Posted on 11/18/2011 10:30:36 AM PST by Antoninus
“First base, second base, third base, home run,” Al Vernacchio ticked off the classic baseball terms for sex acts. His goal was to prompt the students in Sexuality and Society — an elective for seniors at the private Friends’ Central School on Philadelphia’s affluent Main Line — to examine the assumptions buried in the venerable metaphor.
“Give me some more,” urged the fast-talking 47-year-old, who teaches 9th- and 12th-grade English as well as human sexuality. Arrayed before Vernacchio was a circle of small desks occupied by 22 teenagers, six male and the rest female — a blur of sweatshirts and Ugg boots and form-fitting leggings.
“Grand slam,” called out a boy (who’d later tell me with disarming matter-of-factness that “the one thing Mr. V. talked about that made me feel really good was that penis size doesn’t matter”).
“Now, ‘grand slam’ has a bunch of different meanings,” replied Vernacchio, who has a master’s degree in human sexuality. “Some people say it’s an orgy, some people say grand slam is a one-night stand. Other stuff?”
“Grass,” a girl, a cheerleader, offered.
“If there’s grass on the field, play ball, right, right,” Vernacchio agreed, “which is interesting in this rather hair-phobic society where a lot of people are shaving their pubic hair — ”
“You know there’s grass, and then it got mowed, a landing strip,” one boy deadpanned, instigating a round of laughter. While these kids will sit poker-faced as Vernacchio expounds on quite graphic matters, class discussions are a spirited call and response, punctuated with guffaws, jokey patter and whispered asides, which Vernacchio tolerates, to a point.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Not to excuse it, but it’s a private institution. If parents aren’t aware of what’s being taught with their tuition money, they soon will. They’ll have better luck getting him fired than parents of children in public school would.
My kids team is running around talking about a McGangBang. I told him to knock it off and he said it was a Big Mac with hot sauce.
I can’t tell if he is serious.
Indeed - he probably finds it titillating to speak to young people about sex in such a way. Of course, he calls it “educating.”
I found out recently, from some highschool teachers, that the “bases” have changed dramatically from when I was in High School in the 80s. For example “second base” now refers to oral sex.
That was stunning for me, and I’m fairly jaded.
In NYC public schools they now teach 11 year olds to do it.
This country is going down the toilet.
Give her a ring, then do your thing.
NYC publik skoolz are worse, and its mandatory
this is simply an attack on Christianity and christian values.
1. Sex education and free condoms will limit unwanted pregnancies. Yet teh number of babies born out of wedlock..to single tgeenage girls, continues to increase. And among black teenage girls, it's scary...Every 15 years, another generation is born, and preordained to fail in life.
2. Smoking is bad..we know it..we'd had decades of anti-smoking PSAs, warnings on packages, billions spent by the governments on anti-smoking campaigns, yet the incidence of smoking among white middle-class, better educated females continues to increase..
Ya think??
Legalized sexual abuse.
When the push for sex education in schools started, years ago, we were told that it was beneficial to teach young people about reproduction, how their bodies work, etc.
We were told that we should teach about reproduction and family life, and that sex is part of marriage and family and having children, etc. etc.
How the heck did we get to a point where we are teaching about how to have sex, expressing the expectation that these kids should have sex outside of marriage, outside of any serious relationship, that they will have recreational “oral” sex, any number of partners, any gender of partners....................
Does anyone else see a disconnect between saying we want to teach about the biological facts of the reproductive system, and teaching about values-free sexual experimentation???????
Agreed.
Shouldn’t your tag line read: The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness?
Okay, you are correct.
fixed.
Poor Al probably never got to first base on account of foul balls.
Somehow I never quite made the connection before between Quakers and Sex
From the article, describing the teacher:
“Gay, with a partner of 17 years, he has ruddy cheeks, a quick smile and a plane of brown hair overhanging his brow, from which he must regularly wipe away sweat during intense discussions.”
Yeah, he sweats during “intense discussions.”
I’m sure it’s just because it’s all so INTENSE for him.
How much do you want to bet he gets a rise out of this and his sweating is related to being sexually aroused?
Disgusting.
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