■ Ctutoriate ■
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We Need Sex Education IHj
Predicting the future of human sexuality
is frought with risks, suggests Robert
Staples, a Ph.D. sociologist. He adds that
sexual patterns have moved in cycles of
liberal and conservative trends in concert
with changes in society. The so-called
permissive era of the 1960s and 1970s has
apparently been replaced by a more con
servative atmosphere in the 1980b. Dr.
Staples’ conclusions are supported by na
tional surveys. . r \
One survey has found that by 1982 the
increasing number of teenage women
having premarital sexual intercourse that
was evident in the 1970s has declined.
Among white women such behavior
“leveled off, while it declined among
blacks.” Another national survey report
ed an increase since 1981 in the number'd
people who believe extra-marital sex is
wrong. The survey also found other evi
dence of changing attitudes toward sex: l)
the number of Americans who support sex
education in the public schools has de
dined, and 2) the number of Americans who
oppose pornography has increased because *
of a belief that it leads to a breakdown in
morals. Finally, at Miami University
(Ohio), sociologists found that the per
centage of female students there who claim
they ate virgins has increased over the last
six years after decreasing significantly
from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s.
V Tragically and unfortunately, these evi
dences of a shift to a less sexually per
missive historic period appear to be in
fluenced more by social forces in our
society than by our values of what is
morally and spiritually right. For example,
sexually transmitted diseases such as the
incurable herpes and the fatal AIDS are
believed to have combined with a renewed
popularity of marriage to shift toward the
more conservative trend in sexual be
havior. While this sexual trend has not
happened for all the right reasons, those of
us who strive to have some sense of moral
values and standards about sexual con
duct can, nevertheless, be for the current
direction of sexual attitudes.
sexual Attitudes ~
,L,ukM^ fk ilP of'-j » ,
ineory on sexual bttituci6S And socidl forces,
_-i mAitaltfit tii >. ,
lived with a rotum mftr. liharnl ,
uvcu wiui a return vo more ilOttal QT
sexually permissive behavior. Our assump
turbing facts that are and will reverse the
* •MvuiOll uua aviuil "1 lllul X lOgvS 111 Ulv
w sfiiajF "tO •jroai o.
—In the DASt three decades tPAnnaAra
have accepted thektea tfp^ari^X m
some even experimenting with communal
living, “open marriages,” and other such
arrangements.
What we have attempted to point out here
is a bird’s eye view of sexual morality in
America and the forces that have and are
affecting sexual attitudes and behavior.
This has been done with a particular
concern for the current conflict over sex
education in our local public schools. How
ever, preceding any objective discussion of
this highly emotional issue, we must realize
that only part of the problem of defining
sexual standards and moral values lies with
young people and premarital sex.
MowSy Standards
In his book “Forecast 2000,” George
Gallup Jr. put the central point in per
spective with these words:
“Our common concern expressed about
the rise in divorces and decline in stabi
lity of the family is that the family unit has
traditionally been a key factor in trans
mitting stable cultural and moral values
from generation to generation. Various
studies have shown that educational and
' religious institutions often can have only a
limited impact on children without strong
family support.”
Therefore, as the debate and controversy
about the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School
System’s sex education curriculum con
tinues, we need to remind ourselves first of
superintendent Jay Robinson's statement
issued on August 5 in which he said in the
teaching of all subjects we relay “to
students the importance of the values that
make up our cultural heritage and the
quality of life in our community.”
t Secondly, we need to reassess our roles as
parents and ask ourselves are we providing
our children the support, understanding and
knowledge about values and morality
standards that should prepare them to cope
with the issues of lying, cheating, sex
education, and dating in an objective and
positive way that will allow the retaining of
self-pride and self-respect with dignity.
Unfortunately, too many of us as parents
lgck the knowledge and com
munication skills tb discuss and educate our
“*ly, many parents/are fearful of the
lotte-Mecklenburg School’s sex educa
curriculum because it may require
them to comment or clarify issues for their
children on an issue thpt they have never
discussed with them before. Thus,, it may be
time for many of us as parents toa waken to
our responsibility to aid and support the
school’s educational program by becoming
prepared to join with our children in the
learning process.
This is important, too, because it is at first
the responsibility to introduce the child to
the iubject of sex education and all its
implications before he or she even enters
the first grade consistent with the child or
children’s levels of emotional stability and
maturity.
i Blacks’ Desfey In Own Hands
I blamho the police _
: 'V POP 7RE EJrTPEATNBPTpP
V. BLACK JM0LES DOESN'T
^ sroPnoimoAKtum.
m OLD he N AND WHCH.STTTIH6
V AROUND DOING NOTHING WONT
MxJMtfTHM'
I roblems Of J_Fferent Pay Scales?
a aouar s worth of work
deserves a dollar’s worth of
pay - the basis of com
parable pay. If all were fair
and equal in the United
States, the statement would
be true; unfortunately, it is
not. In 1965, separate pay
structures for female and
male employees exist.
There are some Adds -
teaching and nursing are a
couple - that are still viewed
as women’s work. The
women in these jobs earn
less than their male counter
parts. Yes, it is legal and
most unfair.
