A group of 8th grade students in Connecticut were given a disturbing piece of schoolwork in sex-ed class.
The assignment asked them to pick pizza toppings to describe what sexual acts that they liked and disliked, The Blaze reported.
“Now that you know this metaphor for sex, let’s explore your preferences! Draw and color your favorite type of pizza,” the assignment said. “What’s your favorite style of pizza? Your favorite toppings? What are your pizza no-nos? Now mirror these preferences in relation to sex!”
“Here are some examples: Likes: Cheese = Kissing. Olives = Giving Oral,” it said.
Superintendent of Schools Chriz Drezek faced a packed house of furious parents on Tuesday that wanted to know how their children were given this assignment, Patch reported.
“The simple truth is it was a mistake,” the superintendent said. “I know there are some who may not believe that, I know there are some who don’t necessarily want that answer, but this is a longtime great staff member. There was no hidden agenda, there was no secret cabal to indoctrinate kids on something. They sent the wrong document. None of us are happy that it happened, and no one feels worse than the person that did it. I owe it to that person to stand up here and tell them, I’ve got your back on this one. I’m moving on, for them and for the 5,000 kids we’ve got to worry about.”
But, as he predicted, not every parent was OK with his answer.
“This assignment is prompting kids to become sexually active before their time,” Tracey Jarvis, of Enfield, said.
The school district’s Health and Physical Education Coordinator, Brie Quartin, apologized to at least one parent in an email, Parents Defending Education, reported.
“The incorrect version, as opposed to the revised version of this assignment was mistakenly posted on our grade 8 curriculum page, and was inadvertently used for instruction to grade 8 Health classes. I caught the error after our curriculum revision in June, but failed to post the intended version. I own that, and apologize for the error. The correct version of the assignment is for students to work in small groups to craft a pizza with toppings (no behaviors associated with said toppings) that would make everyone happy/comfortable using non-verbal communication only. Students are then asked to reflect and discuss how thoughts or feelings can be confusing or miscontrued [sic], if we rely on non-verbal cues/communication alone. The parallel to be taught here is that when discussing pizza topping it is important that your preferences are clearly communicated to avoid any misunderstanding. This discussion then leads into how students can identify when consent it either present or not,” she said.
