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The Education of Shelby Knox

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 14, age appropriate for kids over 15; suggested age 14.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Teen sex docu preps families for a healthy debate.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 14–15

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Shelby and her parents talk openly about issues they disagree with and encourage their daughter to follow her dreams. Teens and adults deal with the hot-button issue of teen sex in a mature way, though they often disagree.

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    One teen talks about boys trying to hit him with a baseball bat.

  • Sex:

    Talk about abstinence and abstinence pledges, and sex with and without a condom. One sex educator shows how to put a condom on a dildo. Girls are ascribed a point value for how much sexual experience they have and then boys try to go out with the girls with the least experience and "screw" them. Some kissing and hugging, but nothing explicit. Gay teens are shown, sometimes with arms around their shoulder, but no kissing and nothing explicit. A school official is discovered to be having an affair at the office. There's talk about teens who are gay having a life-expectancy of 40 years and being sinners, and talk of teens who have sex being "like dogs on a streetcorner."

  • Language:

    Ocassional swearing, including "f--k" and "hell."

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    One girl talks about having liquor bottles as "best friends" but no one drinks on-screen.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of The Education of Shelby Knox was written by Heather Boerner

Parents need to know that this documentary looks critically at abstinence-only education and its religious underpinnings. It talks openly about teen sex, abstinence-only education, and contraception use, and is likely to upset most viewers at some point. Depending on the political bent of the viewers, they'll be offended either by the push for comprehensive sex education in the school or the push for abstinence-only education. Shelby hangs out with gay teens.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about what they believe about teen sex and sex education. Whose side would you agree with if you lived in that community? How would parents deal with a child who opposes everything they believe in? Would they support their child the way Shelby's parents support her? Do you agree with the depiction of religion in the film? Do you agree with Ed Ainsworth's idea that "Christianity is the most intolerant religion in the world"?
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More on The Education of Shelby Knox

What’s the Story?

Fifteen-year-old Shelby Knox is the daughter of two God-fearing Republicans in Lubbock, Texas, where the teen STD rate is twice that of the national average and the teen pregnancy rate is high -- and where they only teach abstinence in the schools. Documentary filmmakers Marion Lipschultz and Rose Rosenblatt set out to explore this seeming paradox, and find a willing star in the charismatic Knox. Knox has taken a pledge to stay abstinent until marriage and attends the local Southern Baptist church regularly. But over the three years of the documentary, Knox also becomes one of the most vocal advocates for comprehensive sex education, and fights a school district and community that believes that sex should be taught by parents and only parents. Can Knox help change their mind? And can she and her parents find a resolution between their two very different beliefs?
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Is It Any Good?

Being a teenager is hard enough without wading into the national battlefield that is sex education. But Shelby in does so enthusiastically and intelligently and leads the viewer on a trip that's both thoroughly thought-provoking and anxiety-producing.

This documentary captures not just Knox's convictions but also her earnest teen angst. After a fight with her parents, she bemoans, "I used to agree with my parents on everything. Then I became… a person. I guess everyone has to become their own person." And she is. She's looking for a boyfriend who won't see other girls, and trying to find the right friends, get into the right college, and keep her parents close. It's this honest portrayal that makes this the perfect documentary for every parent of a teen to watch with their child if they're ready for a healthy debate to follow.
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Movie Details

Studio: Docurama, Directors: Marion Lipschultz, Rose Rosenblatt
Run time: 76 minutes
Theatrical release: 9/26/2006, DVD release: 9/26/2006
MPAA Rating: NR

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