The debate about what to teach students in school about sex has raged for years, but that argument probably has been more vehement in Bible Belt states where many believe teens should learn about sex and birth control at home.
And in places like Mississippi, where sex education is part of the health curriculum, the focus is on abstinence, not other forms of birth control.
But many experts believe schools must take a bigger role in teaching students about other types of contraception, especially here where the teen birth rate is 60 percent higher than the national average.
High school students in this state learn about reproduction from conception to birth, but most don’t learn about any methods of birth control except abstinence.
Local school boards can vote to teach about other forms of birth control, but most stick with abstinence.
Legislators likely will consider changing the state requirement to allow districts to teach students about different types of contraception, said Shane McNeill, director of the Office of Health Schools in the state Department of Education.
“Obviously the rate of teen pregnancy is something we should focus on,” he said. “There are several bills in the Legislature to allow schools to teach other forms of birth control, but the local school board still would have to vote on it.”
“We all have a part to play,” he added.
Jane Dietz is a retired registered nurse who has been teaching sex education for 15 years. She taught at Mercy Cross Catholic High and now teaches at St. Patrick Catholic High.
Dietz said she teaches abstinence but she also teaches how other birth-control methods work, and what the Catholic Church’s position is on birth control. She also shows videos about labor and delivery and sexually transmitted diseases.
She goes by the state guidelines but doesn’t use the state’s textbook because she said the information is outdated.
“I don’t care if they can answer the questions at the end of the chapter,” she said. “I don’t give homework, and I give minimal tests. The things that I teach aren’t on the ACT. This stuff is the difference if they’re living or dying.”
Teenagers need to get information quickly that they will listen to.
“I teach from the point of view of ‘shock and awe.’ With kids today you have to show them and shock them for them to listen to you,” she said “It’s gotta be a hard hit, and it’s got to be a quick hit.”
Dietz said in 15 years she’s never gotten a complaint from parents about what or how she teaches.
And in places like Mississippi, where sex education is part of the health curriculum, the focus is on abstinence, not other forms of birth control.
But many experts believe schools must take a bigger role in teaching students about other types of contraception, especially here where the teen birth rate is 60 percent higher than the national average.
High school students in this state learn about reproduction from conception to birth, but most don’t learn about any methods of birth control except abstinence.
Local school boards can vote to teach about other forms of birth control, but most stick with abstinence.
Legislators likely will consider changing the state requirement to allow districts to teach students about different types of contraception, said Shane McNeill, director of the Office of Health Schools in the state Department of Education.
“Obviously the rate of teen pregnancy is something we should focus on,” he said. “There are several bills in the Legislature to allow schools to teach other forms of birth control, but the local school board still would have to vote on it.”
“We all have a part to play,” he added.
Jane Dietz is a retired registered nurse who has been teaching sex education for 15 years. She taught at Mercy Cross Catholic High and now teaches at St. Patrick Catholic High.
Dietz said she teaches abstinence but she also teaches how other birth-control methods work, and what the Catholic Church’s position is on birth control. She also shows videos about labor and delivery and sexually transmitted diseases.
She goes by the state guidelines but doesn’t use the state’s textbook because she said the information is outdated.
“I don’t care if they can answer the questions at the end of the chapter,” she said. “I don’t give homework, and I give minimal tests. The things that I teach aren’t on the ACT. This stuff is the difference if they’re living or dying.”
Teenagers need to get information quickly that they will listen to.
“I teach from the point of view of ‘shock and awe.’ With kids today you have to show them and shock them for them to listen to you,” she said “It’s gotta be a hard hit, and it’s got to be a quick hit.”
Dietz said in 15 years she’s never gotten a complaint from parents about what or how she teaches.
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