Sending 11-year-olds to the big house
Apr 20, 2009 In my humble opinion
When you were a kid did you ever try to get a glimpse of late night Skinemax through the snowy lines that show up when the cable company blocks a channel? Or maybe your parents subscribed and you invite your friends over while your parents were at work so they could watch the naughty channels on your TV? Did you ever sneak a Playboy to school to show all your friends? Well today that could land you in juvie.
Last week two fifth grade boys in Salt Lake City were goofing off and did a Google search for the word “lesbian.” Instead of the definition of the word on Wikipedia, they found dirty, nasty porn. Like many curious 11-year-old boys they showed it off to their peers. One child told his/her parent and another child told the principal. The school reacted by suspending the boys for 2 days and calling the police.
The school district spokeswoman, Rhonda Bromley, said the school involved the police “based on the seriousness of the case.” Really?!? The SERIOUSNESS of the CRIME. Two curios boys looked at porn on the internet…like how many of us snuck a peek at dirty magazines when we were that age. And then, thinking they were the bomb, they shared it with their classmates. Probably while giggling like…well, schoolchildren. And that’s SERIOUS? And a CRIME? When the hell did society get so prudish? When the fuck did we start involving the police and threatening court and juvenile detention rather than just disciplining our children?
Bromley continued with, “…what they did was inappropriate, and it was wrong, so as educators and a society hopefully we need to help them learn that. It’s a little disappointing to hear people say, ‘Boys will be boys.’ … I don’t know what the magic age is when people can stop saying ‘Well, boys will be boys.’” Well you know what? These boys actually are boys. Boys who are curious about their bodies. Boys who are curious about girl’s bodies. Boys who wonder about this mysterious thing called “sex” that they see all over television, in movies, on the front page of gossip rags, and depicted in advertising. And all of the adults in their lives tell them it’s taboo so they seek information elsewhere.
Police Sgt. Gregg Ludlow said, “Our main emphasis is not to hammer these kids. If we can get them into the juvenile justice system and make sure they’re getting some counseling or other services, that’s our end goal.” Yeah, ’cause a juvenile record is such a great way to learn a lesson for the crime of being curious and trying to be cool. And counseling?!? For looking at porn a couple times on the school computer. Shit, if looking at porn on the internet a few times requires counseling Lee and I better call a psychiatrist first thing in the morning.
First we’re charging teens with child pornography and adding them to the sex offender list for innocently sending naked pictures of themselves to their boyfriend/girlfriend. And now we’re charging 11-year-olds for showing their friends some porn they found on the internet. What’s next? Charging toddlers for indecent exposure when they won’t keep their clothes on?
I’m not saying that it’s ok for teens to send naked pictures of themselves. Or for 11-year-old boys to pass pornography around at school. But it’s not criminal. It’s a learning experience punishable by discipline. You know things like grounding, taking away their cell phone, hiding the video games, etc. Surely police have better things to do then discipline our children with handcuffs and threats of jail.
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Tags: Alpine School District, Forbes Elementary School, internet filter, pornography at school
April 21st, 2009 at 5:24 am
Another reason to homeschool…
Honestly, I do not understand the stigma about sex. My mother was a huge prude, still is, and I was a virgin until 26 because I was scared silly to have sex. I missed out on soooooooooo much.
I’m raising my kids with horribly loose morals when it comes to sex. I have made it NO secret that their father and I have sex. We aren’t doing it in the living room in front of them, but my kids know that sex is normal, that adults do it, sometimes a LOT, and that there is no shame to it. The ONLY rules in my house about sex with my teenagers is:
1. Never in my bed.
2. Always wear a condom.
I hope hope HOPE my poor 15 year old (almost 16 year old) is not a virgin at 26. I know my son, age 19, has not been a virgin for quite some time. The seven year old, well, we have some time for her to grow into it. LOL
And the whole “porn is filthy and degrading” thing…don’t get me started on that. I could write a book on that one. I think porn, used in a healthy way, can be extremely beneficial, yes, EVEN to teens!! How else are they going to learn some of these things their parents aren’t going to teach them? If it weren’t for sex, most of us wouldn’t be here…
Momiliess last blog post..Book the Tenth, or, Black as pitch his hair, pallid as ice his fair skin…
April 21st, 2009 at 5:56 am
If anything wouldnt the school be at fault I know most schools, Public libraries and even alot of workplaces have filtering softawre so that this kind of material is blocked from being accessed. Even your standard Internet explorer gives you the option to block sex and violence…
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:02 am
It’s not like the kids don’t see that kind of stuff in the hallways at school! Seeing the opposite sex naked is part of being a teenager. Helps them grow into healthy sexual adults. Now, if they are obsessed with it and do it 24/7 I may interfere….
Stuffgirlswants last blog post..Art-tastic Magic Beads
July 20th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I don’t see why children should be punished by going to prison. It’s nowhere near that bad to be honest. They just need to be told that it’s not a good thing to be doing.
One one hand I can see that the authorities don’t want another Jeffrey Dahmer incident again which would be unnerving, but on the other hand, no, we wouldn’t be here with out sex and it’s only natural for teenagers to have sex. They’d be exposed to it in the school grounds anyway.
March 19th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Hey, I’m 11!
May 19th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
hey, I’m 11 too!