Crossing the Line crosses the line, some parents say

Santa Cruz Sentinel ^ | April 12, 2002 | DONNA JONES

[hedgetrimmer]

Crossing the Line crosses the line, some parents say

By DONNA JONES
Sentinel staff writer

APTOS — Educators at Aptos High School hoped to bring students together and make the campus a safer place when they brought a seminar to campus earlier this year.

But critics say educators crossed the line when they didn’t inform parents about the sensitive nature of some of the seminar topics, including sexual activity, suicide and drug use.

More than 300 students took part in the daylong Breaking Down the Walls seminar in January. About 50 students also participated in a session that trained them to lead small groups at the seminar. Participation was voluntary.

The seminar included talks on respect and a variety of team-building exercises. One exercise in particular has raised concerns among some parents.

During the 30-minute Crossing the Line, students were asked to reveal — by stepping over a line in the gym — increasingly intimate information about themselves. A question about whether a student is a good kisser starts the list provided by the school district. Later questions ask, among other things, whether a student has ever used an illegal drug, is currently sexually active, has an immediate family member addicted to drugs or alcohol and if the student has ever considered or attempted suicide.

Parent Susan McLaughlin said some of the questions were inappropriate to ask in a such a large group setting.

"They’re nobody’s business but yours and your confessor’s," she said. "They’re things you might tell your best friend. Most parents, if they knew the questions being asked, they would be horrified."

But some parents may have been unaware of the program at the time, and still may not understand it, she said.

That’s because school officials neglected to follow district policy that requires having materials available for parental preview two weeks in advance and permission slips signed by parents before students participate when controversial topics are discussed. Materials were not immediately available after the event either.

Christine Amato Quinn, Pajaro Valley Unified School District assistant superintendent, said that was an oversight caused by a shuffle in school staff. The seminar was booked a year in advance, and the date coincided with a transition between activity directors.

"It won’t happen again," she said, adding that parent concerns about the questions also would be addressed before the seminar is offered next year.

But Quinn and others, including student participants, believe the seminar was a positive experience.

"People couldn’t believe how open people were," senior Laurel Scott said at a meeting Tuesday night. "They found they had things in common and it expanded respect."

That’s important because problems occur when students feel isolated, Quinn said, citing the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado as proof.

Ruth Barker, a parent and member of the school site council, said her son participated when the seminar was first offered at the school last year. While she agrees parents should have been informed this year as they were last, Barker supports the program.

Her son, a freshman at the time, told her it was a "life-changing experience," that he had gained an insight into and appreciation for classmates he had not understood.

The edgy nature of the seminar did raise "emotional feelings" and prompted a long discussion between mother and son, Barker said.

"Sometimes it’s incredibly powerful for people to be on the edge," she said. "It helps them grow and learn."

Contact Donna Jones at djones@santa-cruz.com.

---

You can find this story online at:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2002/April/12/local/stories/03local.htm

---

Copyright © Santa Cruz Sentinel. All rights reserved.

[hedgetrimmer]

The local report whitewashes the purpose and effect of these types of assemblies. The reporter was provided information

1. that the school allowed an person who lists his experience as "band leader" to come in an conduct psychological experiments that can emotionally traumatize the children (violates CA ED CODE SECTION:49422 (a) and (e)),

2.that psychological questioning of children can ONLY happen with PARENTAL PERMISSION,

3. that the technique used in the the exercise is a brainwashing technique of public confession and humiliation used pioneered by China and Korea in the 60's and 70's and was picked up by many cultists in the US like Werner Erhardt and EST.

4. That the full curriculum and objectives of the assembly have never been made available to parents, and that is also in violation of the state ED CODE.

The author quotes a parent and member of the site council saying she thought the program was fine. The author did not inform the reader that the site council was the group that approved and paid for the assembly, so that would make her a little biased, wouldn't it?

The author was also provided with the name of an attorney handling a complaint against a district in Chula Vista, CA where parents were rightly outraged by the arrogant pyschological manipulation of the program, but did not offer that information to the reader either

[hedgetrimmer]

PING

[Marine Inspector]

Are you from the Santa Cruz / Aptos area?

[hedgetrimmer]

YEP

[Marine Inspector]

I graduated from Aptos in 82'. Have not been back for a while and may return in September for my 20th reunion. How's it like out there now?

[EggsAckley]

What's it like out here now? I don't know how long since you've been here, but the traffic has gotten worse,
exponentially, year after year. It's almost risen to crisis level.....and as usual, they don't want to improve it.

[GrandMoM]

....Aptos, Santa Cruz!....home of the most liberal nuts!....cept for San Fransico!

[Marine Inspector]

I have not been in the Santa Cruz area since the big earthquake. I was training at Fort Ord at that time, and went up to see if my mom was OK. Her house was damaged pretty bad and she move to Escondido.

