h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040303/ap_on_re_us/cookie_boycott_1

A few points:

The Girl Scouts, for many years now, have had badges on topics like HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy, coping with puberty; there is even now a new on dating violence.

In order to do *any* of these activities, or even the badges that deal with substance abuse prevention, we're required to get signed permission slips from each of the parents. And the permission slips have to clearly state what topics will be covered, where the material is coming from, and to make sure parents know that their daughters certainly aren't required to attend. Oh, and parents are allowed to see the materials in advance if they want.

Personally, I think that:

a) these topics are really important. While many of them are now covered in school, girls often don't feel comfortable asking questions in that kind of setting.

b) we really go as far as humanly possible to make sure that girls are only receiving this kind of programming if their parents are okay with it.

Planned Parenthood has done an amazing job of making resources available to Girl Scout programs. They have classes there at their clinics for youth, and they are willing to send someone out to your troop meeting. If they send someone out, you can talk with the teacher in advance about what material will be covered and tailor it to the needs of your group if need be. The resources thay have far outstrip what I could have ever put together as a leader on my own - one time they actually brought out what was essentially a medical dummy, so that girls could see exactly what their first pelvic exam would involve. Another time they brought out a bunch of breast models so that the girls could all learn how to do breast self-exams.

As far as I can tell, the main thing the protesters seemed to be upset about wasn't the content of the programming (which in reality, doesn't include info on abortions or homosexuality unless requested - in fact, where I was, we didn't even get into on birth control unless requested) -- they were upset that the organization they preferred to paint as "all bad" was being recognized for doing something positive in their community.

Grrrrrr.......

You're right, this is ridiculous.

"You're telling these girls to raise their fingers up to pledge to honor God and country, and yet you're handing out materials saying homosexuality is OK," said Brownie leader Donna Coody, who disbanded her five-member troop.

It bothers me that different sex choices, such as homosexuality, are considered sinful by these people.

Essentially, these extremists are equating sex with sin. The woman who got embarrassed looking at the materials with her husband - has she never seen a man naked?

I've observed that anti-abortionists would prefer that children know nothing of the human reproductive process. I guess they expect them to learn everything on their wedding night - just like their parents did. You know, of course, that Planned Parenthood has had to make do with reduced funding this year, because the government withdrew funds for all family planning clinics that provide abortions.

Gosh! that's just extreme.. I'm involved in an organisation that provides sex education in schools. (Which is something I really love doing..) and I dread to think what this lot would make of our some of the things we've taught about. Not only do we cover contraception we also answer the teenagers questions on sex - and this usually includes masturbation, homosexuality, and they are curious about abortion, they often ask how it's performed. That said they're 13-15 here not younger..

Often the children we teach have all seen hard core pornography on the internet, we were asked questions about practices that the accopanying teacher wasn't aware of. They were aware of sexual practices that I wasn't aware of at that age becuase they have the internet. Kids today grow up in a completely different climate to children just 10 years ago. So it's going to be difficult for these parents to sheild their children from the knowledge that homosexuality exists.. they're going to find out anyway..

Mikey, Hi. Serious subject, this.

I think its admirable that the Girl Scouts do so much to ensure the approval of the members parents. Parental rights over their children may be abused in a minority of cases, but overall the historical value of parental rights has been so often the most powerful and positive guiding force in a child's life.

On the other hand, of course, are parents who would sell their own children into prostitution, or purposefully expose them to other harm; but those aren't the types apparently being discussed here.

Planned Parenthood is not an organization with which I am overly familiar, but they have been accused of having political agendas, as well as social agendas. Personally, I've never seen so much as a leaflet from the organization, so I'm not about to prejudge them. Still I wonder what segment of society you've seen that considers them 'all bad'?

They are, I believe, a valuable resource; unless and until they step in without the review of a parent who (should) truly keeps the best interests of the child paramount.

Teachers, too, have been known to take it on themselves to decide, for whole classrooms of kids, what the children should be taught (outside of their class subject matter), without the intimate parental knowledge of each child's maturity level or psychological makeup.

