Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Russian literature is best sex education for young people, says ombudsman
Guardian (UK) ^ | Thursday 19 September 2013 08.12 EDT | Shaun Walker in Moscow

Posted on 09/19/2013 8:24:24 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin

Russia's children's ombudsman, Pavel Astakhov, has opposed the introduction of sex education to schools and says young Russians can learn everything they need to know about love and sex from Russian literature.

"I am against any kind of sex education among children," said Astakhov in a television interview. "It is unacceptable to allow things that could corrupt children."

Russia has no sex education in schools, owing to the influence of the Russian Orthodox church and conservative social forces.

Astakhov, a powerful official who reports directly to the president, Vladimir Putin, wants legislation to ensure sex education does not sneak on to the curriculum. Instead, he suggests reading the classics.

"The best sex education that exists is Russian literature," said Astakhov. "In fact, literature in general. Everything is there, about love and about relationships between sexes. Schools should raise children chastely and with an understanding of family values."

Over the summer, parliament passed a law to ensure children are not subjected to "gay propaganda", which is defined as any information suggesting homosexuality is normal.

Rights groups called on the government to allow children to be educated about sex and sexuality.

"All our surveys show that 90% of Russians are sexually experienced by the age of 17, and the government wants to deny them the right to be properly informed about their choices," said Tanya Evlampieva, of the Russian campaign group Focus-Media.

"Sex education isn't just about the act of sex," she said.

"Children should be able to discuss things like how to choose the right partner, and how to say no. By denying young people access to accurate information, we put them at increased risk of unplanned pregnancies and contracting HIV."

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 09/19/2013 8:24:24 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: DeaconBenjamin

Trajectory.

Theirs is up.

Ours is down.


2 posted on 09/19/2013 8:35:43 PM PDT by null and void (I'm betting on an Obama Trifecta: A Nobel Peace Prize, an Impeachment, AND a War Crimes Trial...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DeaconBenjamin

Do we need to be taught how to sweat too?


3 posted on 09/19/2013 8:42:34 PM PDT by Viennacon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DeaconBenjamin

Pavel Astakhov sounds like a good guy. Why couldn’t AMERICAN leaders speak up like him, 40 years ago? What were they afraid of? Who was paying them off???


4 posted on 09/19/2013 8:42:50 PM PDT by Frank_2001
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DeaconBenjamin
I've read a lot of Russian literature, and I couldn't disagree more.

Any parent who teaches their kid about sex by making them read Anna Karenina should have DCF called on them.

It's a great novel, but trust me, you don't want it as a sex ed tool.

5 posted on 09/19/2013 9:14:51 PM PDT by Alter Kaker (Gravitation is a theory, not a fact. It should be approached with an open mind...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: null and void

I agree this world is getting weird and weird


6 posted on 09/19/2013 9:33:04 PM PDT by Patriot Babe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Alter Kaker

One word, ‘Nabakov.”


7 posted on 09/19/2013 9:34:34 PM PDT by dfwgator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: DeaconBenjamin

Everything you need to know about everything is in “The Brothers Karamazov.” After reading it, all other novels seem like nothing.


8 posted on 09/19/2013 9:36:57 PM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas (Isaiah 22:22, Matthew 16:19, Revelation 3:7)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator
One word, ‘Nabakov.”

Nabokov gets a pass for two reasons.

1. The Bolsheviks exiled him from Russia and he lived most of his life abroad.

2. He wrote mainly in English, not Russian.

9 posted on 09/19/2013 9:41:28 PM PDT by Alter Kaker (Gravitation is a theory, not a fact. It should be approached with an open mind...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Patriot Babe

It’s the swing
It’s the swing like a pendulum
It marks the moments as the years go by on an innocent face
The swing, into never never land

There was a darkness like an old friend
That scratched and crawled up the wall
Into my life
Into my destiny
Into my desire

It’s the swing
It’s the swing like a pendulum
So look behind you when the race has run
And the winner is made

The swing into never never land
There was a darkness like an old friend
That scratched and crawled up the wall
Into my life

Well it’s the swing
The swing like a pendulum
Between the kisses and between the lines
There is nothing to hide

The swing into never never land
There was a darkness like an old friend
That scratched and crawled up the wall
Into my life
Into my destiny
Into my desire

Yeah, the swing
It’s the swing like a pendulum

It’s the swing
It’s the swing like a pendulum

It’s the swing


10 posted on 09/19/2013 9:51:33 PM PDT by null and void (I'm betting on an Obama Trifecta: A Nobel Peace Prize, an Impeachment, AND a War Crimes Trial...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Alter Kaker
Any parent who teaches their kid about sex by making them read Anna Karenina should have DCF called on them.

I thought the same thing, but I don't know ... adultery didn't work out very well for poor Anna, nor even for her brother. But fidelity worked just fine for Levin. Salutary examples, all around.

11 posted on 09/19/2013 9:56:58 PM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham (I'll retire to Bedlam.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: St_Thomas_Aquinas
Everything you need to know about everything is in “The Brothers Karamazov.” After reading it, all other novels seem like nothing.

My favorite non-Dickensian novel. Lots of wholesomeness in David Copperfield, though the author himself was a naughty one.

12 posted on 09/19/2013 9:58:34 PM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham (I'll retire to Bedlam.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: DeaconBenjamin; All

Anton Chekov’s “The Cherry Orchard” must have a different meaning....

At least the Russians are seeing the error of many leftist ways. Their embracing of conservative values must be from experiencing the failure of Communist mores and values

Of course, a lot of the Liberal Free Trader Communist Globalists hate what Putin and Russia are trying to do.


13 posted on 09/20/2013 4:37:01 AM PDT by SeminoleCounty (Anti-Birthers = Obama Supporters)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mr Ramsbotham
adultery didn't work out very well for poor Anna, nor even for her brother.

Anna is a great introduction to that mysterious species the irrational female. As somebody once wrote by the end of the book she became so annoying that you wanted to help her jump under the train.

14 posted on 09/20/2013 6:00:06 AM PDT by Timocrat (Ingnorantia non excusat)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson