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."
That's exactly right. My daughter owes nothing of the sort to any boy - and ESPECIALLY to any boy who would seek to take advantage of her that way.
"...Middle School principal Tom Mowery wrote to parents..."
Oh - -- - NOW they want their assistance. . .
All along, the school's administration(s) usually want the Parents to butt out !! !! !!
But there are a lot of girls they know - if only because they have grown up with them over the years or have classes with them - who have idle time, less active moral compasses and who do engage in risky behaviors. They tell us out of concern, usually when they've been unable to persuade old friends to straighten out.
Future Democrats of America.
I'm glad that you're doing that for your daughters. Perhaps I got the wrong impression from your statement above. I don't have any trouble figuring out which is better.
Americans cannot prevent such "values" from intruding into theirs! Americans cannot keep such "values" out of their schools and away from their children.
Americans twice elected a psychopath who was the foremost promoter of such "values" to the presidency of the U.S. And then the people of New York voted is wife into the U.S. Senate.
I make no endorsement of suicide bombers or international terrorists, but Americans--who have allowed such "values" to suffuse their culture--can thank themselves for any universal condemnation and loathing of the United States.
Anyone who has questions about why the U.S. is despised so profoundly need look no further than this article.
Such decadence--such "values"--as these are despised by decent people everywhere and for all time--me included!
This is yet one more example of "Liberal" decadence--the greatest threat the U.S. faces--far greater than any foreign enemy. The U.S.A. can not be destroyed by any foreign enemy. But it can be destroyed from within--and this kind of decadence is the very thing that will destroy it.
Some foreign cultures--notably Islam--are threatened by such Western concepts as liberty, justice, and democracy and are resistant to them. However the resistance could be expected to attenuate and eventually even disappear, in view of the advantages, basic goodness, universal acceptability, and profound truth of these concepts.
However the real resistance is to such decadence and degeneracy as depicted in this article. This is where these people will--and should--make their last stand.
What the hell! If this is what the West stands for, I might just join 'em.
So that is why x42 loses his voice.
Not only did he like to get *IT*, he must like to give it too...........
Medical records would tell the *tail*.
Even more horrifying: Daughter told me that a boy at school she barely knows asked her "Do you spit or swallow?" She didn't know what that meant, and was grossed out when I told her.
I honestly believe that the further dumbing down of basic standards of decency and modesty are a result of The Rapist President and the sleazy "It-doesn't-matter-what-you-do-in-your-personal-life" tone that was set during his tenure.
Yes, and they could be taught that one thing leads to another and if you start there who knows where it might lead? It's sort of the same as marijuana leading to harder drugs. At least that was the case when I was that age.
A boy knows how to accomodate himself after the date and he better just leave my daughter out of it.
We have been very frank and open with our child about what does and does not constitute sex; and oral sex is very much a sex act.
I think we have totally disgusted her to the idea of oral sex and sex in general.
I hope we can keep it going until she is 30, when I will allow her to date!
Exactly.
If a boy demands that my daughter sexually accommodate him as the price of his taking her out on a date, then he's not the kind of boy I want for my daughter. And I will use every means of persuasion available to me to convince her that a boy who does not date her for that service is more the kind she will ultimately find happiness with.
Back in 2000, there was an oral sex ring comprised of some 6 girls at the Catholic 8th grade. These girls had been servicing most of the 8th and 7th grade boys at the school.
Of course, the liberal nun who was the principal would indoctrinate the kids day in and day out about the horrors of polluting the planet or helping the homeless. She just didn't feel it was important to teach the kids about what Christ said about pre-marital sex.
Not the same Catholic Church I was raised in I'll tell you.
Thank you, Mr Klinton.
This just ruined my Krispy Kreme :(
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