Comments on: Menifee School District Update: Children Now Need Permission Slips to View ‘Oral Sex’ in Lawless Dictionary

By: Blurry

Blurry — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:14:09 +0000

Very true, Shannon.

But it is still a stupid thing for the district to do.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:38:10 +0000

Kids these days are far more likely to look something up on Google than have to page through a dictionary anyway. It’s not like this school is shielding the kids from anything. I mean really, are they that stupid?

By: Suz

Suz — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:46:13 +0000

Who wants to bet once every child gets those permission slips signed, first thing they’ll do is look it up?

By: katy

katy — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:49:44 +0000

OMG I did the same thing. And I remember her trying, for HOURS, to come up with an answer, because she wanted to be honest with me but at the same time I didn’t even know what an orgasm was, so looking back, I doubt she could have actually given me an answer that didn’t confuse and/or horrify me.

By: Rhonda

Rhonda — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:38:57 +0000

Exactly! If the parents are this concerned about them reading a sentence or two of facts about this stuff then I’m betting they’re not giving them facts at home either. It’s not like there’s any moral judgment or practical tips in the dictionary. Kids aren’t going to read it and suddenly think that sounds like the most fun thing ever.

In sixth grade we got letters home saying we’d be getting the talk about menstruation and some other big word that I don’t recall. I’d never heard those words before in my life. I had vague ideas about periods, I knew my mother had tampons in her drawer and I think I knew I’d need them some day too but nothing specific. I wasn’t about to ask my mother, she’d have told me to wait for the talk anyway most likely, but the dictionary was there for me. I went in to that talk knowing the basics and no doubt learned more because I was sitting there fixated on the shock and oogy factor.

By: Sydney

Sydney — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:16:43 +0000

Lol, same here.

I vividly remember, when I was about ten, asking my mom what masturbating was (I had read it in a newspaper article….don’t remember in what context the word appeared). I don’t even remember what she told me, but it was probably some bullshit answer, and it was probably awkward all around.

By: Vchilds

Vchilds — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:52:15 +0000

And here I remember looking up the word “ass” and then giggling. I had never heard of oral sex at that age!

By: Whit

Whit — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:53:34 +0000

This is so infuriating. It’s a DICTIONARY for crying out loud! I looked up s.e.x. when I was a kid, and I really didn’t understand what the hell was being said. Now, when I was in high school, I literally used the dictionary to find out words that I didn’t understand such as cunn. and fel. and so on. It was a literal, straight to the point, no bullshit explanation of what I wanted to know, and I sought it out because my mother never had “that talk” with me. AND I was raised in the Catholic Church, so that TOTALLY fucked me up se.xually growing up. The dictionary was the only thing I had, because the internet wasn’t as big as it was now when I was younger.

What’s next? This is ridiculous. I can’t believe parents are this insane. Grrr.

By: Jules

Jules — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:04:50 +0000

No shit, LOL!

By: melanie

melanie — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:16:52 +0000

this seems ridiculous. the school should make a stand about how they feel about their teaching tools. stand behind it or tell the puritanical parents to take their kids to another school.

are the teachers going to regulate the kids who don’t have the permission slip? how can you even control something like that? kids will do what they want to when it comes to opening a book.

now the school has to buy all of these optional dictionaries because of this? a waste of time and money.