Out of Control School Board to Teach About Sex to 4th Graders!
With a 4 – 1 vote, the St. Lucie County, FL School Board approved a graphic, explicit, risky Condom Ed Curriculum. Only Troy Ingersol had the wisdom and courage to reject this outrageous curriculum. Kathryn Hensley, Carol Hilson, John Carvelli, and Judi Miller all followed the recommendation of Planned Parenthood’s Michael Panella to support the following:
For 4th Graders, the curriculum instructs teachers to: "Read students the following statement of fact: 'The AIDS virus is transmitted only through blood, semen, and vaginal fluids; people most commonly contract the virus by using needles contaminated with the blood of someone who's infected or by having sexual intercourse with someone who's infected.' Ask if anyone was surprised by the facts."
The curriculum changes implemented began as a curriculum for grades 9-12. Then, curriculum opponents found that condom education would begin in 8th grade, but finding out that 4th graders were going to learn details of how HIV is contracted shocked Port Saint Lucie Pastor Bryan Longworth.
Longworth, who was one of only 5 private citizens to review the curriculum, read the above curriculum quote to the board prior to its vote. "I was appalled to learn that 9 and 10 year olds will be exposed to sexual content. In teaching this to 4th graders, the school board will rob children of their childhood. I have not met one person who is in favor of teaching sexual content to 4th graders. Even some supporters of this curriculum think this goes too far." Longworth, who has already picketed one school board member's house, plans to publish flyers of the school board members next to quotes from the curriculum. "We're going to let the community know which board members voted to teach sexual content to 4th graders. The community can then decide whether the board members are fit to make decisions about their children's future."
Pastor Bryan Longworth is the associate pastor of Covenant Tabernacle World Outreach Center in Port St. Lucie, FL, cofounder of Youth for America, and is part of a group of parents and concerned citizens that gathered over 3,750 petitions in opposition to "Get Real about AIDS." Notes, video footage, and links from his October 12, 2006 press conference can be viewed at his church website.
Petitions, information the curriculum, and video footage can be found at www.SexEdFacts.com.
View the video from the Saint Lucie County School Board Public Forum held Saturday, December 8. View the Video
Listen to The Lighthouse Radio Program Broadcast 12-09-2007 - St. Lucie County School Board Vote - Get Real about AIDS, Pastor Bryan Longworth.
Join over 3,750 individuals who have signed the Petition Supporting Abstinence Education! Make copies of the petition and pass the out to friends, family members, fellow church and synagogue members, and aquaintences.
Click here to download the petition today!
Parents,
St. Lucie County School Superintendent Michael Lannon is rightly concerned about the high HIV rates among African Americans in Ft. Pierce, FL. In an effort to combat the problem, Mr. Lannon has asked the school board to approve the GRAPHIC, EXPLICIT, and RISKY Sex Ed curriculum, Get Real about AIDS, for use in Saint Lucie County Middle and High School class rooms. Though Mr. Lannon presents Get Real About AIDS as a curriculum that promotes abstinence, nothing could be further from the truth. Actually, Get Real about AIDS mentions condoms and contraceptives 210 times while only mentioning abstinence 17 times. What's more: in all but one instance, the curriculum immediately follows the mention of abstinence with a mention of condoms or contraception. The graphic and explicit nature of the curriculum's lessons will shock you. As a parent, you have the right to know what your child will be exposed to in the classroom.
Learn the Law - Learn the Truth and
Join us Saturday, December 8 at the St. Lucie County School Board Offices
in the Orange Blossom Mall for a public forum on Get Real About AIDS.
If this curriculum is approved for use in St. Lucie County Public Schools...
St. Lucie County teacher will graphically demonstrate to your children how to put on a condom!
Your child may actually be required to purchase condoms and return to class to discuss the reaction of store clerks!
The following are actual quotes from the curriculum. Warning: Many of these quotes are graphic and sexually explicit. Use discretion in reading:
"Get Real About AIDS doesn't state that sex is good or bad, only that unprotected sexual intercourse is one way for HIV to be transmitted. At some point in their lives most people decide to have sex, however, and they need to understand the consequences of having sex – benefits as well as risks – before they make that decision." (Get Real About AIDS, Message to Parents, p. 6.)
"Ask, 'When do you know that you're ready to have sex? And when do you know that you're not ready?'" (Get Real About AIDS, Grades 9-12: Lesson 4: Preventing HIV Infection, p. 2.)
"Ask them to create two lists: ways in which relationships might change for the better after they've become sexual, that is, when the two people have had sexual intercourse; and ways in which relationships might change for the worse after they've become sexual." (Get Real About AIDS, Grades 9-12: Lesson 4: Preventing HIV Infection, p. 2.)
"When used correctly and consistently, latex condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV infection and other STDs." (Get Real About AIDS, Message to Parents, p. 4.)
"In 'Preventing HIV Infection,' students learn about condoms – how they prevent HIV transmission, how they're used, and how they can be purchased." (Get Real About AIDS, Grades 9-12: Message to Parents, p. 2.)
"The condom should be put on as soon as the man gets an erection, should be worn throughout intercourse, and should be removed outside his partner's body immediately after ejaculation while his penis is still erect. The condom should be held firmly to keep it from slipping off." (Get Real About AIDS, Grades 9-12: Lesson 5: Preventing HIV Infection, p. 2-3.)
"Demonstrate the use of a condom by unwrapping a condom and unrolling it over the index and middle finger of one hand." (Get Real About AIDS, Grades 9-12: Lesson 5: Preventing HIV Infection, p. 3.)
"Putting on a condom can be an act of affection and of a commitment by each person to care for the other." (Get Real About AIDS, Grades 9-12: Lesson 5: Preventing HIV Infection, p. 3.)
"Arrange students into their cooperative teams. Distribute the work sheet, Point of Purchase, to each student. Tell students that the object of the activity is for teams to determine how difficult it is to find condoms… When you get to the store, ask and employee where the condoms are, even if you already know. The idea is for you to describe the response of the employee. Complete the work sheet as well as you can. If the store you identify has no condoms, then go to another store. Remember, this isn't a game. This is a way to get important information to stay safe." (Get Real About AIDS, Grades 9-12: Lesson 5: Preventing HIV Infection, p. 4.)
For Immediate Release: St. Lucie County School Superintendent Michael Lannon Still Doesn’t Want Parents to Know the Contents of Proposed Sex Ed Curriculum.
According to an October 3, 2007 Ft. Pierce Tribune article, "On December 3 a draft of the district's revised health curriculum, which includes 'Get Real About AIDS,' will be posted on the school district's Web site." Sadly, however, St. Lucie County School Superintendent Michael Lannon Continues to Hide the contents of the Graphic, Explicit, Risky Condom Ed Curriculum from Parents by not releasing the its text on the school board website as promised. Pastor Bryan Longworth calls on Lannon to stop making it difficult for parents to see the curriculum!
The district’s website states as follows: "Due to copyright protection requirements, specific lessons used in curriculum from 'Get Real About AIDS'/Discovery Health Connections will not be posted on line, but will be available for review at the School Board offices from 9:00 to 4:00 Monday, December 3 to Friday, December 7."
Pastor Bryan Longworth states, "It’s bad enough that Mr. Lannon refused to release the 179 page curriculum earlier than 5 days prior to the public forum on the proposed Sex Ed Curriculum changes. Now, he’s refusing to the release the curriculum on the districts website altogether. Busy parents now need to visit the district office during hours many parents work to read the 179 page curriculum which does contain graphic, explicit content and promotes condoms instead of abstinence, mentioning condoms and contraception 210 times to only 17 references to abstinence. Mr. Lannon needs to come clean and let parents know that this curriculum promotes condoms instead of characterizing the curriculum as one that promotes abstinence. Parents have a right to know!"
Pastor Bryan Longworth is the associate pastor of Covenant Tabernacle World Outreach Center in Port St. Lucie, FL, cofounder of Youth for America, and is part of a group of parents and concerned citizens that has gathered over 3,750 petitions in opposition to "Get Real about AIDS." Notes, video footage, and links from his October 12, 2006 press conference can be viewed at his church website. Petitions and information about the December 8 public forum can be found at http://www.SexEdFacts.com.
Longworth recently recorded a 30 second announcement alerting parents of the December 8 forum, a copy of which can be heard at www.SexEdFacts.com.
