Is 7th grade too early to be questioning students on sexual health, or right in keeping with the times?


http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/15/school-surveys-7th-graders-on-oral-sex/?test=latestnews

Quote :

School Surveys 7th-Graders on Oral Sex

By Todd Starnes
Published June 15, 2011 | FoxNews.com

You’re watching Middle School Surveys 7th Graders on Oral Sex. See the Web's top videos on AOL Video

A middle school in Massachusetts is under fire for requiring children to complete a graphic sex survey -- without parental knowledge or consent -- that included questions about sexual partners and oral sex.

The Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties organization, filed a complaint with the U.S. Dept. of Education against the Fitchburg School Committee. They are representing the two middle school-aged daughters of Arlene Tessitore.

Tessitore said her daughters, both students at Memorial Middle School, were told they had to complete a Youth Risk Behavior Study.

“Kids were actually told to sit down and take them,” said John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “The parents here are very upset.”

Whitehead said the girls were deeply disturbed by the subject matter of the study – including questions about suicide, drug use and sexual behavior.

“One of the questions is, ‘have you ever had oral sex,’” Whitehead said. “You’re talking about kids who probably don’t even know what oral sex is.”

He said the survey also delved into even more graphic language.

“It’s adult material,” he told Fox News Radio, noting that one question asked students what method they used to prevent pregnancy during their last sexual encounter.

“It goes down a whole list, including birth control pills, condoms and one of the answers is ‘withdraw,’” Whitehead said. “Adults know what this is, but kids have to imagine or go online to find out what it means.”

Principal Fran Thomas told Fox News Radio that students were indeed given the survey – and admits it was graphic. But Thomas said the school has nothing to do with the content and they were required to administer the survey to fulfill a grant requirement.

“I can take no responsibility for what’s on that survey,” Thomas said. “It’s not generated by the school system.”

Thomas said the survey was funded by a federal grant and administered by LUK Inc., a local social services agency -- in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control.

The organization’s leader did not return numerous calls for comment. But according to its website, LUK, Inc.’s mission is to “challenge and support youth & families to recognize and fulfill their unique and productive potential through community-based prevention, intervention and education services.”

A spokesperson for the CDC denied any involvement in the Fitchburg sex survey. The CDC said only seven states and six urban districts include sexual identity questions on their YRBS surveys – and the questions are optional.

But Principal Thomas disputed that notion.

“It was not optional,” he said. “It’s part of a grant that they applied for and the district said you have to administer this survey.”

According to Whitehead, parents were sent a “passive consent” opt-out form. However, Tessitore said she never received the form and never gave permission for her daughters to take part in the survey.

“It was a case of the school telling parents what they were going to do,” he said. “If parents want their kids to answer these kinds of questions as federal law requires, they should give written consent. But if they don’t give consent, I don’t think public officials should be asking children such questions.”

Thomas said he understands the concerns expressed by the parents. But should the middle school be asking children questions about oral sex?

“That’s not a question I’d be asking,” Thomas said. “That’s not information that needs to be gathered in an indiscriminate manner – asking every single student these sorts of questions.”

Thomas said it wasn’t appropriate. “I think there are many things that schools are called upon to do because they think they’ve got a captive audience,” he noted.

Whitehead wants the Department of Education to step in and demand that the Fitchburg school follow the law when it comes to parental consent.

“Parents send their children to public schools to receive an education; not to become subjects of governmental data mining,” Whitehead said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/15/school-surveys-7th-graders-on-oral-sex/#ixzz1PSzs3rq1

The article says it was done WITHOUT parental knowledge or consent, oddly enough even though they say they sent out forms there I didn't see anything saying every other parent signed them and were okay with it, that says plenty to me. It just seems more of this agenda that's been going on for at least 20-some years of parents are stupid, they don't need to be told anything, everything's a big secret between the kids and teachers, all spells out a nice conspiracy to me.

Why in the hell would they want to survey 7th graders (12 yr olds) about sex/oral sex anyway?

