HG&D sex-ed success, failures & New Berlin's shocking photo scandal

People are still talking about that New Berlin young man at Eisenhower High School, who passed himself off as a teen girl on the internet and then blackmailed his fellow male student respondents for homosexual "favors". It is shocking indeed for many adults--especially if they are older.

For now I won't talk about what would possess a teen to send nude photos to someone of the opposite (or same sex) in the first place. That is bizarre enough. But even more difficult to understand are the 31 heterosexual young men, who got caught in this perverted scam, who rather carry out a homosexual's wishes than fess up to being duped into sending a nude picture.

Maybe it is because I recently spent 3 days (about 10 hours) looking over Elmbrook's HGD materials that I am looking at this incident a little differently. I am looking at it from the perspective of what is being taught to our children from Kindergarten on to 10th grade--the last year of sex-ed instruction.

I do not know what is being taught in New Berlin, but I believe most programs, unless they are from a Christian curriculum company or a company that stresses abstinence, will follow the same track.

First the successes: (This is from the curriculum's perspective, not mine.)

In Kindergarten there was a book all about families. It compared traditional families and non-traditional families. Yes, it included the "family" that had 2 mommies and another with 2 daddies. It also gave examples from the animal kingdom: Lions have one daddy and many mommies.

Yes, that is what I want my child to learn. (Sarcastically said) That a human family is nothing more than a different kind of animal family! (There was no mention how many animal parents eat their young.)

The underlying message is that homosexuality is OK, right? It is just a different kind of choice.

As the children get older, the emphasis is said to be abstinence is best, but it really is pregnancy and disease prevention is best. Do what you want, just don't get caught.

Homosexual sex would not lead to pregnancy, so would that be deemed a success? I don't know if the boys used safe sex* practices, so we don't know if we can call that aspect a success or failure.

The failures--really

From Kindergarten on, the message for abuse is, it is not your fault. If something seems wrong or makes you uncomfortable, tell a teacher, trusted adult or your parent. (I am OK with this, but I would reverse the order.) I would think what the perpetrator was asking of the 31 victims made them feel uncomfortable or seemed wrong. Obviously, this message fell on deaf ears on both counts.

Rather than these embarrassed young men going to a parent, teacher, or even a friend, they resorted to the only solution they could come up with: give in to the blackmailer's demands. (But keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with homosexuality, according to their HGD instruction, they just need to do it safely.) Of course most heterosexual young men wouldn't want that homosexual label to stick, but since the activity was done in secret, it did not count.

That leads me to the area lacking in our HGD materials: the emotional scars of sexual activity (not the physical consequences of catching a STD or becoming pregnant--they discuss that), but the damage to the psyche of engaging in pre-marital sex. I did not see much discussed on this subject in the HGD materials. These young men thought they had figured out a workaround to their transgression. They will carry the emotional scars for life.

Another failure: The death of modesty

Has HGD made children today so comfortable with their nakedness, in the context of sex, that they see nothing wrong with taking a nude picture of themselves, much less sending it to a stranger?

The discussion of HGD in many of the grades is co-ed. Sensitive subjects are discussed in mixed groups. Videos and DVDs that include interviews with older teen adults and young adults talking about their sexual mistakes in their adolescent years are designed to be viewed in co-ed settings.

I believe this leads to destroying sexual modesty.

Last failure: Inability to come up with another solution.

What I cannot figure out is why the victims did not turn the table on the perpetrator. If sending nude photos is such a prevalent practice, why wouldn't the victim just spread the word that "the girl" was really a gay guy! You know, smear him. Tell your good buddies about it and act outraged that the girl was really a gay guy and smear him--maybe not for being gay because that is just an alternate life style choice, but for false advertising?

Parents, I ask you to really consider what is being taught to your kids when in school. You can opt out. You can elect to select your own sex ed program that fits your world view and teach it yourself or find an online program. You get to decide.


JSOnline articles on the New Berlin story

F.Y.I. The West Bend Library has a gay themed young adult section for grades 6 - 12 called "Out of the Closet." In time, will anything shock us? (I noticed this link on Mark Belling's site.)

UPDATE: West Bend and the 5 surrounding community area residents will have an opportunity to voice their opinion about the gay book section next Tuesday, 7PM, March 2nd at the West Bend Community Memorial Library, 606 Poplar Street, West Bend. Email wissupwisconsin@gmail.com for more information.


