Tag: students
Captain Obvious Award: New Study Suggests High School Condom Programs Lead to More Teen Pregnancy
Posted on July 5, 2016 in Public Policy, Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
What happens when you hand out condoms at the high school level?
If you’re a progressive, liberal, or lacking in common sense the answer is: kids have safe sex.
If you have a properly functioning moral compass and a shred of common sense the answer is: teen pregnancy rates go up.
While advocates of condom distribution studies insist that these programs are designed to encourage safe sex; a growing body of data points to the fact that condom programs simply increase teen pregnancy and abortion rates.
Take a moment to read about a new study that further suggests condom programs do little more than increase teen pregnancy and abortion rates. A recent report comments on the new study:
“Overall, the study adds to an impressive body of research which shows that efforts to encourage contraceptive use either through mandates, subsidies, or distribution are ineffective at best or counterproductive at worst. In many countries, increases in contraception use are correlated with increase in the abortion rate.”
The study supports other data, which suggests that teen pregnancy, abortion, and STD’s all increase due to the implementation of condom programs. To this I utter an exasperated and common-sense based “sigh.”
Can Someone Please Tell Me Why Fourth-Graders Need a NSFW Book in Their School Library?
Posted on April 26, 2016 in Public Policy, Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
The Oregon school principal is apologizing after angry parents demanded to know why their kids had access to the book; especially when they were told it had been pulled from school shelves. Perhaps a better question is why has such a book been approved for 10 year olds in the first place?
Let’s do a very simple review: any image depicting people engaging in sexual activity is considered “explicit” and/or pornographic (depends on who you talk to). To view any such image a person is supposed to be at least 18 years old; as every pornographic website makes perfectly clear. So why is a school allowed to show explicit/pornographic imaged to our children and call it “health class”?
According to one article, some of the images in the book include:
Public School Learns a Lesson After Telling Students They Can’t Pray in Cafeteria
Posted on February 25, 2016 in Home School, Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
Imagine your child and a few friends bowing their heads to say a prayer in the cafeteria at school before eating their lunch. As a parent you would be proud of their small demonstration of their faith. And you would be more than a little irritated if the principal of the school told your child that prayer was not permitted and the group had to stop immediately.
That scenario happened in a Wyoming school when students were told they needed permission to pray, and after receiving permission must pray in the hallway so other students wouldn’t see the prayer and be offended.
A recent article reports that the school argued that by praying in the cafeteria the students were creating a “captive audience” and forcing others to see, hear, and be part of their prayer. The principal wanted to avoid offending anyone – except the Christians it would seem – by making sure no one would see or hear the prayer.
But, when the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) – a legal organization that defends religious freedom – stepped in, the school changed its tone. ADF sent a letter to the school threatening legal action if the school continued to infringe on the students’ 1st amendment rights to pray:
Sex Conference for Middle School Students Encourages Bathing Together, Lap Dances
Posted on December 9, 2014 in Family, Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
All you need to know about a taxpayer funded sex conference in Oregon is what a spokesperson for the event had to say about what the event is all about:
“We really think the message that they are bringing to these children is not value oriented. It’s about helping youth make good choices on their own personal sexuality. It’s about making good decisions about their relationships; it’s about giving them skills to just anything that has to deal with health.”
In other words, one of the organizers of the event says that the event is not about teaching values, but about teaching youth to “make good choices on their own personal sexuality.”
The problem with this statement is that every choice comes from a place of values, which begins with morality. So, for a person to make a “good choice” regarding sexuality that person must first have a moral understanding of his or her sexuality that will enable a good choice. The result of not teaching any values associated with sexuality is exactly the problem, it’s how we arrived at this particular point in our culture.
Do 10 Year Olds Have a Right to Contraception and Abortion? Researchers Say Yes!
Posted on September 2, 2014 in Life, Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
A group of four researchers at the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University say that very young adolescents (VYA) – kids between the ages of 10 and 14 – have a right to contraception and abortion. But that is the least troubling conclusion of this new report, published in Global Public Health.
