Texas?

What is going on in Texas?

I was having a conversation with a co-worker at my school today and we were shaking our heads in wonder about the idea of lawmakers in Texas trying to make missing a scheduled parent-teacher conference a criminal charge and $500 fine. What?!? The last time I checked we lived in a democracy that allowed FREEDOM!! People are allowed to express themselves by covering our nations capitol with GRAFFITI but they want to fine someone and give them a criminal record for missing a parent-teacher conference?? What?? I just don't get it and I'm a teacher that has to deal with no-shows!!

That brought my conversation with my co-worker to the topic of making the Gardasil vaccine mandatory for 7th grade girls in Texas. Good ole' Texas again. Once again I am shaking my head. Since when are public schools meant to be the vehicle to control the public at large? I was under the impression the job of schools was to educate children NOT control their parents (even though sometimes as a teacher I would LOVE to control the parents of my students, but that doesn't make it any less wrong!). I think vaccines for diseases that can be spread during the regular activities of a school day are a good idea. In the schools I've been to sexual activity doesn't normally take place on campus...at least not as part of regular school activities.

Now, I know I'm going to step on some toes here because I have a lot of friends that are part of the religious right and I don't agree with their arguement against the vaccine either. If simply giving a young girl a vaccine that will protect her from ONE type of STD is going to make her promiscuous then somebody isn't doing their job. If parents, first and foremost, and churches are instilling biblical values into their children, it's going to take a heck of a lot more than a vaccine to make that young girl do a 180 degree turn from those values.

I do think there is some validity to the arguement that the vaccine is new, and relatively untested in the market.

My major arguement against making this vaccine mandatory, though,is that I don't think we should be using the right of every child to a free and appropriate education to force parents to vaccinate their children against a disease that they shouldn't be getting or spreading in school! I think this is a decision between a parent, a child, and their doctor. I'm all for curing cancer and if this can reduce the rate of death as a result of cancer in this country, I'm all for it...I personally need to see a little more research on the long term effects before I run out and vaccinate my daughters. I have time, they're still young. But I object to the assumption that I'm not intelligent enough to make this decision on my own, with the help of research and my doctor, and must be forced into it by the school system.

I'm going to step off my soapbox now...I welcome your comments...What do you think??