I Can't Believe This Book Is Required Reading in a Public School
A New Hampshire dad was kicked out of a school board meeting early this week for questioning a book that was required reading for his 9th grade daughter. You can read the details here.
The content that concerned him was a graphic sex scene between two teenagers in Jodi Picoult's book "Nineteen Minutes." The content in question was so explicit that local newspapers have refused to print it. According to The Conservative Treehouse...
"National Television media refuse to quote the passages from the book for fear of FCC violations for graphic sexual content.
National print media refuse to publish the pages due to graphic sexual content.
But a High School can present the book to a 14-year-old student, and require them to read it for the lesson plan, and not inform the student’s parent(s)."
I read the content that this dad was concerned about, and quite frankly, I was shocked at what was in there. You can either trust me that it was unbelievable graphic, or you can read the book's content here.
This is happening in America, and parents need to be aware of it. I try not to be too political at INFO for Families, so my reason for posting this here is not to create a storm of controversy. There are better websites you can find for that type of commentary.
(In the last few days, the school board has changed it's policy and will now inform parents about things like this, but I wonder if they would have done so had this one dad not spoken out.)
I bring it to your attention here as yet another example of the messages that our kids are getting from the rest of the world. Wise and caring parents cannot afford to neglect having meaningful conversations with their kids about sex.
In this world in which our kids are growing up, parents must be committed to at least a few things:
*Giving an accurate picture of the birds and bees, even if our kids are uncomfortable with it.
*Sharing that God's design for sex is wonderful and beautiful, but that outside of commitment of marriage, it has the power to undermine healthy relationships.
*Protecting our kids from relationships and circumstances that will open them up to significant temptation.
*Training our kids from an early age that they must think and act differently from the rest of the world.
*Preparing our kids to recognize explicit material and to know that it has the power to significantly mess them up.
*Equipping our kids with the tools to make wise choices.
So how are you doing in these areas? Even if your kids are very young, what are you doing to begin to build a framework for how your kids view opposite sex relationships? The stakes are very high for our kids getting these things right. In fact, these issues are the very reason that I wrote The Talks. Our world's view of sexuality is moving further and further from God's design. We will witness long term relational fallout on an epic scale in our kids' generation if we as parents remain disengaged.
It's time for us to act. Our kids are counting on us.
*We invite you to check out my new book: The Talk(s): A Parent's Guide to Critical Conversations About Sex, Dating, and Other Unmentionables. It has been developed to assist parents as they help their kids navigate our hyper-sexualized culture. Whether your kids are 6 or 16, it provides practical help to help your kids to make wise choices in a messed-up world. It is on sale today at Amazon for $11.99.
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