problem and are instituting policies that require more supervision and education.
Lexington pediatrician Tom Pauly said his patients are asking him about oral sex and telling him they think it's safer than vaginal intercourse.
"It's a new issue," said Bryan Station Middle Counselor Lynette Schmiedeknecht. "It's more part of the culture, more talked about. It seems that in talking with the kids, they don't consider oral sex (to be) sex. They just think it's something they do as an adolescent."
Dealing with incidents directly and speaking bluntly with middle school students is key to helping them understand the ramifications of their decisions, parents and doctors said. Damage to reputations and illnesses are two of the dangers.
"We advise them to abstain," Pauly said. "We talk about medical complications and the psychosocial complications of engaging in oral sex at such a young age."
After Jessie Clark Middle students talked about the popularity of oral sex with an assistant principal this spring, principal Steve Carmichael said: "We invited two moms to come in and shared our concerns. It wasn't a conversation as awkward as you might think. We would rather overreact than underreact."
The issue isn't a routine part of sex education classes, officials said.
Mike Kennedy, acting health education coordinator, said that until 1990, the district had a sex education curriculum. But now, site-based councils at each school are responsible for deciding what kind of sex education is dispensed, he said.
Seven middle schools offer programs that teach abstinence only, Kennedy said. Other schools cover sex education in health classes. But Kennedy said he doesn't think oral sex is discussed anywhere as part of the middle school curriculum.
At Beaumont, principal Mowery said the quick intervention -- writing to parents -- was successful. Parents responded to meetings about how to discuss sexual issues with their children. And as the year progressed, counselors and administrators had fewer kids talking about the parties.
Only a small minority of students have actually had oral sex, Mowery thinks.
"Ninety percent of our kids," he said, "make good decisions in every aspect of their lives."
Words in the mouth again? Mercy. I didn't say that caring meant sex. But for some couples, that is an expression of care.
Then they need to get their non-abstinence only programs out of the classroom, too, and leave "sex education" at home where it belongs.
You don't want to subsidize teaching abstinence. I don't want to subsidize teaching promiscuity. You get your religion out of the classroom, and I'll do the same for mine. But if you won't, then you and I are implacable enemies.
And yeah, I'm "touchy" because I care about my kids. Your government-paid condom instructors and abortion procurers don't give a flying d*mn about my kids' welfare.
Most do not teach the joys of anal sex or hand out condoms etc. these are exceptions blown up by fanatics to represent all public schools.
As far as teacher training is concerned until the education departments are either eliminated or reduced in power they will turn out incompetents.
Those true believers who hate public schools will not admit that the opportunity costs of home schooling are enormous and cannot be done on a huge scale without wrecking the economy.
Lack of virginity does not imply promiscuity...BROKEN RECORD. it does not imply that a woman has had sex with 30 men......... And I do not share that value, although I once did.
And you think the schools, which have difficulty teaching kids to read and write and add 2 + 2, are qualified to handle this.
Pardon me while I have a chuckle.
Laughing self senseless, returns to keyboard
Truth be told, this is a matter that should be handled by parents. Government arrogance has led to the impression that parents are too stupid to be handling this job. While many parents are stupid, most parents are indeed aware of what it is they did to produce the kid in the first place. Unless of course they got taught Biology in a government school too.
Regards, Ivan, Dark Lord of the Sith ;)
In high school, we thought that French kissing was " going far ".
Well, let's see... 3 months divided into one year times 10 years = 40
So if a girl loses her virginity at 14 (because, you know, teenagers are going to have sex no matter what), and waits until she knows a guy for say, 3 months before sleeping with him, and meets her future husband at 28 ... how many guys would you say she's "cared deeply for"? On average, I mean?
What are they doing to kids in public schools? Sex diseases?
agreed.
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