Confessions Of A Sex Ed Teacher

Publisher's Note: The 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade got Pam Steinle in our office thinking and reflecting on the current state of the law and how she had to apply that in a classroom. Pretty provocative stuff. We're lucky to have Pam around until next August, when she'll have to choose between one of several fine Minnesota law schools (which have offered her full-ride scholarships). Thoughts about injecting stories like Pam's into PIM should be sent to sarah@politicsinminnesota.com.

Confessions Of A Sex Ed Teacher

By Pam Steinle

I was 25, I was an eighth grade sex education teacher, and I liked it.

I liked it for several reasons. First, I realize that it is somewhat of a gift to be able to teach classroom sex education without blushing, giggling or mumbling. My friends were appalled that I could talk to 25 eighth graders about sexual intercourse - my dear, that is nothing compared to explaining, without using slang, what anal sex is and how it puts you at risk for sexually transmitted infections (click here for the answer).

Second, I understood the importance of my job. Sad as it may be, I was the first and only adult who talked to some of these students about sex. The rest of their information came from the movies (we can all agree that the quality of sex in movies is the exception, not the norm), from their video games (click here to read the perspective of one speaker at the 2006 Sex in Video Games Conference - and FYI, she's for sex in video games, click here for more on the recent controversy surrounding the video game "Mass Effect.") from their peers (urban legends abound: did you know you can't get pregnant if you "do it" standing up?), and from the Internet (there are some informational sites, like Go Ask Alice, but probably more porn - and no, I didn't forget the link to that one).

Third, I am anti-abortion, and I believed that as a sex education teacher I could help reduce the number of abortions. This was my thought process: in order to reduce abortions, I need to reduce unwanted pregnancies. To reduce unwanted pregnancies, I need students to understand what behaviors might result in pregnancy. Those of you who passed your sex education class know that unprotected sex among healthy people eventually results in babies. Those of you who have had condoms break or pills fail know that protected sex among healthy people also carries a risk of having babies.

It would be great if all students said they would wait until they were married to procreate, but as it is many will not. I believed my job was to give them the facts about pregnancy, allow them to decide (with emphasis on considering their values, their parents' opinions, etc.) how much risk they were willing to take on, and then help them manage that risk. Some students decide to wait for moral reasons; some decide to wait until they are in a long-term relationship; some decide they want to start next week but will use birth control (sexually transmitted infections are also discussed as a risk).

Imagine my despair, when I discovered that abortion is not to be discussed in the classroom.

It came about my second year teaching in a Minnesota school district. A concerned parent wanted to know how I would address abortion. I told the parent that I define abortion for students, and explain the procedures of suction curettage and dilation and evacuation (D & E). When explaining abortion procedures, I considered the students' need for factual information with their maturity, and thus explained suction curettage as the ending of a pregnancy by placing a vacuum over the cervix, and D & E as cutting the contents of the uterus so it can be vacuumed out.

The parent argued that defining abortion was too gruesome for eighth grade students to handle, and that if asked I should respond, "Go home and talk to your parents about it." I was appalled. How could anyone think that informing students of facts was detrimental? So I went to my school's administration, who responded that abortion was not to be discussed. If a student asked me what abortion was (in my experience, someone always asked), I was to respond, "it is a medical termination of a pregnancy."

Wow. It hadn't ever occurred to me that explaining a medical procedure in simple terms was such a no-no. Through conversations with other teachers, I noticed a generational gap. Teachers in their twenties and thirties supported me. Teachers in their forties, fifties and sixties argued that abortion shouldn't be addressed in school, particularly this rural school (and yes, the administration is in the latter age range).

I was even more surprised that, when I mentioned this generation gap, I was told by two different middle-aged adults that they were offended and insulted that I had suggested their opinions might be linked to their age.

A year later, I am no longer a teacher (for many other reasons besides the aforementioned issue). As I read the "Abortion and a New Generation" post by MPR's Bob Collins, and his links from the New York Times and the LA Times, the memories of my teaching days abound.

Statistically, abortion opinions are linked to age. The LA Times article said the "Pew Research Center polls dating back a decade show that 18- to 29-year olds are consistently more likely than the general adult population to favor strict limits on abortion. A Pew survey over the summer found 22% of young adults support a total ban on abortion, compared with 15% of their parents' generation."

I identified with several points in the New York Times article, particularly those relating to sex education. A student in the article states, "Abortion isn't an issue, because getting pregnant isn't such a prevalent problem among my peers," and later the article says some parents attribute their teenagers' anti-abortion views to abstinence-only sex ed programs that demonize abortion.

I did not teach abstinence-only, but did I demonize abortion? I was careful to refer to embryos (as opposed to babies) in the classroom; I didn't tell students that abortion "tears the arms and legs off," as the New York Times reported of a sex ed program that was later modified for being overly graphic. I attempted to teach abortion without being political - but my elders deemed my attempt political nonetheless.

Hmm. Abortion makes those sex questions look pretty easy...