Isn’t this for parents to do?

The Herald reports:

Nearly three-quarters of New Zealanders feel that the Roast Busters case showed high school students needed to be taught about respectful attitudes to sex, not just the mechanics of sexual intercourse.

Sex education and rape prevention came into the spotlight in October amid allegations against Auckland teenagers who boasted on the internet about having sex with drunk and underage girls.

A Herald-DigiPoll survey showed 74.7 per cent of respondents believed high schools should teach more than the physical and medical aspects of sex and also emphasise respect for sexual partners.

I’m not sure that is a role for high schools. While I think sex education should be more than purely physical and medical, I think attitudes of respect have to come from parents. If they don’t get the right values from their family, then schools won’t be able to do much.

Conservative Party leader Colin Craig said parents should be responsible for teaching kids about sexuality, but there needed to be an institutional backup if parents failed.

That’s a pretty sound view.