Bishop Unified School District Approves Sex Ed Program 4-1
Following three hours of public comment, the Bishop Unified School District approved the sex
education curriculum developed by the Inyo County Office of Education with a 4-1 vote. The
public comments were more evenly divided with 34 asking for approval and 26 against. Some
Board members noted the fact parents could opt out of the program as one of the reasons for
the “aye” vote.
Sex Education is required in California schools with the passage of the Healthy Youth Act,
expanded to include discussion of sexual orientation, gender identification, sex trafficking and
information on contraception and HIV treatment.
Illissa Twomey, with the ICOE explained the criteria used to select the specific curriculum. That
process includes communication with parents. The curriculum is a “teaching tool” and also
includes adolescent development and body image. Parents have the option to pull their
children out of the program.
Some of the comments during public input session:
Pro:
“Kids are curious and may get questionable sources of information. Abstinence is
unrealistic. Everyone will eventually have sex.”
“It’s a good program; it will save lives.”
“Kids see stuff on-line. We need to give them the tools to say ‘no’.”
Reduction in teen pregnancies in communities where sex ed was included in the curriculum
was noted by a number commenters.
Parents are often not comfortable talking to their children about sex.
Con:
Some speakers equated the curriculum to pornography.
Roll playing, as part of the discussion on sexual orientation and masturbation, was confusing
for the students.
One parent suggested a permission slip to allow the child to attend sex education sessions
rather than just a procedure to opt out of the classes.
Some felt the younger students were not ready for the curriculum.
The concept of sexualization of children came up during public comment and by Board
member Josh Nicholson. An article in the Harvard International Review from 2019 seemed
to contradict that reference focusing instead on the commercial clothing and services for
children, inappropriate images or logos and establishing laws protecting the right to sue
companies using explicit messages. The article goes on to explain the best defense against
the impact of these media images was “informed, positivity-primed sexual education….not
restricted to the abstinence-based or a pitfall-prone attitude.”
Following board discussion, chair Steve Elias summed up the issue: “The question tonight is this the right curriculum. We vetted the options, hired consultants to recommend a policy
appropriate to this community. We have the flexibility, we have choices. I believe in our
educators; we can go back and clean-up the program.”
With the option for parents to pull their children out of the sessions on sex ed, the curriculum
was approved.
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Public schools need to teach kids to read, write, do math, learn scientific principles, actual history (not narratives) and how to produce and/or enjoy art and music. Public schools need to keep the spin and influencing out.
My experience with Bishop Schools for the last 40 years is that they are becoming more and more not a learning experience, but government controlled mind control, trying to push the popular left agenda.
What the school is actually doing is not sexualization, it is grooming children for deviant sexual behavior. Society does the sexualization, in spite of a lot of parents trying to shield their kids.
And here we go, a 3 day celebration of deviant sexual behavior, inviting ” all ages” to “meet and greet” and dress in drag, which by the way disrespects 50% of the world’s population. Under the banner of LOVE.
So, hopefully the next festival we have celebrates REAL MEN, REAL WOMEN, and REAL FAMILIES. Maybe the women can dress up like queers, whatever that looks like.
Ask a Parent
If my memory serves me right, back when I went to school in the 70’s, there was sex education taught, and if I’m not mistaken, a required course…
Sure, nowdays a LOT different, but don’t think it’s a Government conspiracy, mind control and left-wing “agenda” by doing what the schools and teachers are doing and teaching now…
So many Qanon talking points regurgitated by a Qaren, so let’s go:
1) “actual history (not narratives)” So, you don’t want history classes to tell the story of a family traveling the Oregon Trail, but rather provide a list of dates and events, disconnected from any narrative? That sounds like it will really engage those middle schoolers. While college history classes are often taught that way, it’s a pretty poor way of engaging primary and secondary students. Best for that age range is a mix of narratives. Teaching the Civil War? Cover a variety of texts: slave narratives; sermons from white abolitionist pastors; the Confederacy’s declaration of succession; financial statements from a breeding plantation; and various narratives from people on both sides.
