The downside of having no formal education on these topics is that all of what human beings learn about sex, relationships, and the ethics of intimacy is going to come from oral lore: from their peers, parents, and (sometimes) religious advisors. The problem with this is that the quality of the information is unreliable. These groups should all have input, but many parents are dangerously ignorant about sex and relationships; peers almost always are; and religions are wildly variable in their emphasis on the health of the individual.
These topics are all studied, and studied well. But most people don't know that. Giving young people access to good information about sex and relationships in real life can only help by giving everyone a common foundation. Peers, parents, and religions can then serve as adjuncts, examples, and interpretive guides. They needn't be the only sources.
Hmm... personally, most of the sex-education ive recieved has been completely useless to me. The only sex ed. class in which i kind of learned something was in 5th grade in elementry school, and back then, that was the last thing i cared about. After that, all the highschool sex ed was just repeating stuff i already knew from convorsations. Maybe i just have more common sense than other people my age, and dont fool around like everyone else. (im a good kid... i dont WANT to be but i am)
And yes. Sometimes, when my kids pray to themselves, either the teacher interrupts them with something or the kids tease them.
now, personally i dont care about prayer. at my school we have a moment of silence after the pledge, but i have never seen anyone pray (maybe there are those who pray at my school but i dont see it). Anyways, while it does not concern me whether people pray or not, it does kinda make me mad knowing that a teacher would interrupt a student during his/her time of prayer. I understand the significance of prayer to some people, and that should be respected. Teasing because of praying is even worse. Those who tease are most likely Christian as well, and they should be even MORE respectful to those who choose to pray. There is a difference between not believing in another's lifestyle and bullying them about it.
This also applies to gays. I cant say i
believe in their lifestyle, but i dont abhor it, i pretty much just dont care. If yer gay, yer gay, i dont need to know, and if i do know, live and let live. This is really the only thing i have against certain religious groups. I dont like the people who say that being gay, athiest, whatever, is wrong. Its not wrong, its a state of being, and everyone has the right to their own life. being gay is NOT a choice, it has been scientifically, psychologically, and common sense-ly proven so. (and if ya thing being gay is terrible, food for thought: most everyone in ancient Greece and Rome slept with young boys... now sleepin with young boys is gross, im sure all of us agree on that, but hey, look at what theyve accomplished) being an athiest or whatever is a choice. no one HAS to believe in a higher power. no one HAS to believe in anything. personally, I've given up religion, yet i still believe in God. (i believe the actual correct term for that is infidel... doesnt sound too great of a name... damn you Islamic extremists!) I just figure that i dont need a religion to govern how i believe in God, ill do that on my own terms.
And there is a big gap between empathetic and sympathetic. It is one thing to understand someone and what they believe. its another thing to care or support that belief. I can empathize with someone who killed his wife because she cheated on him, but i'd be damned if i sympathize with him.