School is a Surrogate Parent? NOT

This little tidbit from the UPI:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI)
An overwhelming majority of U.S. parents says a "pro-abstinence messages" is an acceptable, even preferred way to teach family planning to teens.

A new Zogby International survey of 1,004 parents found that 96 percent identified "abstinence" as being best for America's teens. Another 91 percent expressed the view that teens should be taught that it is best for sexual activity to be linked to love, intimacy, and commitment.

"Parents are waking up to the fact that schools aren't teaching their children the values of love, commitment and basic life choices that lead to building a healthy marriage," Wood said.

All these mini-polls ( " One out of three dentists surveyed!") drive me nuts. What exactly does it mean that 1,004 parents surveyed had this or that opinion? Were they all in the same geographical region of the United States, was the poll taken in a church parking lot at 11:30 AM after morning services? No quantifiers given, as usual.

This last quote in regards to parents "waking up to the fact" that Mrs. Smythe's 9th grade sex education class is not teaching core, lifetime values is an earth shattering revelation?

Do today's parents really expect that a secondary education institution would or should be instilling these crucial life skills in their children? I find it ludicrous to believe, but yet, if you talk with our public educators, they will tell you that parents of today and the last few decades have been major slackers in the guidance and role model department.

Having raised four daughters, I am constantly surprised at how well they "turned out" given they had only one strong parent. ( Yes, I was married, but their dad was basically an "absent father' most of the time for various reasons.) At times, I worried I was not doing it "right" in terms of teaching them. Now, I see them as very strong women who are so much like me it is scary. Each an individual, each with her own set of little demons, but all equipped with a healthy sense of self-worth and respect.

And no, I didn't expect Mrs. Smythe's class to give this to them.