From Crayons to Condoms

By Karen Holgate
WND Books

From Bizarre to Ridiculous

Even the most diligent parent often finds it difficult to anticipate and monitor everything their child may encounter in today’s classroom. The classroom situations contained in this chapter could never have been foreseen by the parents.

When we accompanied a group of parents on a visit to their school superintendent several years ago to voice their displeasure over some inappropriate assignments, we were met with glib responses and condescension. The parents wanted to know why the school considered obscene language appropriate. We were told quite blatantly that it is imperative in today’s society to keep young minds engaged. To do so, the superintendent said, the schools had to use contemporary subject matter, which often included crude language. He thought that was quite appropriate.

Luckily the parents weren’t appeased. They demanded to know why the school lowered themselves to the gutter level and why the school didn’t set a higher standard that would serve as an example. When the superintendent asked what the parents would suggest, they were ready. They wanted a return of the classics. They wanted classroom discussions raised to a level that didn’t include crude sex and vulgar language. They demanded that they be informed of any questionable material. They knew and quoted state and federal laws that protected their rights.

Pornographic and obscene literature has become commonplace in today’s public schools and such literature is often referred to as “authentic literature.” The theory is that if we want our children to succeed in life, they need exposure to literature that relates to alleged “everyday” or “authentic” situations. So out with the classics and in with books that focus on drug addicts, pedophiles, gang life, violence, etc.

Often when parents object to something going on at a school, they hear, “You are the only parent to complain.” The idea, of course, is to intimidate parents into staying quiet. The parents mentioned above didn’t allow the school to bully them into complaisance; they banded together, and they gathered strength from each other. That is a good strategy for others to follow. While it may sound old-fashioned, there is truth in the saying, “There is strength in numbers.” (One method used to silence complaining parents is to call them “book-burners.” Again, don’t let anyone intimidate you or prevent you from doing what is right for your child just because they may call you names.)

Classroom assignments sometimes have nothing to do with academics but instead delve into the private lives of children and their families. For instance, one curriculum for elementary students asks the children to sit in a “talking ring” and pass the “wise person’s hat.” When the hat comes to each child, he or she is expected to share his or her problems while the other students are told they may have to “go into the realms of imaginations to find answers.” Not only does this violate the privacy of the student, but one can only wonder how elementary students can solve each other’s so-called personal problems. Some experts say this type of exercise can actually create a psychologically stressful condition for the child, because it could cause undue pressure to think up a problem even if there is no problem at home. This particular curriculum also tells the children to go home and get “Mom and Dad” to tell them their problems so that the children can “share them with the class the next day.”

As the following stories will show, vigilance on the part of parents has never been so important.

“Birth” Class

The twelfth-grade honors English teacher at my high school told all the students in my class to imagine giving birth to a baby. She turned out the lights and had us get on the floor in groups of three. One girl in each group was told to imagine that she was in labor and about to give birth, another student was to be the husband or partner, and the third student in each group was to be the doctor.

Some of the boys had their hands on the girls’ stomachs. Some of the boys positioned themselves in front of the girls’ legs as if they were about to “catch the baby.” Students acting as delivery partners shouted to the “mothers,” “Push, push!” The student-doctors said, “The baby’s coming; here it comes.” The other girl in my group and I told the boy in our threesome not to even think about acting this out with us.

Our teacher called this one of her “real-life experience” activities. She was obviously a “hands-on” teacher. She gave the boys an open door to put their hands on the girls in a very provocative manner. She even got on the floor with us and acted out her part. This was definitely a “real-life experience.” The girls in my class experienced sexual harassment and a violation of their personal modesty. I believe the boys were desensitized regarding how they treat women. All of this took place under the direction, and with the permission and participation, of our teacher.

Heather Fay, Student

Witches

My daughter’s third-grade teacher rented videos as “treats” and “rewards.” Against my instructions not to show violent or age-inappropriate movies to my daughter, on the last day of school, the teacher decided to show the graphic movie Witches. This was a realistic depiction of a coven of witches (disguised as beautiful women) plotting to capture, poison, and transform children.

All summer, my daughter fretted over these impressions. She was too frightened to go into public restrooms or even churches alone. Just as we thought she had recovered from the frightening imagery of Witches, she and her new classmates were faced with another mental assault.

This time it was her fourth-grade teacher who used a grotesque film (recommended for seventh grade and up), from the district’s media department. When I asked to view the film after my daughter’s class had seen it, the teacher giggled and said that she enjoyed showing the film because she knew how the young kids “just love blood and gore.”

Briefly, the film Bear Skinner is based on the original foreign version written by the Brothers Grimm. It was not, however, the same American version the children had read in class. It told a story about a man who prospers by making a pact with an evil character. The movie displayed the real-life, bloody skinning of a helpless bear; a close-up view of maggots and worms crawling out of the man’s sores; and the many “deals” the man makes with the devil.

These included an agreement not to say The Lord’s Prayer for seven years, a girl exchanged for rent money, and slowly-narrated scenes revealing the method two girls used to commit suicide. Their reason? They had decided that they weren’t pretty enough to live. The teacher asked my daughter to put herself in the story and write a modern version of the plot, which declared in the end that “two souls were gained (in hell) for the price of one.”

My daughter’s nightmares reflected these characters and caused her to awaken me during the night to calm her down. Her body actually trembled, and she cried in fear.

When I complained, the principal patronized me; the teacher ignored me. After a long, hard struggle to persuade the school board to discuss the movie and the use of other inappropriate and R-rated movies, our superintendent told board members that, even if they wanted to do something about the situation, they couldn’t. He said, “…not [to] make access to all material for all students would violate their First Amendment rights.”

After four years of homeschooling and private schooling, our family was forced financially to return to public education. Please help us clean up this assault on our children. I stand with other parents who do not want to go through this again.

UPDATE: Since the above incident, other matters throughout the district surfaced. Consequently, the new superintendent implemented changes that included new accountability measures for the use of unauthorized material. Parental consent forms are now sent out. However, the question remains, “Is this movie still used in public education?”

Kathy Villalobos

To read more instances, get your copy of From Crayons to Condoms. Used with permission. Copyright 2008.