sample letters to the editor & op-edsBelow you will find a few examples of letters and opinion pieces you can edit and submit to your local newspaper. These are simply sample letters to guide the writing process, and you are encouraged to put your argument in your own words. If you have any questions about submitting a letter or op-ed, click here. Sample letter from a student/teen: I am a high school senior who is concerned about the lack of sex education in our schools. Why would a soon-to-be graduate care? I recently found out that my best friend is three months pregnant and will have to miss her first semester of college to raise her baby. She says she didn't know about her birth control options and I believe her. She lives with her Dad (who has never talked to her about sex) and she definitely didn't get the information from Hometown High School. Our health classes are pathetic. We only spent two days covering sex and mostly talked about waiting to have sex so we don't contract AIDS. We weren't given any information on diseases, birth control or our choices. I am writing to ask our school board to make some changes to our health and sex education programs. I am waiting to have sex, but I know lots of other kids who aren't. I wish that they knew more about what they are getting into. Kate Smith Hometown High School
------------------------------------------
Sample letter from a parent/adult: Who should teach our children about sex? If we leave it up to the media, kids will get the message pretty that it is OK to be sexually active. If we leave it up to parents, there will continue to be a disproportionate amount of kids who get incomplete information or none at all. And if we leave it up to special interest groups, kids will only be hearing one side of the story, oftentimes with a very particular agenda or message. We need to teach our young people complete, medically accurate and unbiased information about all subjects surrounding sexuality. From self-esteem and peer pressure to birth control options, STDs and AIDS – education belongs in the classroom, imparted by trained, qualified teachers who have all the facts on all the issues. It is our responsibility to ensure that the next generation is informed. There's no reason to run and hide from very real issues that affect the health and safety of our kids. Yes, they should wait to have sex, but they should also receive as much information about the subject as they can in order to make responsible decisions about themselves and their futures. Gladys Jones Hometown, IL
------------------------------------------
Sample Op-Ed:
ABSTINENCE-ONLY MESSAGE PUTS YOUTH HEALTH AT RISK There has been much recent coverage about whether or not Illinois schools should be teaching comprehensive sex education. If you saw what I see everyday in my practice, you wouldn't think twice about supporting this issue. We can, and should, promote abstinence and talk to our youth about the consequences of early sexual activity. But we can't ignore the facts. Illinois already has one of highest teen birth rates in America. Almost 60% of high school students say they engage in sexual activity before they graduate. More than half of the new cases of HIV infections are occurring in people under 25, and by this age, one in three young people has already had a sexually transmitted disease. These very alarming facts are not being addressed in abstinence-only curricula, which is often the only curricula being taught in some schools. Young people need medically accurate information in order to protect themselves from unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Abstinence-based (not abstinence only) comprehensive sex education provides it. When we understand that more than 34% of teachers do not talk about birth control or sexually transmitted diseases in sex education classes, we have to ask why. The truth is that most teachers teach whatever curriculum is given to them, and in this case many are teaching abstinence-only materials being given free to them by groups with a special interest in promoting that message. By supporting public funding through grants to schools that will teach a more comprehensive message, we can be assured that our youth will be well informed when it comes time to make the kinds of decisions that will directly effect their health and well being. Comprehensive sex education is not only education about sex – its education about abstinence, life matters, health and mental issues surrounding body image, peer pressure and more. Part of the requirement of grant recipients will be to encourage young people to practice healthy life skills including goal setting, decision making, negotiation and communication, and stress management. Development of these skills has been shown to promote self-esteem and improve interpersonal and relationship abilities on all fronts – platonic, familial and romantic. Programs will discuss both the male and female responsibility when it comes to sexual decision making, as well as teach youth how to avoid unwanted verbal, physical and sexual advances (and how not to make them). The abstinence-only message also does not prepare young people about what to do if they are sexually assaulted or raped, and this is a violation of the intelligence as well as the body. Comprehensive sexual education should not be considered an "elective subject." Teens deserve to understand the physical, biological and hormonal changes that are occurring within them, especially during the time of adolescence. Many studies over the years have shown that knowledge of sex and sexual matters does not increase the likelihood of participation in them. We encourage and support our youth to make responsible decisions as they enter adulthood, yet we don't arm them with the appropriate level of information they need when the subject is sex. This is simply irresponsible on our part. Dr. Linda Farth Director of Adolescent Health Hometown General Hospital |
 |
|||||
 | |||||
| |||||
|
|
|||||
  |
|||||
  |