Parents outraged by explicit sex education lesson
Categories: Kids 8-11, Education
Some students in a Chicago school recently got more sex education than their parents would have liked. Standard sex ed classes usually include information on dating, peer pressure, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases. But at Wolcott School in Thornton, Illinois, 8th grade students were asked to read aloud from a list of "frequently asked questions" which included explicit information on specific sex acts. Parents and students say this went beyond the mechanics of 'how to do it' and veered into 'how to make it good' territory.
After some of the children complained to their parents, the principal ordered the health teacher to apologize. This isn't good enough for some, who feel the teacher's lesson was voyeuristic and want him suspended or fired.
Even organizations who are pushing to get more comprehensive sex-ed programs into Illinois schools feel the lesson was too much. Jonathan Stacks, from the Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education, feels the material was not age-appropriate and "way over the top." "This is really getting into the aspect of pleasure . . . and the mechanics of how to have good sex," Stacks said. "It goes way beyond what the national medical associations recommend for a comprehensive program."
The teacher claims it was all a big mistake. The handout the children were given was taken from a British web site that promotes education about AIDS and HIV prevention. Instead of choosing the material designated as "mainly for young people", he took the information from a link titled "general questions about sex."
If you give the teacher the benefit of the doubt and allow that maybe selecting that material was a mistake, you still have to contend with the fact that he did not stop the lesson when it became clear that the subject matter was inappropriate for 14 year old children. I think he should be fired. What do you think?
After some of the children complained to their parents, the principal ordered the health teacher to apologize. This isn't good enough for some, who feel the teacher's lesson was voyeuristic and want him suspended or fired.
Even organizations who are pushing to get more comprehensive sex-ed programs into Illinois schools feel the lesson was too much. Jonathan Stacks, from the Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education, feels the material was not age-appropriate and "way over the top." "This is really getting into the aspect of pleasure . . . and the mechanics of how to have good sex," Stacks said. "It goes way beyond what the national medical associations recommend for a comprehensive program."
The teacher claims it was all a big mistake. The handout the children were given was taken from a British web site that promotes education about AIDS and HIV prevention. Instead of choosing the material designated as "mainly for young people", he took the information from a link titled "general questions about sex."
If you give the teacher the benefit of the doubt and allow that maybe selecting that material was a mistake, you still have to contend with the fact that he did not stop the lesson when it became clear that the subject matter was inappropriate for 14 year old children. I think he should be fired. What do you think?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
LS 3-11-2007 @ 11:59AM
This teacher is an idiot. I just read through the questions. At what point during his "skimming" of the FAQ did he decide that this was an appropriate handout for the students, and how on EARTH did he miss the link right next to the "General Questions" link that said, "Mainly for young people" (which is FAR more appropriate)? Moron.
Sack the doofus.
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Ann Adams 3-11-2007 @ 12:12PM
My 14 year old girl would have been so embarrassed and we've talked openly for years. She asks a question, she gets an answer. We've discussed some topics that had me blushing and probably covered much of what was in those questions (which I have't read so I'm not sure).
I didn't do it in front of a classroom though.
I'm a believer in sex education but I think that lesson went way beyond that.
At the very least, he should have read the material before he presented it. He might have realized he was on the wrong page.
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Ann Adams 3-11-2007 @ 12:24PM
Okay, now I've read the actual questions on both the set he was supposed to use and the one the did.
Here are the questions he presented in class:
http://www.avert.org/faqother.htm
It's not porn but it's explicit and I still think it's a little graphic for a mixed class of kids. The other test (for young people) is a brief series of multiple choice questions and most of it (not all) is information kids their age (many of whom are already having sex) should have.
The site itself is good and concerns itself mainly with AIDS and other STD's.
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