I’m dissatisfied with our educational system. It serves more to brainwash our children into trying to achieve the American dream (which seldom exists any longer) and teaches them very little that is useful. We have what is hilariously called sex education in schools, which neither teaches about sex, nor does it educate kids properly about the inherent dangers/fun therein. It teaches biology, which, I dare say, should be taught in a biology class. I’ve also always been confused as to why certain Christian sects have weaseled their way into that forum with the ability for parents to shelter their children with a piece of paper that nominally exempts the child from being taught the (at least biological) information. I’m not sure what this serves to do, as kids will have sex either way, best it be the safe way. I think that if we had a real sex ed class, which would progress from biology to basic anatomy to *gasp* maybe even a few rudimentary positions and possible benefits (or cons? are there really any?) to certain positions over others, we would have (even if children maintained their abstinence that a lot of Christianity preaches (unlikely)) much happier couples, with a much healthier sex life. This of course leads to (eventually) a happier, healthier, more sex positive society.
I’ve also noticed how school is taught in a linear fashion. Kindergarten prepares you for elementary, which prepares you for junior high, which in turn prepares you for high school, which in turn prepares you (supposedly) for college. That system works… up until high school. Though I didn’t go to a “normal” high school (mine prepared you for the workplace, more than college), from what I could see in friends that did go there it did not prepare them for college. It didn’t teach study habits, or money management. It didn’t teach them about drugs or alcohol (in any meaningful way), and it surely didn’t teach them about some of the myriad of other pitfalls of college. It would seem to me that in the 2-3 months between high school and college, you were supposed to have learned how to live on your own… and this is usually just not the case. I’m not entirely sure what needs to change there, but it’s not something where you can add in a home economics type course… it’s a systemic change that needs to happen so that at least high school is geared towards some of what’s ahead, instead of masquerading around with very little intention of teaching you anything about college or the rest of life (save how to apply to colleges… and even it’s mostly the colleges that do that for ya).
These two paragraphs are related, I swear. I’d like to use this non-sequiter to mention a person who writes for the SF Chronicle, and is one of the forefront people of the Sex Positive movement, Violet Blue (NSFW, with warning).