Again, sometimes the parents are the poorest equipped to decide, but society still upholds their right to decide. WIthout that, we would all be subject to state-run morality.

Lentilla is right that organisations like the Brownies and Girl Scouts should have no place in the Hygiene and sexual identities of these children (the same goes for boy's organizations). I think though, that it bothers me more that they are saying anything on the subjects at all, rather than what they are saying.

This is another area where the parents must be trusted (until proven untrustworthy) to teach and guide their children, according to their customs and beliefs. Most customs and beliefs are neither 'right', 'wrong', 'good', or 'bad'. They are just manifestations of a group identity.

If one defines sin in the Christian context, it would automatically imply a violation of any of the ten commandments. Since one of those is anti-adultery, it seems to me that this is the only basis for calling any type of sex a 'sin'. The bigger problem is the number of people who want to define things as 'right' or 'wrong'. Sind is comparitively easy. Of course for agnostics and aethiests, sin does not exist.

If Puritans find the human body sinful, to them it is; it's just not based on the commandments. The same goes for homosexuality, beastiality, paying taxes, picking noses, etc. Freedom of religion will not likely go away (thank God), but it is a shame what some religions have remained to decree is 'sinful', especially when so many serious violations of human rights and dignity run rampant in the churches themselves.

On the subject of abortions, I happen to be one of those whose mind just spins when I try to think of what is good and/or bad about the subject. I feel deeply for the young women who have difficult choices to make, those that may be able to help them with their decision, and of course, for the babies born or unborn. I'm very glad that I'm not one of those who have to try to write the laws. The same goes for capital punishment issues.

I go a bit crazy when the court cannot step in to get medical treatment for a child, because the parents refuse the treatment on religious grounds. If you have a question about the safety of the procedure, that is something different; but to insist that the child be un-treated, invoking God, that's just sick.

I guess what really upsets me though is intolerance; even if it is excessive intolerance towards the intolerant. I know that we cannot always trust parents to do the best-right thing, or even have the capacity to know what that might be; but I still would insist on leaving it in their hands until they are proven to be an actually hazard to the child.

I came too late to see the article (I just dropped in to see if Mikey was here, and she seems to be posting still), it had expired.

In what way is the fact that the Brownies or Girl Scouts choose to voluntarily offer these programs a direct statement of mistrust in parents?

They are a lot better than I at teaching my niece to crochet or tie knots, even though as a kite-flyer I do a good number of knots, and crocheted as a kid. I personally don't feel dissed that crochet and knots are offered at all, and I am delighted that she was able to learn both without me.

I'm here.

Personally, I don't think the programs have anything to do with a mistrust in parents. I think it has to do with *trusting* parents to make the right choice for their child, but at the same time helping to make sure that different options are out there for the parents to choose from.

I think they have to do with the growing recognition by all the stakeholders (parents, community leaders, physicians, public health folks, the youth themselves) that we, as a society, are not doing a good enough job at guiding youth in their transitions to being sexual adults.

Assuming that parents will teach such things hasn't worked -- many parents feel too uncomfortable to discuss things, other families already have too stressful of a relationship to allow for much discussion, others feel that they just don't have the resources or knowledge that they want shared with their children.

Handing the job over to the schools hasn't been successful either -- schools are simply too big of a group. Few kids feel comfortable asking sensitive questions in that kind of setting, and there's a tremendous amount of censorship on *all* sides of the issues in an attempt to please way too many different groups.

I know of some churches that have developed excellent programs for their youth and their parents, but not all kids have access to such programs, nor do all parents see those programs as appropriate for their kids.

So all the programs with the Girl Scouts do is give families another option for how to share this kind of information. The Girl Scout programs on this that I've led have all involved the parents:

* first we discussed with the parents what the content of the material was going to be
* we had at least one session for parents going on at the same time as one of the sessions for the girls, where parents could ask questions about a) the technical stuff (i.e., all that information that simply wasn't available when they were learning it), and b) communications (what are different ways of talking to their kids about this stuff?)
* one of the last sessions involved the girls working with their parents, to share with them what they had learned