Sunday, November 13, 2011

On Sex and Drugs

I was asked recently whether sex ed should be taught in schools. My answer was that if a school could, or would, address the full range of thoughts on the matter, then sure. And by full range of thoughts, I mean the major philosophical/religious traditions and their contributions on the subject. But as it is in non-religious schools, those contributions must be (or at least are) ignored. That leaves largely a non-judgemental, you-are-going-to-do-it-anyway, so-let's-be-safe approach.

Why not take the same approach with drug and alcohol use? Should children learn which vein to stick the needle in? Or how to make meth without starting a fire? And to drink a few glasses of water after binge drinking to minimize dehydration?

If adults can't or won't make moral judgements, should we be surprised that children and young adults can't or won't as well?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why teach such inconsequential subjects?
Why not jump straight into an AP subject and teach our children how to load a pistol?

Denis Navratil said...

Sure, I suppose if moral judgements are a thing of the past, that should apply to firearm use as well. Isn't murder just another lifestyle choice or are we going to allow ourselves to be constrained by some mythical ancient tablet?

Anonymous said...
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