Reuters -- Texas Sex Education Program Becomes Tongue-Tied

Teachers in a Texas school district want to be able to answer students' questions about the risks of oral and anal sex but they dare not speak the words in the classroom because of parental objections.

Educators in Texas' Leander Independent School District became concerned after students submitted anonymous questions to their health teachers asking if oral and anal intercourse is considered sex, and if there are any health risks from AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

But the teachers are tongue-tied because the school's sex education curriculum does not allow them to answer such questions.

As a sometime teacher I would have to say "I may not be able to answer all of your questions today. The school board has placed limits on what I can say to you. They think that ignorance is better for you, even if it can kill you. To me that is the opposite of education, where knowledge is always better than ignorance. I would hope that one think you learn from being educated is that knowledge is good, but unfortunately some older people are not well educated."

Of course, my attitude may be why I am not working full-time.