OCR Text |
Show HI i ' J II Expresses Her m ' Opinion A bout 1 Sexual Hygiene Hi i f 11 it' i ' fiJf Declaring that no lecture should bo i Bill dollrercd to students which If writ- J lh ten or printed and sent through the ; ', nr walla to the parents of those stud- " HI r nta wouW caUB0 lho arrc8t f tl10 Hi f sender, Miss Graco C. Strachan, as- !H H slstant suporlntcndcnt of schools of 'Now York City, and ono of tho foro- VHrif most educators of Uio country, last iHlll week de,lvcred bcforo tl10 Educntl(m' Hi al CoUDel1 of t,1 NiltlonaI Education- !! ' al Association, a masterful address ' BBI dealing with tho teaching of sox hy- ! gleno in tho public schools , ,fn ' rjl Taking for her subject: Wanted ' MV , f A Twentieth (Jcntury IdcaL Miss ' If Strachan told nor nudlcnco, consist- H ' Ing of more than 2000 men and worn- i en educators representing all parts ' I ! of tho country, that sho believes that - 1 M thwo Is no greater danger threaten- jj 1 i Ing tho modesty and tho sanctity of i' 91 tho homo than tho man or tho worn- : ft I J an who advocates teaching all of tho '4 it t lntlmato facts of human relations to ill 'J llttlo children. ' lf I Miss Strachan, however, believes i BUS' I tha,t In Bomo cases children should ,11 n I to Individually advised along theso if lines, after tho teacher has carefully B studied tho caso and perhaps consult- I if cd with tho child's parents. Miss 1 iil f Strachan said: "My first strong conviction is, that no superintendent or board of superintendents super-intendents or board of education has any right to add talks or lessons or lectures on tho moro lntlmato pnases of sox hygleno to the curriculum of any public school without tho approval appro-val of tho tax payers supports such school , "My second strong conviction Is that no lecture should bo dollvercd to pupils ,whlch If written or printed nnd sent through tho malls to tho parents of theso pupils would cauao tho arrest of tho sender. "My reasons for theso convictions aro: first, pupils are forced by law to attend theso schools; second, tho schools nro conducted and maintained, maintain-ed, and tho teachers and superintendents superinten-dents paid by Uio tax pnyers. "Another strong conviction of mlno Is that tho dangers or evils resulting from class or group teaching of tills subject aro greater than thoso resulting result-ing from no teaching. Tho following information cam to mo from a teacher In ti mixed high school of ono of our smaller cities. III Effects Marked "Tho pupils of this school woro residents of a most attractive community. com-munity. Lecturers wcro engaged to explain to theso boys nnd girls, ranging from 13 to 02 years of age, all the mystorlcs of human relations as affecting human lifo. As I understand under-stand It, a man was engaged for the boyB and .a woman for tho girls. Here wero girls and boys drawn from thoughts and talks on tholr games tho latest cut in gowns, tho week's motion plcturo, how to makefudso, tho baseball score, th elates tknot In tho geometry lesson, tho prettiest girl, the best athiete, to study pictures of and listen to dissertations on organs or-gans of tholr body they never thought of, far less named and discussed. What was UiO result? Curiosity was aroused, morbid and acuto. Their minds began to dwell on things hitherto hith-erto unthought of or banished from their thoughts, tholr conversation bo-gan bo-gan to Include subjects that before they would nover have dreamed of Including. Tho teacher through whom this Information came to mo was convinced that tho lectures on sex hygleno was tho direct cause of theso experiments. "Now, I do not claim that lgnornnco Is synonymous with Innocence, but I do deny that knowledge 13 purity. Some of tho most vicious among both soxes know all that there Is to be knovnn, both as to human relations and the physical dangers often resulting re-sulting thorefrom; yet they uso their knowledge not to tho end of living pure lives themselves or leading others oth-ers to llvo pure lives; but simply to save thomselvcs from certain undesirable unde-sirable results from Impure living. And somo of the purest lives are lived liv-ed byf those who know nothing either of such relations or the mental and physical decay resulting therefrom knowing only that certain things aro viong, and having sufficient will and sufficient loyalty to an Ideal to do tho right and avoid tho wrong. "And let mo say that such will do tho right is our hope, rather than tho fear of contracting tho loathesomo diseases, tho whole history and naturo of which somo would have us spread beforo our children. "What then shall be our twontloth century ideal and how shall we attain It? Our ideal should be a young man and a young woman equally puro in body, mind and soul, each preserving and revering the body' as always the templo of the future race determined tbajt no fault of his or hers shall mar or lessen the usefulness of tho body, mind or soul of tho child who may be born of him. or her. "How attain this ideal? In babyhood and childhood parents, teachers and preachers should teach purity and modesty of thought, word and act without sounding tho depths of all it may mean. Parents should encourage their children to give them their fullest ful-lest confidence. When troubled In special cases, parents should consult a physician. Teachers should watch zealousy and when any child's actions or appearance seems to demand spoc-lal spoc-lal consideration should consult with tho principal and the parents. "Where It is evident that tho parent cnpinot be defended on for the assistance as-sistance needed, tho physician, home or school, or the school nurse may be called on. But this Instruction and advice should always be given ono by one." For Mary Brown may have a very bad depraved mind and bo guilty; of very bad practices, but she will be very careful not to lot all tho other girls a)nd boys in her school know how bad sho is. Sho may by watching and waiting select ono here and there to drag into her net, but let her sit in a room with 30, 60, 200 or 300 others and listen with them to a talk on these hidden subjects, uml the. barriers aro at onco washed away, tho guardians of reserve and modesty are rotted and fools free to dlscus3 and In Instruct In her own dangerous way. I think there Is no greater dEfc-ger dEfc-ger threatening tho modesty and scan-tlty scan-tlty of tho homo than 'tho man or woman who advocates teaching all tho ntlmate facts of human relations to llttlo children, and young boys and girls, Just as they would tensh arithmetic." |