To the editor:

In this highly charged local election cycle, I feel the need to speak out as a registered nurse for over 50 years with a graduate degree in public health. For most of my career, I worked in some capacity with elementary through college age students focusing on aspects of sexuality. What my experiences taught me is that no matter the age of the students, it is critical that they have age-appropriate factual information in order to make healthy decisions about their bodies and that they have knowledgeable adults to help them understand their feelings.

As a nurse educator and clinician, I recognized early on that teens and young adults are often reluctant to discuss issues relating to gender identity and the continuum of sexual orientation with their parents. Even in families where many important issues are discussed openly, honest discussions about sexuality are complex because of different family circumstances, dynamics and parents’ beliefs.

It is important to recognize that parents are the key influencers of their child/teen/young adult’s developing values. Without open and honest discussions with factual information to complement their values, students do not have all the tools they need to make healthy decisions.

In addition, easy access to the internet exposes students of all ages to sometimes inaccurate descriptions and photographs of sexual activities. In this digital environment, students need the opportunity for sexually explicit discussions with educators and health professionals who are trained to help them understand the variety of feelings they have relating to their sexuality. It is critical for teens to understand the role that sexuality plays in one’s life in order to be equipped to make healthy decisions for themselves.

We in the Tri-Town are in the midst of a culture war. For those who want to continue to maintain an open and honest atmosphere in our schools for young people to grow, we must be honest with ourselves. We need to ensure that our elected officials have respect for the educators and professionals who have the knowledge and skills to help our students make healthy decisions about a variety of issues.

If you look beyond the yard signs popping up in our community, you will find significant differences between candidates who wish to serve on our school committees. Please choose carefully. Our school staff, teachers, nurses and administrators have our children’s welfare at heart. In this critical time of social and educational turmoil, students also need the support of school committee members who are not influenced by a national right-wing campaign that would limit discussions about sexual issues as if we were all living back in the 1950s.

Liz DiCarlo, Mattapoisett