2) “Grooming children for deviant sexual behavior” So, if you’ve been here for 40 years, you remember that in the 90s, Oprah wanted to do a show here because we had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state. And you know that most teen mothers were impregnated by someone 5 years older than them. So I assume you’re all over protecting children from that? You’re down with removing the statute of limitations for child abuse; charging people who knew about the abuse, but did nothing; and acknowledging that children are far more likely to be assaulted by their youth pastor or their stepdad than by a whole room full of drag queens? Because when it comes down to it, I have to ask which you consider to be more “deviant”: two 20 year old men holding hands, or a 20 year old man impregnating a 15 year old? I’m pretty sure I know your answer, but would love confirmation.
3) “Dress in drag, which disrespects 50% of the world’s population” Yeah, yeah, one of the craziest spins you’ve been instructed to spread is that being anti-drag is also pro-feminist, but that’s just nuts. Is a Scottish wedding, with all the men in kilts likewise damaging to women? Were Roman centurions and Aztec Jaguar Warriors in skits an insult to women? Do Trump’s layers of makeup and extensive hair care dishonor the legacy of Tammy Faye? Of course not. Because gender is performative. There is no innate feminine or masculine behavior, but behaviors that may have associations that change from generation to generation or culture to culture. Heck, almost every artwork I’ve seen of Jesus features him in a housedress, hanging out with a bunch of dudes, occasionally washing each others’ feet. Does that “disrespect” women? You later express confusion as to what LGBTQ people wear, so even you don’t seem to know what you’re mad about. But I suspect that bears and lipstick lesbians confuse you to no end.
4) “Next celebration celebrates ‘REAL’ men/women/families” Okay. Go for it. You’ve been here 40 years, why haven’t you already started this celebration? What’s stopping you? And what effect do you think it will have? Do you think Inyo’s LGBTQ citizens will see your overcompensating “REAL MEN” logo and suddenly become straight? I mean, you seem concerned that straight people will see the Pride event and suddenly become LGBTQ, so do you think that goes both ways? I might posit that if you actually think that knowing the LGBTQ communit exists might lead to you joining them, then perhaps you need to spend some time in introspection. But mainly, I think that your rant about “REAL” families is a clear indicator of why Eastern Sierra Pride needs to exist. Because clearly, the area is still full of bigots who don’t see the LGBTQ community as “real” people. And people who rant about denying the full humanity of others are the biggest problem in America.
At the end of the day, despite your scorn, love is indeed preferable to hate. It’s kind of a core tenant of a major world religion.
Where does Anatomy and Physiology fit into your curriculum ?
I don’t have kids in school now, and I didn’t watch the meeting, but, my questions are: Did Mr. Nicholson get “the chance to sit in two classes” because he’s a board member ? Because he’s a parent ? Did he just show up ? Is this opportunity given to all parents ?
Were parents of all the children enrolled in each class notified ahead of time that he would be present prior to class? Was he introduced to the kids ? Was there any physical documentation provided to the kids to take home to their parents to notify them that either he would be in attendance or had been in attendance ?
Mr. Nicholson declined to have his children educated in the public grade school system where he now serves on the Board.
The option to pull your kid out amounts to an option to make your kid a pariah. Which is reason #1,598,567 private schools are thriving.
#1 being that most refuse to take SPED students; #2 being the inherent classism of only taking students from socioeconomic backgrounds capable of paying tuition; and #3 being that many often kick out lower performing students so they look better.
But sure, whatever.
‘private schools’ are too expensive for most to attend. What you might be referring to is ‘home schooling,’ a polite way to say ‘protect my kids from ideas my religion and my prejudices don’t like so they won’t grow up to be educated about things that scare me.’ Or you can move to Florida, where the extreme right wing is using 11 noisy people to block an entire state from being educated by challenging textbooks. All while the right wing is trying to force public schools to adopt religious teachings that belong in the church of your choice . . .
