Were you allowed to take sex education in school, when raised a JW?

by free2beme 24 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  free2beme

  When I was in my Freshman year, they had us take a half semester of sex education and another one was drivers education. The sex education class taught good stuff for a young teen to know, especially if they were in families who were kind of lax about teaching what needed to be know. As an example, one girl in our class actually asked if you could get pregnant the first time and another asked if the pulling out method was as good as a condom. So looking back now, I strongly think it had its place and time and highly respect the schools for teaching what little they can.

  Yet here is the thing, as a Witness in our congregation, most parents were taking the choice of having their child not take sex education in high school. One elder even made the comment that, "sex education is between a parent and child and not the public school system and child." Most of the thinking behind not accepting the sex education course was that they felt it might teach sex to be something that is okay out of wed-lock and as we all know, that is the major sin we must avoid to keep in Jehovah's favor. So many of the parents followed the lead of the elders and took an alternate course provided by the school for children, whose parents did not want sex education. My mother asked me to keep the fact that I was taking it, on a low profile and not mention it to too many people.

  In a definition of irony, my congregations PO was the father of a girl I went to school with and treated her as Little Miss Perfect. I remember an assembly were she talked about being a Pioneer as soon as she finished school, and how they did not watch television much, as they spent time studying Jehovah's Bible information. Well, maybe they should have covered sex education more, as she got pregnant as a Junior from a worldly guy she was sneaking out to see and he father had to step down and eat a little humble pie from his braging about this girl that could do no wrong. I ran across her a few months back, she is no longer a Witness, surprise surprise.

  So were you allowed to take sex education in school, when raised a JW?
• 

  misspeaches

  Gosh no - and pretty much because the elders over here had the same mentality as yours.

  One elder even made the comment that, "sex education is between a parent and child and not the public school system and child."

  Thanx for reminding me of another humilating moment of my school live... When it came time for Sex Ed and my mother find out a note was written to the teacher in charge. I had to deliver it. Being the good JW girl I was I handed it over. Well the teacher immediately left the room and went to talk to the head of dept etc etc. It was this major issue and announced to the whole class. In hindsight I wish I had never delivered it and said I did.
• 

  the_classicist

  We had sex ed twice, once in Grade 6 and once in Grade 9. I didn't want to opt out b/c I didn't want to be different; not like my parents knew anyway.
• 

  serendipity

  
  There was no sex ed in the country school I attended. By the time my brother went through highschool 5 years later, content was taught, as part of biology class for a few days (maybe a week). Parents had to sign permission slips which my parents agreed to because they were too embarrassed to talk about it - beyond "don't do it."

  I also had to sign permission slips for my daughter in school, at least a couple of times - once in 5th grade and once in 9th grade. The schools here focus on abstinence, but do work condoms and other birth control methods into the material.
• 

  stapler99

  Yeah I was allowed. Maybe so not to make the religion look stupid, I don't know.
• 

  candidlynuts

  my mom asked for the textbook that was to be used...looked thru it and let me take the class..it wasnt a big deal back when i was in school.

  it was mostly reproductive functions and some about pregnancy.. a little about birth control and even less about std's.
• 

  Darth Yhwh

  We had sex ed in health class. I dont think that my JW parent was aware that they were teaching it. I certainly didn't tell. That was all I needed was to try to figure out how to tell my class mates that I'm "not allowed" to attend health class because of the current topic of discussion.
• 

  BrendaCloutier

  Yes! Thank gawd. The only real sex ed I got. What I got from my mom was "do you understand what your responsibilities to your husband are?" a couple days before I got married.
• 

  Bookey

  I often wonder what purpose public school has nowadays. Besides being an open market for drugs, guns, and prostitution, the "education" one receives at these institutions is par at best for any kind of real work in the real world. Thankfully I took a carpentry class when I was in high school, because I know for a fact my job applications never asked me what the sum portion of za-yq2 to the ninth power was. Nor did they ask me who blew herbert hoover for the office.

  Silly human race...
• 

  OpenFireGlass

  There was no sex ed in the country school I attended. By the time my brother went through highschool 5 years later, content was taught, as part of biology class for a few days (maybe a week). Parents had to sign permission slips which my parents agreed to because they were too embarrassed to talk about it - beyond "don't do it."

  Yup, Same Here... Funny thing is they wouldn't sign for drivers-ed... A drivers license, was an obvious ticket to freedom...

  ,Mike