Quote Of The Day

"Why does abstinence education fail? I believe it fails for two reasons. First, it fails because it needs a stronger, more effective justification than is now being allowed in public schools because of First Amendment concerns about church-state issues. Educators are not allowed to offer scriptural injunctions condemning fornication or those that promise fire and brimstone to offenders. Nor is there much celebration of virgins in modern society. They are treated as oddities with a malady in need of a remedy. The fear of judgment might work a bit better than the statistics that promise them 100 percent protection from disease and pregnancy. Secondly, abstinence may fail because of its association with hypocritical people who engage in moral double standards while leading the charge against abortion, gay marriage and sex education in schools. Our children are smart. They can see when the 'emperor has no clothes.' What to do? The best protection for our children will come from a balanced curriculum that offers unbiased information about consequences and choices. Abstinence probably works best in religious homes where the children have made personal choices to wait for marriage or where they truly fear God. We must protect our children by taking responsibility for their sexual education and teaching them by word and example at home. We should resolve the issue by working collectively to ensure that all children are given exposure to a balanced curriculum that includes what children need to know to make healthy choices in secondary and middle school, where sexual activities have migrated." — Carol M. Swain, moderate and Vanderbilt University law and political science professor