The home school comment may be on spot for some families but it is still a generalization which demeans a lot of kids and their families unnecessarily. I was a district coordinator for a home school program (the district got ADA for the kids and I could access materials and funds for things like science lessons)
The reasons for home schooling were varied. A couple of boys had curiosity and critical thinking skills beyond his years. A brother and sister had been labeled with a learning disability and given an endless stream of meaningless worksheets to keep them busy. A couple of families were fundamentalist Christian and much to my surprise did not object to science lessons that delved into animal morphology and evolution.
I get what you are saying but you are painting with too broad a brush.
good response, m.r. You know the system better than I do, it’s clear. I have known home-schooled kids from the 70s through the 90s who were interesting and smart and educated in ways I was not who had been home-schooled. I would quibble, though, that I’m not demeaning the kids who are home-schooled, as they don’t have much choice (much as you can’t blame a dog for how it behaves). And it’s good to know that there is still coordination and oversight enabling people to succeed at home-schooling. I’m sure many would question my motives to home school my kids, and if I lived in states like Texas and Florida (which already have an outsized influence on curriculum nationwide), I would be skeptical they would get a decent education in public schools. Ideally parents and schools work together to round out the educational spectrum, and the church as well; it’s when all overlap into an angry mob that things go downhill too fast . . .
Agreed. Homeschooling has a WIDE divide. Even more so in some other states, where there is virtually no oversight. I have definitely known homeschooled people who were knowledgeable, inquisitive, and eloquent. And those who were none of the above. Honestly, I’d say they are more likely to be one extreme or the other, with fewer in the middle.
All grade levels, even kindergarteners?
Anyone know?
The curriculum is used in grades 6-8 (middle school).
The American Psychological Association defines “sexualization” as occurring when a person’s value comes only from her/his sexual appeal or behavior.
Education is not sexualization. Josh is attempting to misuse the word to fabricate outrage. Far more concerning, Josh Nicholson also related a story about how he went into a Sex Ed classroom and spent time staring at three children in the back of the class. He related that during this time, he invented a scenario in his head that these girls were experiencing a “loss of innocence” and related how he wished that he could “rescue” them from this. Frankly, none of the role play scenarios (which, per the school, are not actually ever performed as role play scenarios) were more troubling than the idea that a middle aged man is going into classrooms without parental consent and creating elaborate fantasies in his mind about “heroically rescuing” children from basic education.
Can parents opt their kids out from these kinds of visits from him?
The simple matter is that age appropriate sex ed does many things. For the younger students, learning the proper names for their anatomy can help them identify and testify against people who abuse them. For older students, it gives them tools to avoid teen pregnancy, which has been an issue in Inyo County since I was at BUHS. And yes, some people aren’t comfortable that lessons include information for LGBTQ students. But that information is invaluable to those students, whether they be out or not. When I took a Sex Ed unit at Home Street, I learned stuff that was irrelevant to my own lifestyle and biology, students today doing the same shouldn’t be an issue.
And, of course, the idea that students learning that LGBTQ people exist magically turning them LGBTQ is absurd. I know countless gay people in my generation who grew up on exclusively straight representation in media and yet still somehow managed to not be straight. Surely the opposite cannot be true.
Students in BUSD can only benefit from this program.
Those are pretty bold and accusatory comments for someone who doesn’t put their full name to them. All my information is public if you or anyone are willing to have a real debate or discussion.
I’m quoting your comments in a public forum; let’s run through it.
Anyone can go to the video and go to time stamp of 2:54, when you began a speech about it. We’ll be clear as to what you yourself said was the chain of events by quoting you directly:
“I got the chance to sit in two classes.” “I sat in the back and I’m looking across the classroom.” “There were three little girls that I’ll never forget.”
You went into a middle school sex ed class and spent a significant chunk of time staring the same three little girls, who you will, and I quote, “never forget”.
“But as … you’re teaching their body parts, male and female, positioned so you can see anatomy. Not photos, more of a drawing that you might see in a book, I watched these three little girls.”
You were a stranger in that classroom, staring at these kids while they learned the names of their body parts.
“I wanted to pick those little girls up and take them out.” “I could see their innocence being taken from them.”
