January 27, 2007 11:35 AM
Teaching kids to think for themselves: bringing abstinence education to Loudoun County and a school near you as well
Last fall I wrote about an award-winning former middle school teacher who'd been invited to speak on abstinence at Loudoun County High School. A local parent had decided that since Keith Deltano was a Christian he shouldn't be allowed to speak - discrimination against Christianity now being the only permissable abridgement of religious freedom in the United States. In anticipation of the assembly, which the principal and rightly determined should not be blocked, the ACLU sent a list of guidelines and were present along with other leftist advocacy groups and the mainstream media to protect the students from any religious references that might have escaped the lips of a man they had already determined must be some kind of religious nut.
I mean, who else would want to help kids question authority - today's authority now being "if it feels good, do it" - and empower them to take control over this aspect of their lives.
I was there because some parents - anticipating the mocking coverage which indeed was printed in the Washington Post, one of the most agenda-driven papers in the nation: The Abstinence Shtick Minus Jesus along with the worst pictures possible from the several hundred I watched the Post photographer shoot - asked me to be there as a witness. I had never met nor heard of Mr. Deltano before, but I found his presentation to be perfect for teenagers, full of information, empowerment and hope. I'm just a columinst every other week in the Loudoun Times-Mirror, but I used my 500 words the best I could: Abstinence: beyond religion, a choice that just makes good sense.
Evidently there was some backlash to the Post article. I don't subscribe to the Post anymore, so I'm not sure exactly what happened.
The good news is that Keith Deltano is coming back to Loudoun County on February 5th. He'll be at Dominion High doing a school wide abstinence show and a parent workshop in the evening.
All I can say is that these students and parents are fortunate indeed to hear Mr. Deltano! And I suppose that any non-Dominion parent wishing to check out the school presentation as a first step in considering it for another high school could contact the principal for permission to attend. I would guess that any parents can sign up for the evening worshop by contacting Mr. Deltano through his website VirginityRocks.
In the face of all the messages our kids get from our society - that free sex is their right and that virgins aren't cool, that a condom is all you need to protect you from disease (not true!) and that if you forget, there's abortion as backup - our kids desperately need this kind of input in order to think for themselves.
I have already called and written the principal of Loudoun Valley to add Mr. Deltano to the list of upcoming speakers. If you're a Valley parent, please let Ms. Ross know you'd like your kids to hear him too.
And if not, check out Virginity Rocks and make plans to get Keith Deltano to your public high school or youth group.
Posted in Loudoun County, Teens and Tweens | Permalink
