Why is my sex ed class so sticky?

Sexyhusband pointed me towards this column from yesterday's Washington Post. 

Think back to how you learned about the spread of STD's.  How much of an impact did it make on you?  Some adult standing at the front of the room trying to scare you into abstinence, or at least into thinking twice before jumping the hottie in the tight jordache jeans two rows up from you.  I'm guessing there were a lot of statistics given, none of which you wrote down because you were too busy trying to decide which member of New Kids on the Block was dreamier.  Or maybe, just maybe, you were asked to chew some gum.

No gum?

You obviously didn't go to school in Montgomery County, Maryland.  For the past nine years, high school students were asked to pass a piece of bubble gum around the room, each of them taking some time to chew it.

No bubble gum?  What about Ex-Lax?

Imagine your teacher giving you a piece of chocolate.  mmmmm----chocolate.  Sorry, anyways, the teacher gives you chocolate and tells you it represents a person you could have sex with.  You can choose to eat the chocolate or not.  BUT...three pieces of chocolate have ex-lax in them.  Do you still want to have sex with eat your chocolate?

Ok, as a teacher I'm tempted to do this one, if only to see the looks on their faces.

I get the point of these games.  More than spewing stats at them, it shows them, viscerally, how disease is spread and that you take a risk everytime you have sex.  Okay, that's all true, and it's something I'd want my kids to think about before they start hitting the sheets.

But let's just start with "ew" and move from there.

Firstly, I find it a testament to the power of peer pressure and mob mentality that these kids didn't flat out refuse to chew someone else's gum.  They're high school kids.  And in case you don't remember being a teen-they're really opinionated and usually don't have trouble refusing to do things.  Like their homework.  This game was played for NINE years, and it's only this year that parents are writing the school board?

Secondly, I'm reminded of this little known concept known as Separation of Church and State.  A religious group was funding this farce, and not the school department.  I know that the budget's tight, but really, you couldn't force ask the teachers to do it themselves?  You know...those people who are qualified to stand in front of a group of kids and transmit information, for which they are paid money?  I'm pretty sure that's my job description.

Finally, did it ever occur to someone that chewing the same gum as another person is sharing bodily fluids?  While few if any STD's are passed from kissing, you can get the flu, a cold, certain types of herpes, and mono from sharing spit.  Beyond being gross, it's not hygienic.  Considering how many times a year I get sick just from breathing the same air my little germ factories, I can't imagine how many students caught a cold from this activity each year.

So what have learned today class?  We've learned that some people when pushed to, will chew someone else's gum.  We've learned that ex-lax has the power to make chocolate less appetizing.  We've learned that Maryland is a fucked up place to have your kids learn about sex.  And we've learned that Deliciously Naughty has finally been pulled over to the dark side and begun to use her strikethrough effect.

Class dismissed.

BTW-in a charming tradition in the Northeast, my school is on vacation next week.  I'm out of town over the weekend and will possibly not be posting.  Check back often and leave a comment or two.

Comments

[Gorgeousmoments]

Love the idea of the ex-lax in the chocolate. But then again some chocolate is so nice that it migt even be worth the risk. Locally, sex education is done by youth workers or other professionals hired by the department of education. Can't say I remember much of what they said.

[Randomreader.]

Odd. I grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland went to Elementary, Middle, and High School there and had friends at several of the 25 high schools in the county...never heard of that even occuring.

[Deliciously Naughty]

Gorgeousmoments-If they offered me a nice dark swiss chocolate did the spiel, I'd probably risk it ;) I seem to remember my 7th grade health teacher doing Sex Ed with us, and spending most of my time writing stories in the back of room about how I was going to marry Christian Slater. (yes, you may mock me for it)

Random-That's interesting. I wonder what year you graduated in--I checked the story out from multiple sources and they all said nine years which would mean they started the game in 97 or 98. No one cited which school(s) did it, referring instead to the county.

[Cal Thomas]

I swa an article on 60 Minutes years ago about an outfit called "Sex Respect" which pulled stunts like this (they used an Oreo cookie).

How about a Sex Respect-style demonstration illustrating the principles of religio-fascism? Take a few pieces of dog shit and put it on a piece of aluminum foil on the teacher's desk in fromt of the class and tell them they must all take a bite. When they inevitably refuse, tell them that the Lord will burn them in hell if they don't eat the dog shit.