It’s mind over matter at meetings of sex ed board

“Sex should be approached calmly and rationally,” according to the board advising Spokane Public Schools on sex education. Some might question if that’s a realistic approach to a heated subject, but the panel hopes cooler heads prevail.

The 16-member board, cumbersomely known as the Human Growth and Development Citizens Advisory Committee, must approve any material that students see.

“Parents are entitled to reassurance that their children are being educated rather than indoctrinated,” said David DeWolf, a longtime panel member and law professor at Gonzaga University.

As the committee convened last week, the stale smell of tater rounds and corn dogs lingered in the halls and wafted into the utilitarian room at Libby Center. Members pumped coffee into plastic-foam cups and sat in blue plastic chairs at folding tables.

The members come from agencies such as Planned Parenthood, Right to Life and YWCA. There are also members-at-large. They meet with district liaison Scott Stowell eight times a year.

Also at the meeting were five Ferris High School seniors. Students from district high schools attend on a rotating schedule and offer feedback.

The focus of the meeting turned out to be a 23-minute video: “Considering Your Options.” The movie opened with a poorly animated cartoon of a teen instant-messaging his girlfriend from his computer:

“My parents are out of town this weekend.…”

The computer speaks up: “Alex, did you know that 85 percent of teenage girls who have unprotected sex may become pregnant within a year?”

The video segued between the cartoon computer instructing Alex about pregnancy prevention, and a “chat room” of real life teens discussing their sex lives.

The Ferris teens gave the video a thumbs-down.

“The cheesy cartooning was difficult to take seriously,” said Trevor Crain. Josh Goldberg was highly skeptical of a sequence portraying a teen who claimed he and his parents discussed the withdrawal method of birth control at the dinner table.

Committee member Dr. Shawn Barrong strongly objected to perceived medical inaccuracies in the film. Fellow member Katherina Choka politely, yet pointedly, countered, “Even in its inaccuracies it provides great discussion.”

Committee chairwoman Cindy Fine finally tabled the debate because the committee had another video to watch. In a rather disconcerting shift – from pregnancy prevention to one consequence of unprotected sex – the final film, “First Year Milestones,” focused on the first six months in a baby’s life.

While the cute babies elicited oohs and ahhs from several members, student Josh Goldberg had just one question – “Is this, like, going to be required?”

He was visibly relieved when Stowell told him the video was intended for an elective class about parenting.

Panel members ended up rejecting the cheesy “Options” and approving the adorable “Milestones.”

“It’s important work because this can be a sensitive topic,” Fine said after the meeting. “It’s important for the community to have a voice.”

Now, if they can just get teenagers to take a calm, rational approach to sex.