In a 1963 case involving
Washington State
employees, the Federal
Judge handling the case
rule<^at^m^^^^^om^L
wages. However, a -few
weeks ago, the ruling was
overturned becauxethe
Appeals Court expressed the
idea that the state does not
have to compensate women
for an injustice it - the State
- did not create. ^ .>
Traditionally speaking,
men have been viewed as the
head of the household. That
was great about a century
ago. Within the last 20 years
more women have taken the
position as breadwinner in
the home due to a number of
reasons, but primarily
because women are now
more career vnernea, mgniy
educated and find
themselves being single
parents more often than not.
In 1984, there were double the
number of female heads of
households than the fifteen
years prior. Women now
know how and do bring home
the bacon and fry it, too. A
claim few men can make.
Some progress is being
made to correct the problem
of different pay scales for
men and women. It would be
a mistake to create a super
pay board that would state
how ' much ' * every
employer would pay each
and every employee ~
George Orwell's ISM this is
not. Aside from that, who
wants that kind of bureau
cracy? ; vpT .;
Washington State has a
plan to raise the pay of>
THE CHARLOTTE POST
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Weakly fa ?
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Published Every
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the Charlotte Pant
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Main Office:
1531 S. Camden Road
Charlotte, N.C. M203
Second Class Poatage
Paid at Charlotte
Mifler Sayit
»y Sherman N. Miller/ :
Special To The Poet
.Can long-term business re
. jptionships displace altruism
as the underpinning motiva
tion for funding local pro
grams?
In late August, I ran across
a salt and pepper team who
claimed that they were
helping to underwrite pro
grams that did not receive
funding from traditional
sources. These chaps were
attending a summer basket
ball league championship
game. I asked them how they
decided whom to fund. The
white cKap gushed forth,
£ "Leonard decides where it
gow^^ j V
Initially I saw no connec
tion between Richard' M.
Kleger, secretary-treasurer
of Diamond State Salvage
Company, and Leonard C.
Goode, director of com'*
munity relations for Pepsi
Cola Bottling Company of'
Wilmington; De. They quick
ly assuaged my curiosity by
revealing that their relation
ship is centered around the
potential adverse impact,
that (tepoatts on aluminum
cans might have on their
respective businesses.
Kleger declared, “Re
cycling can keep prices
down ” ™
uooae echoed this same
sentiment, that by “not
charging for cans up front...
prices of soda can be kept
It became vividly clear
that both of these gentlemen
had a need for the young
chape playing basketball.
Pepsi md not wish to erode
'^their sales volume by rais
ing prices, and Diamond
State Salvage needed scrap.
Kleger went on to say that
if “people would not bring us
material we would not be in
business.” /.
Kleger, leaving no doubt
about bis company’s position
on deposits on canned be
verages, uttered, “We would
like to show there is value in
aluminum without a depo
sit.”
Nonetheless, Kleger damp
ened his comments by telling
me a story of a young chap
who collected three bap of
cans only to learn that most
of them were worthless.
Wpgar says there is no
market for steel cans. He
says that although he could
not compensate the young
fellow, he did give him a
jersey because of his efforts.
Kleger expanded on the
risk of trading aluminum
cans calling attention to the
fact that aluminum prices
are dictated by world mar
ket conditions particularly
since the market if de
pressed.
However, Kleger ex
pressed some strong altruis
tic feelings. He said, “A
- business has a certain
amount of responsibility to
the community.”
Goode corroborated
Kleger’s expression: “Funds
from recycling go back into
the Community.” He sees
Recycled dollars reaching or- *•
ganizations that may not
qualify for the United Way
funding. Goode eontends
they have helped senior citi
zens’ efforti, La tin-Ameri
can community programs,
day care, and so on.
These two businessmen’s
motivation can be high
lighted in four key pointy
1. Recycled materials help
to keep prices down and sales
volumes up; 2. Businesses
have a responsibility to tfa0
community; 3. Business re
lationship between com
munity groups and corpora
tions offer the potential of
long-term funding commit
ments; and 4. Volunteer
collection of valuable re
cyclable materials will
help to control America’s lit
ter problem . , ,
As I pondered the four
points above, I was re
minded of being in a store
when a late mfcMM-aged
chap came In and started
searching the trash cans for
aluminum cans. This man
told the store owner that his
store was in his territory.
When I drove away from this
store I saw no aluminum
cans anywhere along the
road leading tip to it. This
middle-aged chap’s actions
hint at the need for price
supports for recyclable ma
terials with high Utter po
tential. That is, the price of
aluminum cans might be
maintained at a price level
sufficient to insure that it
makes economic sense for
individuals or groups to col
lect them. Hopefully, these
price supports may become a
very cost effective way to
make a major dent in Ameri
ca’s terrible litter pro
blem.
female employees without a
court order. Minnesota is
giving its clerk typists an
to level the inequali
Mexico, Idaho and
are raising salaries
On the other
comparable pay,
it is supjpuBod to help, lltidie
are also the samepeople who
ignore the injustice oft *
society that pays a women 68
cents for,every dollar a man
earns. i .
discrimination.11 The answer
comparable worth.
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were
, impfemeBrtatio^T*
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sound basis for
Jobs and taking tb
corrective action
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