You then invented a scenario in your head that they were “having their innocence taken from them” by a basic anatomy lesson. You have no evidence that it was what they were feeling, you just made that up to fit your scenario. You fantasized this. And since you seem confused about the definition of “sexuality”, let’s give you the Oxford English Dictionary of “fantasize” “to imagine (something that one wants to happen).” You imagined that they looked embarrassed and equated that with the hyperbolic “loss of innocence” (another definition – “an experience or period in a person’s life that leads to a greater awareness of evil, pain and/or suffering in the world around them”). And further, you fantasized that this was because of the content of an anatomy lesson and not the strange man memorizing them so that he would never forget them. And your fantasized solution was apparently a desire to pick them up and take them away with you.
Quoting you is hardly “bold and accusatory”. If those words disgust you, perhaps you shouldn’t have said them. Again, anyone is free to go to that recording, spin it up to the 2:54 timestamp, take a good listen, and they should be free to then decide for themselves if they want the ability to opt out of having you in the class. At the very least, the parents of those three little girls should know you will never forget their daughters.
Finally, if you think I’m giving my last name and address to someone who lives such a rich internal fantasy life while also having a history of complaints about harassment and misconduct, you are perhaps more disconnected from reality than your behavior at the board meeting had led me to assume. Perhaps at the next board meeting you can give a speech about your fantasies regarding what you’d like to do to parents of children who find your behavior sketchy.
the same guy who, with “three defendants who worked for the county, have been sued for allegedly releasing private and protected information on Hollowell during the last campaign for Sheriff” ? I hope the voters of Inyo County continue to decide this is the wrong person to have the influence he desires, though I hope the Calvary Baptist Church continues to find ways for him to do actual good works like helping those in need, rather than trying to turn the rest of the world into the CBC.
Wouldn’t count on it. He fits in very well at CBC, CBC, the BMA and many churches in the community they have gone all in on Trump and Christian Nationalism and have proven they care more about power then truly demonstrating the love of Jesus. Everytime they get up to speak at these meetings they act more like entitled children then loving Christians. These same people harrassed students durring Covid because they wanted freedom over fear and now what are fear mongering again with cherry picked misinformation. Again encouraging the harassment of students especially those who are part of the LGBTQ community.
Thank you to the board members that took the time to listen and vote in the best interest of the students. Thank you for not giving in to a loud hateful part of this community.
Bishop resident
Always an oxymoron when the words “trump” and “Christian ” are used in the same conversation or sentence…
I’ll put my *name to those “accusatory” statements. That is exactly what you said, and not the least of it either. Those are direct quotes from you describing auditing a sex ed class. I highly encourage everyone to watch the footage. No one needs to debate you…again.
My first response was apparently rejected, so let’s try a shorter one:
Anyone can go listen to the board meeting. Timestamp 2:54
It’s not “bold and accusatory”, it’s your literal words.
“I got the chance to sit in two classes.”
“I sat in the back and I’m looking across the classroom.”
“There were three little girls that I’ll never forget.”
“But as … you’re teaching there’s body parts, male and female, positioned so you can see anatomy. Not photos, more of a drawing that you might see in a book, I watched these three little girls.”
“I wanted to pick those little girls up and take them out.”
“I could see their innocence being taken from them.”
If you find those words disturbing, maybe you shouldn’t have said them. You don’t know what was going on in their heads. Even if they looked awkward, you have no idea if that was due to the content of the class or the fact that there was a stranger in their class, memorizing them so he’d “never forget” them. The parents of those children should be informed about your actions.
And I’m definitely not giving my contact information to someone who has a history of complaints about them harassing people and abusing their power.
Bravo to all of this.
You forgot to mention the main argument against the curriculum is that Q told us it is bad. Oh and that it recognizes not everyone is a straight Christian. The horror.
One More Thing.
And it’s the way Q and others TELL them how to think, feel and react..
And about 30 % of our U,S, of A. population do as they say to do and do as they’re told..
And, of course, something they and them can blame President Biden and the Democrats for “poisoning ” and “grooming ” our children , so as to meet their own “woke” agenda.and at the end,.falling back on claiming to be “Christians” and doing as “God wants it to be “….
.