Simulating sex show no way to teach our children well

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/02/2010 (6049 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As much of the world knows, two Churchill High School teachers simulated oral sex, lap dancing and spanking in front of their students last week. She was dressed like a cheerleader, her hair in pigtails. He was wearing a Bombers jersey.

Gym teacher Chrystie Fitchner and a teacher working at the school on a term position were participating in a school pep rally. They were part of a “teacher dance-off” competition. They had clearly preplanned their routine.

Most of the student body, the teachers and presumably someone from the administration were present. So why didn’t someone stop them?

A student’s cellphone caught the performance. You can hear kids screaming and laughing in the background as they watch the show. As the male teacher’s head bobs over Fitcher’s crotch, the audience shrieks. One girl shouts “that’s gross.”

And still, no one steps in.

The entire performance lasted under two minutes. It was still long for the kids to get an eyeful of their gym teacher with her legs splayed, rubbing the chest of her co-worker and slapping his butt. She was stuffing fake money in his pants.

There was more than enough time for the principal or someone else to throw a blanket over this pair and hustle them out of there.

Fourteen-year-old Nicole Briol was in the gym. She says it was funny at first but “they were crossing a line. It got kind of awkward.”

No one attempted to stop the dance, she said.

Much of the response to this story has pointed out kids see much worse on MuchMusic, online and in movies. So what? We don’t sit our kids in front of the computer to have our standards and values reinforced.

Some of us don’t think they should be watching Gossip Girl or reality shows with desperate young women having sex with a stranger and hoping for an engagement ring in exchange.

You may disagree. It’s your house, your standards.

It is our job to teach our children morals and what we consider acceptable behaviour. When we pack them off to school we expect them to be nurtured, taught and treated with respect. The simulated sex show didn’t meet any of those standards.

Arguments the depiction of sexual behaviour is commonplace in the world of our children hold no water. That’s like saying our kids witness thousands of murders on television so we have to expect they’ll go out and kill someone eventually.

Kids see sexual content on television. That’s doesn’t make it fine for them to see sexual behaviour simulated by their teachers. These people are supposed to be role models.

The pep rally was last Wednesday. The video was posted the same night. Thursday, the pair was still at school. Friday, the two were suspended.

This can mean a couple of things. Perhaps the administrators didn’t think it was a serious issue until the video went viral. After all, they didn’t shut them down while it was happening. Perhaps a few meetings had to be held to determine the consequences. The school’s not saying.

The teachers displayed an appalling lack of judgment. They will have a tough time earning back the respect of students, parents and their peers. They crossed the line between popular teacher and massively inappropriate teacher.

They should both consider another line of work. Maybe there’s a strip club hiring. For the record, any time Inside Edition comes looking for you, you know you’re having a bad day.

The larger issue is the blurring of boundaries, the sense we used to have of our roles and responsibilities. If two people think it’s entertaining to simulate sex in front of their students, what are the kids supposed to think? Life is not a reality show. It’s not some sort of piece of TV froth set in a high school.

It’s hard to understand how these teachers could have misunderstood their role in children’s lives and the responsibility that comes with it. As a teacher, you’re a role model and a leader. There’s no grey area.

And here’s something else that is disturbing. When I asked Nicole Briol how the school had explained things to students, here’s what she said: “We were just told we shouldn’t be talking about it.”

Now there’s another good lesson, boys and girls.

lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca