SF teens learn lessons in love, tolerance at fest

cnredd · #1 (**permalink**) 02-15-2012, 03:22 PM

I call for the separation of "F**k-the-church" and state...

Quote:

Galileo High School celebrated Valentine's Day in a style befitting San Francisco on Tuesday as hundreds of students lined up to "marry" their sweethearts regardless of gender, sexual orientation or relationship status.

They then learned how to correctly put on a condom using goggles that gave them a drunken view of things, and played a variety of games that promoted safer sex.

The school's annual "Love Fest" drew hundred of teens in the school's central courtyard.

While a federal appeals court in San Francisco only last week ruled that a California ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, Galileo students and staff said their fake teen weddings had nothing to do with that. The event, sponsored by the Gay Straight Alliance and the Wellness Center, tried to promote acceptance and tolerance at school and safe decisions in the intimate moments that could happen at that age.

At one table, health teacher Raina Meyers put goggles on students that made their vision slightly blurry, simulating a drunken state. She then told them to put a condom on a wooden penis.

Most of the students left air in the condom tip, which could lead to breakage, and that prompted an instructional rebuke from Meyers.

"You're pregnant!" Meyers told one girl who failed the drunk-goggle test, and to a boy, "You have gonorrhea."

A handful of students milled about at the safer sex exhibits, but the biggest draw was the wedding table, where students fidgeted as they waited for their nuptials.

They signed a photocopied marriage certificate and said a quick "I do" when a student officiant asked about taking the other person as spouse.

The marriage was sealed with optional, one-size-fits-all plastic gold bands.

Many students admitted they decided to participate after teachers said they would get extra credit.

Others were serious sweethearts.

Seniors Farheen Shaikh and Shafa Almakra were best friends.

The two girls giggled as they took their vows and said they wanted that piece of paper to remember that moment in high school.

"I'll show my husband when I get married," Shafa said.

District officials acknowledged the school's activity on Valentine's Day might offend some, but school officials said the event highlights the joy and importance of healthy relationships, no matter who a student chooses to be with.

Most of the married teen couples consisted of two boys or two girls - friends or classmates.

here's where I change the name of Rod Stewart's "Infatuation" to "Indoctrination"...

Comet · #2 (**permalink**) 02-15-2012, 09:04 PM

I would be irate if my child's school did this.

Pretty disgusting, if you ask me.

crazyflamingos · #3 (**permalink**) 02-15-2012, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comet

I would be irate if my child's school did this.

Pretty disgusting, if you ask me.

What, specifically, did you find disgusting?

dabateman · #4 (**permalink**) 02-15-2012, 09:15 PM

I would be irate if my kids school didn't do this. Learning things like how to properly use a condom, the risks caused by the failure to properly use condoms, and such are important.

cnredd · #5 (**permalink**) 02-15-2012, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabateman

I would be irate if my kids school didn't do this. Learning things like how to properly use a condom, the risks caused by the failure to properly use condoms, and such are important.

Because learning to put on a condom is the school's responsibility and not the parents...

Comet · #6 (**permalink**) 02-15-2012, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnredd

Because learning to put on a condom is the school's responsibility and not the parents...

Have you not heard, cnredd? Parents are too stupid to raise their own children. If it were not for the schools, our children would be lost and not be able to walk or tie their own shoes.

The condom thing is not even the worst part of the story.

And of course this happened in San Francisco---the most backward city in the country.

foundit66 · #7 (**permalink**) 02-15-2012, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnredd

Because learning to put on a condom is the school's responsibility and not the parents...

And for YOUR kids, I would support YOU being able to say "I want my kids absent from sex ed class".

But if nobody was forced to participate in this event, doesn't your approach come off more like preventing OTHER people's kids from doing something?
Shouldn't that be THEIR parents' decision?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comet

Have you not heard, cnredd? Parents are too stupid to raise their own children. If it were not for the schools, our children would be lost and not be able to walk or tie their own shoes.

You can obviously mock what farcical position you want, but the facts don't favor you mocking what actually happens.
Comparing "abstinence only" teaching (which puts the responsibility on teaching about condoms on the shoulders of the parents) to a well-rounded education which includes contraception education shows that the "abstinence only" teaching has higher rates of teen pregnancy.

Based on that, who do you think did the better job?

If YOU want YOUR kids to be absent from this education, that's YOUR prerogative.
But you're coming across as trying to tell OTHER PEOPLE'S KIDS what they can and cannot be exposed to, without one iota of concern for what their parents think.

cnredd · #8 (**permalink**) 02-15-2012, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comet

Have you not heard, cnredd? Parents are too stupid to raise their own children. If it were not for the schools, our children would be lost and not be able to walk or tie their own shoes.

The condom thing is not even the worst part of the story.

And of course this happened in San Francisco---the most backward city in the country.

"Reading, Writing, and arithmetic" has been replaced with "(in)tolerance, diversity, and ribbed for HIS/her pleasure"...

cnredd · #9 (**permalink**) 02-15-2012, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foundit66

And for YOUR kids, I would support YOU being able to say "I want my kids absent from sex ed class".

But if nobody was forced to participate in this event, doesn't your approach come off more like preventing OTHER people's kids from doing something?
Shouldn't that be THEIR parents' decision?

Quote:

Many students admitted they decided to participate after teachers said they would get extra credit.

Yeah...They weren't "forced"...

But don't sit there and tell me they were NOT "coerced"...

Lollipops! Bright, shiny lollipops!!!!

dabateman · #10 (**permalink**) 02-15-2012, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnredd

Because learning to put on a condom is the school's responsibility and not the parents...

It is the responsibility of the parents, but most parents today abdicate that responsibility. And really, how many parents really know how to properly put on a condom?

This is beyond teaching "morality," it's a public health concern and should be part of the required education.

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