Luke Parrott

The Sex Life of the High School Student

So the cat finally came out of the bag.

Last week I tuned into a radio show that discussed "sexting" and how common it is among students today. This week, I heard about the local high school student newspaper that published an article featuring 5 different profiles of students experiment sexually.

Although it sparked much controversy, I think we can agree that what was presented in that article was commonplace. In fact, it was probably a lot more toned down from what it is really like to walk the halls of a high school today.

The point is that students are struggling to find themselves in a culture that worships sex. How can they navigate the waters of relationships safely if there is a glorification of sexual stimulation everywhere they go? From movies to television to the internet to the locker room, everyone is praising sex!

Why would they not desire it? Why would they not experiment?

We are lost in a sea of sex. We are so steeped in it that we can not understand what it means to really honor a woman, to respect a man, to bring dignity to each other by the way we care for one another. Instead, we rush to meet our own fantasies. We succumb to the demands of the sexual drive. We give up ourselves until there is nothing left of us. Nothing of value. And this becomes our so called Life.

I think that people were made for something better than this. That the sexual attraction of a man and a woman is more powerful than mere pleasure. That there is a greater and deeper intimacy that can be found between the two. In a way that meets the desires of each other but also does not use and abuse the one for the other. It's not about giving and taking. Not about giving it up or putting out.

We are a far cry from the way we were designed to function. The sex life of a high school student shows us where we have come. Too many people are afraid to openly admit that this is where we are. We must stop living in denial of this stark reality.

Teaching Students How to Use Social Networking Tools Positively

Tonight we are talking with our Middle School students about something that is TOO CLOSE to home.  Text Messaging, Social Network sites, and how they use these devices in their social sphere. 

I stumbled upon An Interactive Website,  that really challenged me with how many problems and abuses are taking place in this arena.  I showed a few of the videos to my 8th grade boys last week and their response was dead silence.  You know what that means...I hit them too close to home. 

All of a sudden I had entered into their secret world of problems.  So we began to talk about what you do when someone texts you NON-STOP.  Or why it is a bad idea to solve problems or ask girls on dates through a text message.  Or what to do when your buddy is asking his girlfriend to send him a picture of her with no clothes on.  (if you're shocked by that last statement, you shouldn't be.  It happens all the time.)

As social networking becomes necessary and normative in our culture, we need to help kids process how they use it.  When I was young and had a crush on a girl, I had only 2 options if I wanted to talk to her.  (1) I could approach her at school or (2) I could call her at home and probably get her parents first before I could talk to her directly.

Boys today have the following options: 

1.  Talk to her directly

2.  Call her on her cell phone

3.  Text her

4.  Send her a text pic

5.  Instant Message

6.  Write on her wall

7.  E-mail her

and the list goes on and on and on.

If we are going to walk with students where they are, then we must engage them in conversation with how they use these social tools to communicate.