The members of the public who gathered in the Ocean City High School library last Wednesday to oppose the new state Department of Education’s Comprehensive Health and Physical Education standards came away disappointed and angry.
They chose the all-or-nothing approach, asking the Ocean City Board of Education to reject the standards entirely.
That didn’t happen. The board split 6-5 in favor of the new standards.
However – and it is a really big however – the way the school district says it will implement its curriculum for health and physical education will eliminate or temper many details of the standards that have caused controversy throughout the state.
School board members have faced some truly difficult votes this year and have had to vote their conscience, both for and against. In the face of months of lobbying by parents and other community members to reject the standards, it wasn’t easy for those who voted yes.
We see two levels to the debate over the standards.
One is the immediate, gut-level response to concepts and terms that would be taught to children – some of them terms and concepts a lot of adults are uncomfortable with, to say the least.
The other is the larger context, alluded to directly and indirectly throughout this process – the culture wars raging in the nation about what students should be exposed to.
Culture wars are part of political agendas further dividing a divided nation. There are raging battles over LGBTQIA+ rights, transgender kids in sports, whether to teach or hide large aspects of American history, downplaying racism and sexism past and present, sex education, and on and on and on. Progressives versus conservatives. Woke crowd versus book banners. Antifa versus Alt Right. Pro-life versus Pro-choice.
All of that is overshadowing what’s going on in a district that has a student body from Ocean City, Upper Township, Sea Isle City, Longport and a range of other communities through School Choice.
What requires the most attention is what this school district will do when it comes to teaching a health and physical education curriculum.
A presentation that started out last week’s meeting explained what is and is not going to be taught, how parents and guardians can attend Parent Academy meetings in the next few weeks to learn more about the curriculum, and how those parents and guardians are able to opt their children out of any lessons to which they object.
Those who spoke at the meeting don’t support the opt-out provision, saying whatever children are prevented from learning directly they will end up hearing from classmates. That is fair and true. What is also true is that with nearly every student armed with a smartphone, they can hear just about anything on any topic from any student that isn’t taught in a class – or find it themselves with very little trouble.
The rationale for a health and physical education curriculum is about arming students with information they need. Students need knowledge to have agency over their bodies to keep them safe from abuse, dating violence and other pressures, to understand consent, to protect them from social isolation and bullying, to have mental health support as their bodies and brains quickly develop.
There must be balance in the teaching to protect them from terms and concepts that are age-inappropriate but not to withhold information that would protect them from harm, including self-harm.
From the district’s explanation, much from the state standards is not going to be taught; districts are given autonomy to decide what to implement.
Parents will be able to look at the new standards and curriculum to learn what will and won’t be taught in the classroom. In one example, the terms the teachers wouldn’t be allowed to say include sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, differing ability, immigration status and family configuration. If inquisitive students want to learn more, the teachers will respond, “That’s a great question and we want you to go home and ask mom and dad about that.”
In the zeal to avoid controversy, we wonder if the curriculum will overcorrect and throw out the proverbial baby with the bath water. It appears a tricky balance, one that clearly doesn’t appeal to those vehemently opposed to the standard, but needs to not water things down to the point of being ineffective.
We have dedicated a lot of space to the standards in this newspaper. We urge all parents and guardians to delve into this deeply to fully understand what will and won’t be taught, to attend those Parent Academy meetings and ask questions so they do understand, and then make their own judgment about what they want their children to learn.
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You say it is the all-or-nothing approach in your article and I say you must not have kids. If you did you would understand there is no grey area when it comes to teaching kids well beyond the school right to infringe on our children our rights Equal rights for Parents and children I guess unless you are in the womb and then you considered a nonperson in their bills there is no dignity left for them and soon if our State consistently moves in the direction it is with this Aggressive Governor Murphy “Citizen’s beware” then soon the parent’s rights and our children rights will be null and void a well Gov Murphy take your hands off our kids
Today, I went to the beach with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to
my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She placed the shell to her ear and
screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.
She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is entirely off topic
but I had to tell someone!