Thanks!

In a perfect world, preteens/teens would not be having sex…in a perfect world, there would be honest and open communication between parent and kids…and in a perfect world, there would be a stay at home parent in every family to oversee what children are doing.

But alas, this is not a perfect world. Parents are overworked, underpaid and exhausted. Many try to keep up with their kids and their goings on and just can’t. This is one reason why parents don’t know their kids are active. Another is because the parents are overworked (and cranky?) perhaps the child is too scared to approach mom and/or dad and tell them what is happening. Kids need another place to turn to. It is punded in our heads as kids that if we have a problem and no one to turn to, then turn to a trusted adult… a teacher, a priest or a nurse/doctor. Come one, even Dear Abby repeats that mantra on a daily basis!

And for those that didn’t look at the articles in depth, the kids have no access to pills, patches or condoms (for Jane who is so worried about STDs- they are giving these out too!) without the parents permission to be treated in the health clinic. If the parents are SO against it, don’t let your child visit the health clinic, problem solved!

Yes, this should be the parents responsibility but kudos to the school district for realizing that the parents AREN’T taking the responsibility and giving these kids options!

Our job, as educators, is to EDUCATE our students. Our job, as parents, is to parent our children. When we, as educators, see parents who are not doing their job, we have a legal and ethical mandate to report our suspicions. When we, as parents, see the schools usurping our rights and involving themselves in our personal lives in ways that are clearly NOT their concern, we have every right to raise our voices in protest and point the finger at each and every individual involved in the process that led to these poor decisions.

Either way, for the sake of our children, we must choose to ERR on the side of caution.

It does not show a lack of understanding, it shows a lack of support for this decision. Many who disagree are very aware of what school systems are facing because they are involved either as a teacher, administrator, support personnel, or a parent of a child attending the school.

It is not the schools place to give an Rx for contraception. They do not have the medical history of this child or family,. Contraception at a young age, or even older, is not always safe. If the parent is not informed that their child has an Rx for hormonal medication then they are not armed with valuable knowledge when something goes wrong. To not inform the parent is negligent.

Regardless of whether or not we like the way a parent chooses to raise their child it is not up to us to take their authority away unless they have abused or neglected their child. It is not surprising that a parent is unaware their child is having sex because most students don’t tell their parents that they are participating in sexual acts! Our job is to educate the students. They need to know the impact sexual activity can have on their emotional and physical well being and they need the knowledge of how to protect themselves. Beyond that, they need to seek medical attention/contraception from the health department…NOT the school nurse.

As I stated in the post you commented on, if the school feels the guardian of a child has committed a crime then it should be reported. The child is still the responsibility of the parent and this school district is overstepping bounds of not only propriety, but health safety. Just wait until the first young girl develops liver tumors and the parents sue because they were unaware their daughter was given an Rx for hormonal contraception. At that point we will see if the school board/district thinks it is such a great idea.

“An 11 year old girl shouldn’t HAVE to protect herself.” But if the adults in her home life are not protecting her, then it has become an expectation of that young girl’s school that the educators should step in and provide that protection.

There you make a mistake, IMNSHO. The fact that one child is not being cared for properly, or is making horrendous choices even if being properly cared for, is not reason enough for the school to make a bad choice for all the remaining children. Yes, the school encourages (or at leasts tacitly approves, or accommodates) these bad choices by passing out the pill. As a parent, I cannot understand how any other parent can think that bypassing parents is a good idea.

If a child is hungry, should we pass out a candy bar, or some other so-called junk food?

Personally, I think the parents should know their children are sexually active. Notification goes both ways–if we have to notify the law if we think kids are being abused, it seems reasonable to notify parents if we think kids are doing drugs or having sex. Bypassing the parents seems to me to be the exact opposite of what *should* occur.