The author replied. Same link as my previous post. This is mine, prolly the last one not much point arguing once I have stated all my points.
Maam / Sir
Firstly, the programs were conducted in Secondary School. Which mean that the target group of students are in the 13 to around 18 years old. The statistics show that that the average age for teenage pregnancies and STD's are falling in this group. The quantum incidence is rising each year while the age group is falling each year. I will substantiate my claims with the following facts.
"Associate Professor P C Wong, chief of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at the National University Hospital, said: "The statistics speak for themselves. Every year, as I said, 1,300 to 1,500 teenage abortions occur. The numbers have not dropped. And STDs (sexually-transmitted diseases) have gone up, more than double. So we have to sit up and pay attention to the statistics."
"And in 2005, 678 teens aged between 10 and 19 years sought help for sexually-transmitted diseases, compared to 256 in 2001."
There are actually more facts and figures but a quick search on google will prove the point i am making, which is that this target group of people NEED guidance. Even if you believe your daughters don't need them, their classmates, their schoolmates maybe their CCA group mates might. (I might add that these selfsame schoolmates play an important role in the devepment of your child morally or otherwise.)
These statistics show that simply preaching “Singapore home values”, IS NOT WORKING. Going up to a kid and saying. “Don’t do this, Don’t do that” is not working anymore!. Kids respond to this kind of approach by simply “tuning out” or “zoning out”. Its sorta like Civics and Moral Education back when i was in secondary school. Majority simply wrote what the teacher wanted to hear and none of it actually sunk in.
AWARE and MOE are trying to reach this target group by accepting them for who they are, specifically people who deviate from social norms, and give them facts and figures and scientific advice on how to modify their behaviour to their own good. If you have a foolproof method of picking them out from a general secondary school population then please contact MOE and let them know, because the only way they can safely cover this target group is to make it the average and provide the information for all. For parents like yourself, there is a exclusion form yes?
Instead of simply telling MOE to take away the program, maybe you can come up with an alternative how you can adress the problem as delineated in the figures? Figure out how to give a kid advice without rejecting who they are first (ie; homosexuals, kids who practise anal sex, kids who practise premaritial sex, kids with STD’s, kids who have unprotected sex). You must understand that when you reject this kids actions and give them the impression that they are ALREADY committing sin.. they are NOT going to open up to you and NOT going to listen to good advice.
The whole excercise of naming stuff as “Neutral” is not to promote the act or behaviour but to prevent kids who are ALREADY involved in those act (refer to statistics) to NOT zone out and actually listen to good advice. Not as you put it “MOE capturing young, immature minds and filling them with subversive rot.”
You are assuming, wrongly, that all kids in the public school system are as fine examples of teenage girls as your daughters. Sadly that is not the case. Many social factors for example, poverty, lack of parental guidance or where bread and butter issues at home take precedence over moral development contribute to this. This program attempts to coax this group of people out of hiding and actually give a listening year to some good advice.
I am making an assuption here.. but kindly consider it. Assuming that all girls are split into 2 groups. One where they are like your daughters, the other where they participate privately in socially deviant behaviour. When MOE and AWARE place their stance as “Neutral” they are in fact trusting parents like you (refer to your opening sentence ”Together with the home, our schools have to work carefully and painstakingly to shape the morals of our children”) to tell your kids “School says its neutral, but here under my house and in our culture its not”, and being the fine examples they are, these group of children will listen. On the flipside, now the entire deviant group is now open to discussion and advice rather then simply zoning out!
In essence they are now able to to address the problem as shown in the statistics above!
@your second comment.
I agree that anal sex being healthy is quite contentious. I was simply replying to Anony commenter @ May 1, 2009 5:40 PM that it is not illegal. Once again the point of this exercise is not to promote or okay homosexuality and its acts. Rather to not exclude kids who already participate in these acts and to give them sound facts and advice. The point is not saying homosexuality is okay.. but the point is to adress this group of homosexuals and advice them.
I also disagree that AWARE old guard is “a rabid feminist organisation pushing a homosexual agenda”. The EOGM will settle this matter of contention.
Respectfully
R Selvaraja
Age: 25
Current Undergrad at SIM
Operations Manager @ an Established Security Firm
Well Wisher =)
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