Kansas parents’ fury as list of explicit sex acts posted in MIDDLE SCHOOL …

  • The poster at Hocker Grove Middle School has since been banned following parental outrage
  • At first, the district defended the poster that was being used in their abstinence-based curriculum
  • But school Superintendent Dr Jim Hinson removed the poster because even he found the language offensive

By
Ashley Collman

17:21 GMT, 16 January 2014

|

19:30 GMT, 16 January 2014

A Kansas Middle School is under fire for a sexually explicit poster that was used in a sex-ed class.

The poster hung up at Hocker Middle School asks: ‘How do people express their sexual feelings?’ and then lists a series of sex acts ranging from anal and vaginal sex to saying ‘I like you’ and cuddling on the couch.

Mark Ellis told WDAF that his 13-year-old daughter was so shocked by the poster that she snapped a picture of it to show him.

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Banned: The poster on the left was pulled from Hocker Middle School in Shawnee, Kansas after parents found out it was being used in the sex-ed class

Banned: The poster on the left was pulled from Hocker Middle School in Shawnee, Kansas after parents found out it was being used in the sex-ed class

Banned: The poster on the left was pulled from Hocker Middle School in Shawnee, Kansas after parents found out it was being used in the sex-ed class

At first, he thought it was a joke but when he called the school he found out it was actually part of the sex-ed class curriculum and that’s when he got upset.

‘Who approved this?’ he asked. ‘You know this had to pass through enough hands that someone should have said, “Wait a minute, these are 13-year-old kids, we do not need to be this in-depth with this sexual education type of program.”‘

At first, Shawnee School District spokesman Leigh Anne Neal defended the poster, saying it was in line with curriculum used across the country to promote abstinence.

Appalled: Hocker Grove parent Mark Ellis (above) was shocked to learn that the poster wasn't a joke and was actually being used as part of the curriculum for his 13-year-old daughter

Appalled: Hocker Grove parent Mark Ellis (above) was shocked to learn that the poster wasn’t a joke and was actually being used as part of the curriculum for his 13-year-old daughter

‘The item is meant to be part of a lesson, and so certainly as a standalone poster without the context of a teacher led discussion, I could see that there might be some cause for concern,’ she said.

Mr Ellis complained that the curriculum needed to change or else he would pull his daughter from the school.

‘This has nothing to do with abstinence or sexual reproduction,’ he said. ‘I would like to see that this particular portion of the curriculum is removed from the school.’

Mr Ellis was saved the trouble of having to transfer his daughter to another school when the poster was removed following a swift negative reaction.

Superintendent Dr Jim Hinson says that even he finds the poster troubling. He says neither he or the school board approved the poster – it was something instituted by the curriculum department

Flip-flopping: At first, district spokesman Leigh Anne Neal (left) defended the poster as part of their abstinence-based curriculum, but eventually superintendent Dr Jim Hinson (right) took the poster down saying it was offensive even to him

Flip-flopping: At first, district spokesman Leigh Anne Neal (left) defended the poster as part of their abstinence-based curriculum, but eventually superintendent Dr Jim Hinson (right) took the poster down saying it was offensive even to him

Flip-flopping: At first, district spokesman Leigh Anne Neal (left) defended the poster as part of their abstinence-based curriculum, but eventually superintendent Dr Jim Hinson (right) took the poster down saying it was offensive even to him

‘I find that language offensive, I really do and so when we’re teaching human sexuality, again, there’s a balance. What’s appropriate at what age level? What’s not appropriate? It`s a really difficult decision,’ Dr. Hinson said.

At the same time, Dr Hinson says society has changed a lot and children know more about sex today than their parents may be aware of.

Hocker Grove mother Jennifer Watland agrees, and that’s why she signed a permission slip allowing her daughter Lyssa to take the sex-ed course.

Defenders: Hocker Grove mother Jennifer Watland (left) won't take her daughter Lyssa (middle) out of the sex-ed class because of the poster

Defenders: Hocker Grove mother Jennifer Watland (left) won’t take her daughter Lyssa (middle) out of the sex-ed class because of the poster

Daughter Lyssa isn’t troubled by the poster because people her age are already sexually active and they ‘don’t know the consequences’. 

‘You can say all you want, that your children don’t know these things, but they’ve been knowing these things since maybe, the age of 10,’ Lyssa said.

Mother Jennifer says she found the poster ‘alarming’ but she’s not going to take her daughter out of the class.

‘I’ve read through my daughter’s Facebook, seen her news feed and her friends on there. The things they’ve posted, you’d be astounded,’ she said.


Comments (195)

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Jake,

Valencia California,

31 minutes ago

Looks like they left off twerking.

Shellish,

Edinburgh, United Kingdom,

1 hour ago

Knowledge is power – teach your kids and they know when to say NO!

Mami,

USA, United States,

1 hour ago

There needs to be a separation of sex State.

Anna,

Anchorage,

2 hours ago

Mr. Ellis is right, and his daughter is a smart girl too.

USA Observer,

Washington, United States,

2 hours ago

Every parent should read their teen’s Twitter and Facebook account. Instead of being “astounded” they would keel over dead.

Gp,

Sydney, Australia,

2 hours ago

I’d hate to see the homework for that class.

Polos,

Melbourne,

2 hours ago

And yet every time I have commented on these inappropriate happenings to the DM in these pages, my comments get blocked, as if there is some hidden agenda to allow this to be carried out in the school system without the parents finding out. Shame on you DM. Please let kids be kids. They grow up too soon without shoving this down their throats.

DangerousMinds,

global,

3 hours ago

Yes, you can’t post The Ten Commandments. Are you so dense that you don’t understand why??

rooster,

Very Cool,

3 hours ago

does that mean the lab portion of class is cancelled? well, take-home labs will have to do!

Heather K.,

Blue Ridge Mtns, United States,

3 hours ago

The argument that teens already know about these things misses the point. You wouldn’t make a poster entitled How Do People Relax? and list reading, meditating, drinking, playing with your dog, smoking pot, listening to music etc. All things are not created equal and just because teens have heard of drinking or drugs doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to equate it with other, more age-appropriate things.
Mr. Ellis seems like a good dad. Some people working for schools have lost all sense of what is appropriate but that’s obvious from all the stories of teachers having affairs with students!

Olivia Aaron,

Santa Cruz, United States,

1 hour ago

We as adults having grown up in a different generation may not think these things are age appropriate for a student to be discussing with an informed adult at school but what if the kids already are doing and/or discussing this stuff among themselves? Because they are. If you take the adult out of the equation then you’re just leaving the kids alone to inform and misinform each other. I wish this wasn’t the situation and that thirteen year olds were more naive and innocent like previous generations but it isn’t so anymore. So sad but so true.

heatherlbullock,

Cincinnati, United States,

1 hour ago

Olivia, I couldn’t agree more. And a lot of parents and children don’t have have the type of relationship where they can talk about these things when the subject of sex does come up. Having a informed adult that is not a parent is the only way most kids get the right information.

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