Sounds like schools overstepping their boundaries yet again. It's not even their business anyway. No wonder American schools are in such sorry shape.

This is gross. All-around.

Well, I'm not surprised it's Fitchburg--I grew up there and live in the next city over, and if my Grandmother didn't still live there, I'd have no reason to ever go there again.

Fitchburg used to be a community of immigrants and when I was growing up, we still had "Greektown", "Cleghorn" where the French people lived, "The Patch" which was the Irish section, and the Elm St. area where all the Finnish people, including my family, lived. Over the years, that's all gone away and now the place is overrun with drugs and prostitution, and no offesnse here, but a staggering amount of Asian and Hispanic residents on public assistance, so I'm not at all surprised they're surveying the middle school kids--probably trying to figure out who'll be leading the next generation of pimps and dealers, sad to say.

They should know better than that.

And all paid for with federal grant money...nice.

Chris wrote:

Is 7th grade too early to be questioning students on sexual health, or right in keeping with the times?

That's not the issue. If it was, my answer would be fairly simple: No, it's not too early and in fact its right on target. The problem is this school did this "without parental knowledge or consent". That is ridiculous and completely out of line!

Nystyle709 wrote:

Marc™ wrote:

They should know better than that.

For real. Why the hell did they even fathom it?

Let's see, they're asking a bunch of children if they've engaged in sex and what kind they have engaged in...I can think of a few reasons why the teachers, the ADULTS would be asking this and deciding the parents don't have to know ANYTHING about it, doesn't that sound like when child molestors say 'people won't understand our relationship'?

I'd be pretty upset if my 12 year old came home and told me this is what went on at school. I really have to wonder about that school and I'd probably be pulling my child, if the grant money was more important than my child's emotional well being. It's pretty disturbing that they thought they could get away with it. Heck - my school sends permissions slips home for movies that are above G!!!!!!!! Anything PG< we send a note home, letting the parents know that the movie is and if the child has permissions to watch it. I hope the parents really go after the school. I barely knew what a virgin was when I was in grade 7! My friends and I would have been extremely uncomfortable and upset about filling out something like that, esp. given some of hte language that was used.

TSJFan4Ever wrote:

I'd be pretty upset if my 12 year old came home and told me this is what went on at school. I really have to wonder about that school and I'd probably be pulling my child, if the grant money was more important than my child's emotional well being. It's pretty disturbing that they thought they could get away with it. Heck - my school sends permissions slips home for movies that are above G!!!!!!!! Anything PG< we send a note home, letting the parents know that the movie is and if the child has permissions to watch it. I hope the parents really go after the school. I barely knew what a virgin was when I was in grade 7! My friends and I would have been extremely uncomfortable and upset about filling out something like that, esp. given some of hte language that was used.

And especially with the SCHOOL admitting it and the teachers reading your answers, it's one thing if it was a joke between the kids but this is going too damn far.

Yeah - This school really crossed the line and I hope there are serious repercussions.

7th grade is around 12 yrs old. Who asks 12 yr olds questions about oral sex? People just assume the times we're living in are so fast and loose that there's no "line" anymore. They would be wrong to ask a class of high school seniors such questions.

AtownPeep wrote:

7th grade is around 12 yrs old. Who asks 12 yr olds questions about oral sex? People just assume the times we're living in are so fast and loose that there's no "line" anymore. They would be wrong to ask a class of high school seniors such questions.

Indeeeed, I doubt even the free clinic gives teenagers that kind of third degree, so what right have the schools? The only explanation I can come up with it is the teachers must be getting off on it.

I doubt the teachers are getting off on it. The school is probably only thinking about the gaming money it got and not about the welfare of the students.

TSJFan4Ever wrote:

I doubt the teachers are getting off on it. The school is probably only thinking about the gaming money it got and not about the welfare of the students.

Considering some pedophiles manage to slip through the cracks to get jobs at schools, and teachers sleeping with their young students isn't unheard of, I wouldn't be surprised. Who knows? Maybe somebody in the school came up with the idea so they can determine who needs to learn what.