Here is a glimpse into the thoughts of people attempting to influence the sexuality, sex-education, and moral training of our children in public schools:
The Most Pornographic Place Your Kids Will Visit is Their School
Posted on August 21, 2014 in Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
Parents have enough to protect their kids from these days. Not only do they need to monitor what they watch on television – because apparently naked reality shows are all the rage – but the Internet has it all. Then there’s making sure they aren’t receiving naked pictures via text or drinking at parties. Even parents that are fully engaged, teaching their kids solid morals and values will be exhausted at the sheer magnitude of ways kids need protected.
And of course parents must be defended from their local school!
Yep, you read that right. Where once the local school was a place of safety and learning, it seems it is now a place of undermining parental authority and sex.
The newest example of school-overreach into the lives of students comes from California where a book that will be used in a sex-ed class is being called nothing short of pornographic.
A Very Clear Warning to Churches Regarding Youth Ministry (Kids Ministry Too)
Posted on August 20, 2014 in Family, Theology by Nathan Cherry
The following article from the Christian Post should serve as a very sobering warning to every church regarding youth ministry. I would also suggest that it applies to kids ministry as well. Churches that are quick to entertain and lack the ability to challenge their kids and students could be setting them up to reject faith entirely during their college years.
As parents it should be our most sincere desire to be in a church that will intentionally challenge our kids and students in their faith. We should be looking for leaders that are not just convicted in their beliefs, but know the Bible and how to communicate it. At the end of the day the fun and games must take a back seat to imparting solid doctrine and teaching biblical values to the impressionable people in our care.
I encourage you to take a few moments and read this article if you are a parent or church leader. Let us be reminded of the eternal nature of our charge to share our faith and disciple our kids and students.
Learning From Young Atheists: What Turned Them Off Christianity
It’s something most Christian parents worry about: You send your kids off to college and when they come back, you find they’ve lost their faith. The prospect of this happening is why many parents nudge their kids towards Christian colleges, or at least schools with a strong Christian presence on campus.
But in many ways, the damage has been done long before our children set foot on campus. That’s the message from a recent article in the Atlantic Monthly.
Sex-Ed Class Asks 14-Year-Old Girls: How Far Will You Go Sexually?
Posted on June 20, 2014 in Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
Parents that send their kids to school without paying attention to what they are being taught are failing in their duty to protect their kids.
At one time our schools focused on academics, math, reading, and science; or even offered trade classes to prepare students to enter the workplace. Not anymore. The focus of today’s public school is political indoctrination aimed at creating a very specific worldview.
One of the most powerful weapons in the school arsenal is sex education. There’s no doubt we live in a sex-obsessed culture where sex is used to sell everything from tires to office supplies. If you want people to take notice of your advertisement, include a half- naked person. Public schools are now using the “sex sells” method to “educate” students regarding sexuality and abortion.
Parents of students at a California middle school was shocked and outraged when their kids brought home the handout of a presentation that included pictures. A description of these pictures was given by a local news station:
Recap: A Home School Convention Is Like No Other
Posted on June 17, 2014 in Home School by Derick Dickens
It was about 10 years ago when I attended the my first Home Education Association of Virginia conference. That year, my family relied on a trusted friend to tell us which break-out sessions were worth going to and which we should avoid.
This year, my wife and I didn’t need any mentoring. We are the experts going from session to session knowing what would be most beneficial for our family. Still, after being a part of the home education movement for over a decade, I am still learning and amazed. Here are some of what we learned or observed this year.
The average homeschooler is now scoring the top 15% of all students
Homeschoolers are knocking a home run academically. Our average student is not only excelling, but they are doing so in undeniable terms. Way to go homeschoolers.
What is the Role of Youth Ministry in the Church?
Posted on April 13, 2014 in Family by Derick Dickens
You may not have realized it, but there is a vibrant debate concerning youth ministry. On the one end, some people believe there is a greater need for youth ministry to stop the growing secularization of our kids. On the other side of the debate, there are families abandoning the youth ministry seeing it as intrusive and problematic.
Acknowledging that there can be some benefit to having a ministry to a particular group within the church (Acts 6:1, Titus 2:3-4), the challenge to us is to consider the role of youth ministry in our churches.
From my perspective, there is a need for youth ministry to: