Minnesota Kids Get Taken on a Field Trip To...

[roddma]

A sex shop . Im kind of torn on this. I could see why some parents may be upset with 11-13 yr olds. But isnt it better buying condoms then copping a feel of sleeping girls. When we were in shcool, parents always had to sign a permission sleep.girlshttp://nypost.com/2015/06/03/teach ... -sex-shop/

[FloraKitty35]

I don't see the big deal, better to go to Smitten Kitten, than the Creation Museum.

[Anny Nym]

I wouldn´t want my 11-13yr old kids either at the creationism museum or at a sex shop.

However, what bothers me way more is that apparently the trip was done without (!!!) parental signed permission - I would let all hell loose if my children would be taken anywhere by a teacher without my knowledge and consent!

A sex shop does definitely count as one of the "sensible-topic field trips" - so even if the article states, that as a private school they are not under any juristiction which would explain why the teacher wasn´t obliged by law to ask parental permission for every participating kid (sounds odd to me that a school could be outside of the law, but may it be) - they should have done a information evening and a parent´s ballot whether to go or not.

I hope there are some dire consequences for that particular teacher, she can´t act like she is in fucking DDR and take children anywhere she just sees fit!

(edited to add)

[doggie]

I don't see the big deal, better to go to Smitten Kitten, than the Creation Museum.

at least you would learn something from the sex shop.

[roddma]

What a way to end the year. It would seem more appropriate for say like 16-17 yr olds than 11-13 yr olds. In agreement with Anny Nym I do think the issue here is permission. And do they know you can get free condoms from your state health department?

[ShepherdontheRock]

I remember that in my private high school we went on field trips all the time without prior permission- but they were usually a) nearby and b) not on sensitive topics. I could imagine maybe going to a sex shop, but that would have involved a) only seniors (possibly even only 18 year old seniors) and parental permission slips.

I remember under the enrollment agreement teachers could take kids to the park, the coffee shop down the street, and other places within a mile without prior permission...however I'm sure that parents could have opted out of this if they felt necessary...

I just find the fact that middle schoolers went to a sex shop really bizarre.

[O Latin]

I can't open the link for some reason, so I'm not sure exactly what is meant by "sex shop," but I've only ever heard that term used to refer to stores that sell vibrators and crotchless underwear and the like, and they usually require that you be 19 or 21 to enter (Disclaimer: I have never been to one of these stores, so maybe I've got it all wrong). Even if, for some reason, such a place allowed a school group to visit, I don't think that's an appropriate place for a field trip, even if parents DID give permission. I'm all for proper sex education, but I think that crosses a line, especially for 11-13 year olds. Unless "sex shop" is being used here to mean something else.

[MatthewDuggar]

All kinds of wrong. No permission slips or any kinds of advanced notification. WAY to young (yes I know that age can reproduce, but still) The "teacher" should be fired but it sounds like the entire school is bizarro.

[RosyDaisy]

NAW, NAW, HAIL NAW! Kids that young have no business going to a sex shop! The ones I know of require a person to be 18 or older to enter.

[louisa05]

Many schools now do a blanket permission form for off campus activities that parents return at the beginning of the school year. Where I last taught, information was sent home about major field trips ahead of time. We were free to do short outings away from school that didn't cost the families anything without additional forms, though. What this looked like in practice was that a half day to go to a play in the nearby city required no notifications or additional permission slips. An overnight trip to the state speech contest did require notification and an additional permission slip.

[DGayle]

I'd be pissed if my pre-teen child was taken to a sex shop. I favor sex education, but some things in those shops can be confusing or scary for children. What are the whips for? Does that mean sex means getting hit? Why is there a blindfold? What is that big hand thing? Why is there a picture of a huge man with a device on his penis and veins bulging from his neck? It's a lot for pre-teens to take in, and they might not have the words or comfort level to ask parents about what they saw.

If I can't legally take my kid somewhere, then FUCK NO would I be okay with a school doing it, especially without telling me ahead of time (so I could keep my kid home).

[lilith]

But isnt it better buying condoms then copping a feel of sleeping girls. /

I fail to see the connection between the two.

I'm very open with my children about sex, I talk to them about porn and would happily buy my daughter a vibrator and/or erotica when she reaches the age that such things interest her, fully expect my kids to watch porn in their teen years and wouldn't freak out or judge them for it, but I would not be ok with their school or any other adult taking them to a sex shop.

ETA- my openness is not reciprocated, especially not by my daughter. She's recently hit puberty and she doesn't want to talk to me about any of it - she informed me when she got her period, but only to ask for pads, and I respect her desire for privacy. I can't imagine how awkward she would find a trip to a sex shop with her classmates, especially if it was co-ed.

[FundieFarmer]

Having been to one, I would be highly uncomfortable with it. There's a lot of stuff going on there that kids that age probably really don't need to see...and that's coming from somebody who considers herself pretty liberal in the are of sex ed. I definitely wouldn't be cool with somebody else broaching those topics without warning me.

And...yeah, condoms are available through the state (and are often free at nurse and guidance counselor offices). So...

[tropaka]

this article puts a slightly different spin on it

Concerned parents have withdrawn their children from a small private K-12 school housed in a Unitarian church in Minneapolis after the school's sex education teacher took her class on a field trip to a local novelty sex shop without first consulting parents and obtaining permission from them.

As reported by the The Star Tribune, Starri Hedges, the sex education teacher and director of the Gaia Democratic School, has come under the scrutiny of parents after she took about a dozen middle school and high school-aged students as young as 11 years old on a field trip to the nearby Smitten Kitten adult novelty store.

Hedges told the Tribune that she wanted to take the students to the store to provide them with a welcoming environment to learn about human sexual behaviors, as the class' sex education unit came to an end.

The store sells pornographic materials, condoms, sex toys and a range of other kinky sex-related items, and also offers workshops that teach people how to have safe sex.

Although the children were not allowed to see any of the pornographic items sold in the store, sex toys were reportedly visible to them and a few of the students left the store having purchased condoms, Hedges said.

Hedges explained that the main purpose of the trip to the store was so that children would have access to the store's sex educators to teach them about the importance of having safe sex and the products needed to do so.

"What I saw happening on our trip, I thought it was beautiful because kids could talk to these sex educators without any shame, without any fear," Hedges explained. "The sexual health aspect, there is no right age for all kids. You can't say, 'All kids should know this at this age.' There are students that are already going through puberty at 10 or 11."

Despite the fact the Hedges felt it was in her students' best interest to take them to the sex store, Lynn Floyd, whose 11 and 13-year-old daughters both went on the trip, told the Tribune that he was not informed about the field trip until his daughters told their mother that the school took them to the store when they got home that day.

"I just struggled to think that I wasn't involved in that. It's just a major breach of trust," Floyd said. "You just can't erase those images."

"I wanted our children to grow up and remain children as long as possible," Floyd added in an interview with a local Fox affiliate.

As the field trip has been widely circulated in the news, the school released a statement on its website backing Hedges' decision.

"Despite the burst of publicity in our last weeks of school, Gaia Democratic School's board of directors stands behind the premise of the field trip; we view it as a legitimate learning experience that relates directly to topics covered during our year­long sexual health class," the statement reads. "Our in-­class discussions paved the way to a store visit and the participants communicated to us that the trip was a positive educational experience. No student was required to attend."

Floyd, along with his ex-wife, have withdrawn their children, including a 9-year-old who did not go on the field trip, from the school, which parents claim only has about 25 students in total.

Additionally, Floyd has filed a police report with local police stating that the school exposed minors to pornographic materials, although Hedges said the pornographic materials were kept off limits to the children. Floyd is also considering filing a lawsuit against the school, according to Fox 9.

"I don't see how [Hedges] can be able to continue to lead children in this manner," Floyd contended. "All you had to do was ask us and this whole situation would have went a completely different way."

In a statement, Smitten Kitten owner, Jennifer Pritchett, wrote that even though the store is an educational resource for learning about human sexuality, the store's policy is to "leave it up to the discretion of parents and guardians as to when, if, and in what capacity [their children] seek resources from our educators."

Hedges even admits that she "unfortunately didn't communicate well enough with parents ahead of time."

Although the school itself has no religious affiliation, the school is reportedly housed on the campus of the Unitarian church on Mt. Curve Avenue in Minneapolis. All emails and phone calls by The Christian Post in attempts to reach the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis for comment were not returned.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/priva ... eq2Yvmg.99

Sounds like they went for a workshop on safe sex. School would've been wiser to invite the educators to the school instead.

[DGayle]

That "different spin" is just spin. Clearly the kids had access to the rest of the shop since it was admitted that kids were buying condoms. I'm not against kids buying condoms. But that does show that they weren't in an isolated area. They didn't go in through some back door into a classroom area separate form the rest of the shop. In fact, if they had, and were still offered condoms to buy in that type of class setting, I'd be more appalled because that would mean products were brought in with the intent of getting them sold to the teens.

Regardless of intent, this shouldn't have happened. Period. And in fact, the shop is under investigation since this apparently wasn't legal.

[roddma]

I consider myself a liberal person also, but I do have to draw a line. I was in no way saying 11-13 yrs old should be buying condoms and if i had kids sure wouldnt want them being taken somewhere like that even with permission . Im all for giving info, but it should gradually at the right ages and the right people.

[2xx1xy1JD]

You can get sex educators and condoms through public health or similar clinics. No need to bring them to a sex shop. Inappropriate for that age.

Also I don't understand the "at least it's better than..." arguments. It is not a choice between 2 bad things.