So it has been a while. From the looks of your profile, at least you have a place to escape too.

I've been looking at hotels for my September reunion, but they are so damn expensive.

Also, I'm not looking forward to the drive over 17, when I fly into San Jose.

[Red Jones]

I agree with you that this is definitely a brainwashing technique, and I think it is very sad that the public schools are educating the bulk of american kids.

[Mortimer Snavely]

Telling your average reporter something like this:

that the technique used in the the exercise is a brainwashing technique of public confession and humiliation used pioneered by China and Korea in the 60's and 70's and was picked up by many cultists in the US like Werner Erhardt and EST,

true though it is, gives that reporter the conclusion that they studiously avoid. Except for narcissism and a special sense of entitlement, these people have very little going for them in the way of a personality, have a very weak sense self and requiring the approval of socially prominent others for a sense of self worth. This makes them rather bland as individuals, and very sensititve to anything at all which may offend those people from whom they derive that approval.

Since cultural and political conservatives are déclassé, they perceive no risk in offending us.

[WillaJohns]

More than 300 students took part in the daylong Breaking Down the Walls seminar in January.

And we wonder why our kids aren't learning history, geography, math, reading and writing. I bet the schools would never consider a day-long seminar on any of the above-listed subjects or even something like salesmanship, entrepreneurship, or success (I've always wondered why the high schools don't have successful business leaders give talks on how they made it to the top since these kids will be out in the real world very soon). But they have no problem bringing programs to the schools to focus the kids on their victimhood.

This is another public school outrage. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

[ethical]

This just took place in Seattle with at least two schools participating. It was sickening. One kid called it a "psycho crying fest".

[Khepera]

I'm Glad my kids don't go to public school. This is abuse of power and authority and children.

[Clint N. Suhks]

the technique used in the exercise is a brainwashing technique of public confession and humiliation used pioneered by China and Korea in the 60's and 70's and was picked up by many cultists in the US like Werner Erhardt and EST.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I just read an article recently where GLAAD or one of the pro-perversion lobbyist groups lead similar exercises in participating public high schools. Everyone was required to stand in a circle and those whose religions rejected the practice of perversion were made to stand in the center and “confess” their faith was wrong. Something on those lines I think. I wonder if it was part of this same seminar.

[Teacher317]

"They found they had things in common and it expanded respect."

So OJ and the Ramseys respect each other?

[Clint N. Suhks]

Try to not think about homosexuality for just one article and maybe those pesky queer voices will go away!

Sorry, projection isn’t going to help you either.

Your Tell-Tale Heart voices worry you don’t they? They keep asking you when you’re going to stop perverting your life, right?

[StockAyatollah]

The sick individuals responsible for this seminar should be investigated by the local police as possible pedophiles. Who else would ask children such questions?

[hedgetrimmer]

One of the things I have tried, and tried unsuccessfully to do, is to get information from the school on the company, its founder, and what exactly is the purpose of the seminar.

In all materials presented to children in the school, there should be an instructor handbook that tells about an exercise and what it’s supposed to accomplish. There is absolutely DEAD silence on this issue. It’s interesting to note, that the list of question I got, did not come out of a book. They were hand-typed so there were no pages numbers, titles or chapter headers anywhere on the page to identify the book they came from. Obviously being hand-typed in conjunction with my natural suspicion of the district makes me believe there are other, more unethical, invasive questions asked.

These seminars are happening up and down the state. The name of the company changes as well as the name of the assembly, but rest assured, these groups have targeted California and these seminars will be coming to a school near you
.
One parent I spoke to said:
“The Breaking Down the Walls program seems to be a strong case proving that we are willingly allowing a government-mandated educational system to co-opt authority over our children. This "edgy" (emotionally abusive) program uses powerful behavior control techniques and peer pressure to make your developing child question his or her individual worth and values, then seek for esteem among a collective according to the values of an anonymous organization. In short, your child's will and your parenting are the walls the program seeks to break down.”

[hedgetrimmer]

More comments from a parent in with a child at Aptos High School:

Items of interest to note: the organization that conducts the program is still anonymous. The supporting parent just happens to be one of the council members who sponsors the program on campus. The "edgy" nature of the program and the "emotional feelings" are part of the indoctrination process. In Lewin's Three-Step Change Process (Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze), unfreezing is the toughest part that usually requires an emotional "break-through". In this case that "break-through" is achieved by badgering the victim with emotionally charged personal questions that force him or her to feel highly uncomfortable. Psychiatrists do the same thing in a controlled environment, trying to get the individual to divulge and address issues before being able to remold that person as an individual. In this case, the technique is the same, but adds peer pressure and reliance on the group for wholeness. Pretty scary stuff.