ABC News 10: Parents of an eighth grade San Marcos student contacted 10News outraged after their child said she was asked how far she was willing to go sexually.
The 14 year-old says it was part of a lesson in sex education at Woodland Park Middle School and the question was posed to every student in the class.
The teen’s parents asked 10News to protect their identity because they fear their daughter will be embarrassed again.
On Tuesday, the parents say their eighth grader came home and told them her teacher instructed students to stand under signs labeled “smiled at, hugged, kissed, above the waist, below the waist, and all the way.” The activity was part of a dating lesson in family life and health class.
“To put them up in front of their friends to be humiliated or to be asked questions that I believe are personal, it’s really none of the school’s business,” the parent said.
School officials say the goal of the activity was to discuss what is appropriate for dating at the middle school level.
The parents say the lesson didn’t teach their child anything but left her feeling peer pressured. “For the children to get that confused is just another reason why it shouldn’t even be in the schools.”
The couple says their daughter and her classmates were in disbelief because they thought the teacher wanted to know how far they’ve gone sexually.
The school’s principal told 10News “The parents sign permission slips for the class and can look at the curriculum prior. The purpose of the lesson was to open the lines of communication between parents and students about dating expectations.“
The teen’s parents say lessons on dating should be left up to them, and perhaps an anonymous survey would have been less intrusive. “They need to have it on paper, no names on it they can do it at their desk and put it in a private box if the school really wants to know.”
The school’s principal told 10News the lesson came from a community clinic and has been used over the past several years.
