Sex
Survey To Risqué?
Indiana, Monroe County school administrators
decided to question students about their sexual behavior after
parents expressed concern about adolescents having sex -- but
now some parents say the attention to detail in the planned
survey is pornographic. The 51-question survey, to be conducted
May 18 with students in Grades 6-12, includes topics such as
intercourse, oral sex, dating and birth control. "I read that
thing, and it's pornography to me," parent Eric Warren said.
"To administer this survey in any workplace to adults over 18
would be sexual harassment." The voluntary, confidential survey
also includes questions on abstinence, sex education and AIDS.
Parents will be notified by mail and must inform the district
if they do not wish their children to take the survey, which
will be given to about one-third of the students. The subject
matter was not the only thing some Grandview Elementary School
parents who previewed the survey found objectionable. Some opposed
school officials' plan to ask 12- and 13-year-olds such specific
questions about sex. Penny Buhr, whose son is a sixth-grader
at Grandview, said he "doesn't know about this stuff. Nor should
he, at his age." Jennifer Staab, the district's health programs
coordinator, said the students already had studied sex education
in fifth grade. Students who took a test survey in October seemed
eager to participate, Staab said. "They felt 'it was about time'
and seemed to want even more questions."
The
Holistic Wisdom Corporation