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Edited on Sat Sep-25-04 08:02 AM by Dzimbowicz
and in an area which has been a fundie stronghold for years. However, with the economic migration to this region of the country by people from all over the US, and the world, luckily for me, the fundies were not as prevalent (in the realm of sex-ed) as I had expected. The classes were segregated by gender and, I as a male, got to teach the boys. In the beginning, they tried to "put me on the spot" with stupid questions such as "can a girl get pregnant when she swallows?" My response was "no, but she can get an STD." When they realized that they were not going to embarrass me or stun me (and that I would be rather blunt in response to such antics), they slacked off with the silliness. Then I asked the school administration, and gained, permission to show medical photos of STDs (only photos of males were allowed in my class) and what they did to someone physically. The reason for this was that once upon a time in the 70s I was a Marine and I remembered this tactic having been used by the USMC for us to "keep our pants on" while in port on liberty. Graphic photos of what gonorrhea, herpes, warts, etc. do to someone drove the point home to these boys (to me and to many of my fellow jugheads as well). Then I told them how some diseases such as AIDS, HIV and syphilis do not display outward symptoms as soon as other STDs (I also explained how deadly these diseases were). The boys seemed to understand what I was trying to teach them, although I knew many of them were still going to be sexually active nonetheless.
On the other side, the girls in my class were segregated into another class which was taught by a teacher who was the wife of a fundie minister. I was told that she took the sex-ed textbook, gave it to the girls and then hid behind her desk, refusing to discuss any of the issues with the girls. After word of my methods reached the others and, as a matter of fact, it spread like wildfire; you all remember how fast such things can spread in a high school, right? The girls told me how their teacher was failing to teach them anything except for "don't do IT!" They asked me for information. I had no option but to comply with my school district's policies concerning such topics, so I told them to discuss the issues with their parents and then do some research for themselves on the web. Afterward, many of them told me that they had done so and had learned from their own efforts.
In conclusion, I told both the boys and the girls that "they should always think in life because when one stops thinking, life bites you on the ass and it hurts (BTW, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there and Alpo makes the underwear)! The same goes for sex, think and protect yourself; I know you are all human, curious and well... Think, protect yourself and realize that every action has its consequences."
Surprisingly, I did not receive one complaint from any parents or school administrators. However, I was never asked to teach sex-ed again. I hope, and I think, I had an impact on these young people and made a difference in their lives.
PS. I was not allowed to discuss abortion or alternative life styles. Since I need(ed) this job, I complied.
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