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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Really OP?  Teaching kids about empathy is somehow bad?  Do you think we shouldn't teach them about charity too?  Maybe we shouldn't tell them about suicide or poverty or sexual abuse because it will "give them ideas".

It's amazing to me that somebody could criticize a program that is teaching our children how to be better human beings.  I've got news for you about your anecdotal example of self-harm:  nobody would engage in self-harm unless they were feeling pretty damn awful.  Nobody will keep a child from learning about self-harm unless the kids are locked in a basement with no contact with the outside world.  You cannot protect your children from information and the thought that this information gives them harmful ideas is ludicrous.[/quote]

Your irrationally hostile reaction to this question suggests perhaps that you are in need of some mental health counseling.

Teens are impressionable. The way this stuff is messaged is important. I'm suggesting that perhaps the messaging is off, not that it shouldn't be taught at all. [/quote]

You are stating this as if there is no planning or packing of these messages, that the teachers march into the classroom without any preparation from a team of professionals and they just speak off the cuff.  The message is delivered very thoughtfully and carefully, after much training from professionals.  You can't sugarcoat life.  At a certain age kids need to learn that there are many who struggle and suffer for various reasons, to protect them from that because they might get ideas is not the way to build resiliency in your own child nor to build a community.  And to think that kids don't know about this if they have any access to social media is naive.[/quote]

NP here.  I wouldn't be as sure.  My husband is a teacher, and he was asked to discuss sexual harassment/abuse with his (mostly-female) class of high schoolers after attending a 10-minute meeting on the topic.  He declined because he didn't feel comfortable leading such a sensitive discussion, so another (male) teacher did it.  Don't assume the teachers in all school systems have the prep or training they should when broaching these tough but important subjects.
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