US Teacher Sent On Leave For Discussing Sexual Pleasure: Isn't Sex-Ed Priority?

A teacher at El Dorado High School in Placentia, US, was placed on administrative leave after being caught on camera talking to students about sexual pleasure and sex toys.

The teacher, Judy Rehburg, a physiology and AP environmental science teacher, was sent on administrative leave after parents of students complained to the school authorities about the viral footage.

A spokesperson of the Placentia-Yorba Linda school, Alyssa Griffiths, told the district newspaper, Orange Country Register, that the district employees were trusted to exercise professional judgement while determining whether or not a particular topic was suitable for study or discussion. She added that employees act on behalf of the district in the classroom and are thus expected to follow only the adopted curriculum, and they weren’t permitted to advocate personal opinions or viewpoints.

US Teacher Discussed Sexual Pleasure

According to the district newspaper, the video was secretly recorded while the teacher discussed how sex toys are easily available at general retailers. She was also seen talking about the role of male prostrates in sexual pleasure.

The school website stated that Rehburg’s school syllabus included an anatomy and physiology class and could include a unit covering pregnancy and reproduction.

According to a 2016 New York Post post, the state board of education approved comprehensive sex education laws to include inclusivity in health education. The district is currently investigating the teacher’s conduct.

What's Wrong In Imparting Sex Education?

The teacher was addressing the entire class while speaking about sex toys and sexual pleasure. It seems to have been meant to be educational, not predatory by any means. So why is it being made into such a big deal? We’ve been so used to teachers skipping the reproduction chapter or merely brushing through it in a rush. Even if they do go through the entire chapter, many schools do it separately for boys and girls. But why do we have to make sex, a basic human need, an awkward conversation? Isn’t it better to normalise the concept of sex for children so that they don’t grow up into misguided young adults?

The main reason that children rely on the internet to learn everything about sex is that they lack legitimate and full-fledged sex education from school and parents. Given our upbringing, it could be quite challenging for us to openly talk about sex. But do we want to raise yet another generation that’s going to hush about the three-letter word? Somebody at some point needs to start talking about sex education with children, and it’s good to hear it from a teacher in a classroom setting.

Creating a safe and unjudged platform for students to openly learn about and discuss sex is very healthy. This would prevent them from acquiring misleading information from random adult websites.

Instead of being glad that this teacher shrugged off the embarrassment associated with sex education and discussed it with students, why should she be sent on administrative leave? Harassing, molesting, assaulting, and providing misleading information to students is a crime. How is imparting sex education a substantial reason for sending her on leave or placing her under investigation?

Sex Education Is Mandatory In School

The teacher, being proficient in physiology and sex, reproduction, anatomy, etc., being part of her syllabus, is an apt person to impart sex education to students. Sometimes, even if the syllabus doesn’t mention a particular subunit, you need to talk about it in order to explain something else. You can’t give half-baked information to students because that’s only going to make them dig out information from random sources.

It’s about time we got comfortable saying the word "sex" out loud. We really need to get over our inhibitions with regard to sex education and ensure that the future generation is imparted the right information at the right time. Considering the kind of technological advancements in today’s world and children’s exposure to everything with the tap of their fingers, sex education is necessary.

Suggested Reading: Comprehensive Sexual Education a Key for Empowering Young Girls

Image Credits: iPleaders

Views expressed by the author are their own