Not In My School

I feel like I have boarded some crazy train and traveled right into the twilight zone. I never thought that in my lifetime having morals and values would be comparable to some freak show at a traveling carnival. A time where children are shamed for decency, character, compassion, and integrity while bullies, tramps, freaks, and thugs are glorified. When did this become the norm? I must have slept through something somewhere. Even in my darkest hour (and I have had many), I clearly understood right from wrong and respected those who chose a respectable path.

I know this story has not received much press time, but as parents, grandparents, and mentors you need to be informed about what is pouring into this country’s school system. Sexual education classes are controversial enough without throwing in an ambush on what little realm of morals and values still exist in the public school system.

On April 10, 2007, in the auditorium at Boulder High School in Boulder, Colorado, students were herded in for a mandatory assembly presented by the Conference of World Affairs (CWA). The presentation was titled “STD’S: Sex, Teenagers, and Drugs” and presented by Joel Becker, an associate clinical professor of Psychology at the University of California, Andee Gerhardt, a community engagement leader with Earnest and Young accounting, Antonio Sacre, a performing artist from Los Angeles; and Sanho Tree, Director of the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. (See a pattern here yet?). I could probably stop here and you could figure out where this is headed, but it is much worse than you might expect.
What if your fourteen-year-old daughter came home and told you that she was taught at school to “find some balance with having the fun and experimenting and enjoying… sexually or with drugs and alcohol”? Or maybe that she was “encouraged” at school to “have sex and use drugs” by a school approved clinical psychologist. How would you respond if she was told “religious communities… trying to give us information… that … isn’t correct”? How about your sixteen-year-old son telling you that he used LSD or Ecstasy because a guest speaker at his school told him, “There are therapists that work with their clients under the influence of Ecstasy. If I had some, maybe I would do it with somebody… LSD was my drug of choice”?

Adults in high schools encouraging children to partake in unsafe, irresponsible, and illegal behavior; and implying that abstinence actually puts people at a higher risk of contracting an STD than not using a condom. Adults are in our schools inviting adolescents to travel to California to purchase “marijuana, hash, and baked goods”.

Where are the parents of these children? Why are the parents not outraged? The only member of this assembly who understood what was happening was Daphne White, a sophomore from Boulder High School, who made this statement at the conclusion of the assembly, “It is really hard for me to say this but I feel that I have to. I am extremely offended by some of the things that you have been saying. I think it is important for you to understand that even though this is Boulder High School, there are people that have different views than you. I feel that the discussion is one sided. Some of the things that were offensive were that I think it is inappropriate to discredit religious views on these issues. I know Mr. Becker that you discredited abstinence, when it is something that people feel strongly about. I just wanted everyone to know that there are two sides to this argument, even though this has been one sided. And also you have been making these serious issues humorous and I think that if anything it is encouraging teens to do the opposite of what I thought this panel was supposed to tell us. I think the panelists need to think about what messages they are trying to send.” A child calling out adults for their reckless and irresponsible behavior and discussion. A child realizing she is getting one point of view crammed down her throat and made to feel like an outcast for believing differently. And how did Mr. Becker respond? Even though Ms. White did not profess to be religious herself, Mr. Becker’s response implied that Ms. White was part of a “religious movement”. In addition, Mr. Becker provided a back-handed compliment to Ms. White that reiterated his message that her views made her the odd-one-out and not the norm. He even went so far as to lecture her by insisting, “I don’t want you to tell the other people that what they are doing is wrong.” Right. Only Mr. Becker and those who share his views can tell us right from wrong… if only they knew the difference.

What about the teachers who went along with this assembly? What about the teachers who “forced” their class to attend?

Ready for the shocker, the CWA is invited back next year to present the very same assembly.
Who does that make the outcast?

Signing off…