*There is no such thing as safe sex since it uses the same method as the least effective measure in preventing pregnancy, considering viruses and bacilli are much smaller than a sperm cell.



Links:
Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, CNS News, Jay Weber, Mark Levin,

Vicki McKenna, Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, The Heritage Foundation

Don't forget Thursday's Elmbrook School Board candidate forum, 7pm

A reader forwarded me the following announcement from the Elmbrook School District regarding the coming candidate forum. (Parents of Elmbrook School students receive these monthly events notices, but residents without children in the district do not.)

Last year, I attended the forum even though each candidate ran unopposed. I found it was still an good opportunity to get a feel for the candidates. This year we have three candidates running for each open seat. The forum on Thursday should help you to get a better idea of where each stands on the issues facing the Elmbrook School District, such as how to solve the challenge of increasing costs without increasing taxes. The primary is coming up fast: Feb. 17th.You may submit a question by emailing Dorothy Smaglick, dsmaglick@aol.com

Board of Education Candidate Forum to be Held

Candidates for the Elmbrook Board of Education seats up for election in April will participate in a candidate forum on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7:00 p.m., at the Elmbrook Schools Central Administrative Office, 13780 Hope Street, Brookfield. The forum will be sponsored by the Elmbrook Parent Leadership Council.

Six individuals have declared candidacy for two seats (one at-large seat and one Area IV seat.) Because more than two candidates are currently running for each seat, a primary election will be held Tuesday, Feb.17 to determine who will advance to the election on Tuesday, April 7. At-large seat candidates are Katie Lemcke, Meg Wartman (incumbent), and Charles D. Wickens. Area IV seat candidates are Jean Lambert, Donald J. Moore, and Barry M. Wightman.

During the forum each candidate will present opening and closing comments, answers to predetermined questions from a moderator, and answers to questions from the audience. Elmbrook residents interested in submitting questions may send them to Elmbrook Parent Leadership Council representative Dorothy Smaglick, dsmaglick@aol.com . The forum will be taped and broadcast on the district's Time Warner Cable channels 13 and 96.

Links:
Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Jay Weber, Mark Levin, Vicki Mckenna

Don't do it! Don't drive that ATV on Greenway Trails or in Brookfield Parks

In December, I wrote about our neighborhood's newest segment of the Greenway Corridor Recreational Trail at Mary Knoll Park.

Poochie and I took a walk on the main trail to check out the new pathway.

While there I heard what I thought was a chainsaw and it made me wonder if some other work was going on in the park. Was there a fallen tree that needed clearing?

No. It was an ATV!

I had turned off on one of the connection spurs to see exactly where it annexed the street in the neighborhood to the south of the park.

As I returned to the park, I was met by this youngster, fully outfitted, on an ATV. He/she drove by me and headed down the street, bold as brass.

When I got back to the main trail again, I saw that the ATV driver had been on the paved trail and also drove on the open field. The tire tracks seemed to have headed toward the tennis courts to the north.

I met another woman on the trail; she said she lived next to the park. We started to talk about the ATV, and she said she has heard them in the park several times.

After I returned home, I emailed Bill Kolstad, Brookfield's Director of Parks, Recreation and Forestry, to make sure that ATVs were not allowed. He promptly replied: (My emphasis)

ATV Use - Chapter 12.24.040 of the Municipal Code stipulates that "No person in a park shall.......drive any vehicle on any area except the paved park roads or parking areas or such other areas as may, on occasion, be specifically designated as temporary parking areas by the commission." An ATV is defined as a "vehicle".

I also asked Bill if residents should call the police if they see or hear ATVs in the parks. He replied:

Absolutely. Our best shot at control is detection and enforcement. My guess is that it is probably someone from the neighborhood.

His guess was right. I saw the ATV drive down the road and disappear into one of the driveways.

Not quite sure if I should call the send officer police phone number at central dispatch or some other number, I called the send officer line. They assured me that was the correct phone number.

I remember from attending the public hearings for the Greenway Trail system at Kinsey Park and Cardinal Park that some neighbors were concerned about motorized vehicles using the trail system.

So if you see a snowmobile or ATV in the parks or on the street, help those concerned neighbors out and call the send officer line to report the incident: 262-787-3700.

Links:

Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Jay Weber, Mark Levin, Vicki Mckenna