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Montgomery Blair High School's Online Student Newspaper
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Nov. 14, 2002

Newsbrief: Board of Education approves condom use initiative

by Nora Toiv, Page Editor
The Montgomery County Board of Education passed an initiative that allows health teachers to demonstrate the correct use of condoms through a 10-minute in class video.

The initiative was passed on November 12 and was originally introduced by Blair health teacher Susan Soule. Soule first brought the idea forward in September 2000. After the introduction of the initiative, Soule was told to rewrite parts and to provide the board with more information. Finally, after being tabled numerous times, the initiative passed 4-1, according to The Washington Post.

Soule made the condom video and said that the board might use it but that she is not sure. She said that the reason they are starting with a video instead of direct demonstration is that some health teachers were "nervous" about displaying the correct usage of condoms. Soule feels this initiative is just the first step in teaching students more about the correct use of condoms. "This was a good concession," said Soule. The initiative "broke the ice."

According to the Post, students will only be allowed to view the video with parental permission.



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  • anonymous on November 14, 2002
    I think that it is good that the school board finally showed enough courage to allow health teachers to do their job; to inform students on how to be safe(r). The reality is that the sexual behavior of adolescents is not influenced by the content of their health classes. High schoolers are old enough to make up their own minds about whether or not to be sexually active, even if adults to not wish to admit this.
  • josh on November 18, 2002
    that is a great idea you should have think of it long before
  • supporter on November 18, 2002
    i agree with anonymous, this is a good step in emphasizing safe sex among teenagers, and hopefully parents will be willing enough to let their kids see the tape, even if their child is not sexually active, teens are also old enough to know how to protect themselves. good job ms. soule for doing this.
  • Martin on November 18, 2002
    Allowing >>not<< safe items sex or info about them does not solve problems. Won't it increase sex in turn increasing the cosequences. They say condoms work, but that is not the complete truth.
  • anonymous on November 20, 2002
    Well, I say this is a step in the wrong direction. All it dose is encorages kids to have sex. By redcuing the possiable negative of haveing per-martial sex, they are encorgaring it. The truth is that condoms do not provide complet protection or even very high protection I've heard something between 75%-95% success rate. That means at best 5% of the time you are exposed to the bad side of sex. STDS such as AIDS, and pregnecy.
    The only garented way of preventing this is not to have sex. And unlike some people belive no one in the history of huminity has died from lack of sex.
  • Noel Ibrahim (View Email) on November 20, 2002
    People are going to have sex no matter what they're taught in Health class, would you rather them not using condoms?
  • SENIOR on November 20, 2002
    Martin, Condoms work better than nothing at all.
  • supporter on November 21, 2002
    it wont increase sex nor the consequences, teens will have sex whether the schools advocate safe sex or not, and condoms are not a 100% guarantee, but lets face it, if they were that uneffective, wouldnt they NOT sell condoms to people
  • Martin on November 23, 2002
    senior, nothing at all [sex namely] works better than condoms. And...

    CONDOMS ARE NOT SAFE SEX!!!!
  • Dan on November 24, 2002
    Martin, no one is arguing with you on that point. Not having sex IS safer than sex condoms. However, people will have sex regardless of that, and we might as well give them *some* protection, even if it *only* works 90% of the time.
  • alex on May 20, 2003
    is not safe to have sex in a young age, because you never now whats going to happened.
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