Enterprise High School - Vespa Yearbook (Redding, CA)

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wsejp© Family Planning, Inc., and its role in Shasta Union High School District classrooms kicked off a controversy in the fall. Concerned parents, teachers, community members at large and students debated the issue at length. A final decision on Family Planning’s activities in local high schools was postponed, pending results of a grand jury inquiry. I teach social psychology, an elective class open to all students. I am proud of this unit of instruction titled Human Sexuality that has evolved over the past years. I was first motivated to teach this class as a result of students' repeated requests for information about their own sexuality. Students seek answers to questions openly and honestly, and I feel that my entire career is directed toward helping young people in their quest. Students help to select the topics studied in this class and often help to arrange for guest speakers. Students help to determine the depth of inquiring into a topic. I facilitate their search for information by discussing the topics with them and offering suggestions of the possible community resources available that may provide information on their questions. The result of the process has been to enrich the students' exposure to include as many points of view as available in order for them to make responsible decisions regarding their own behavior. Guest speakers have included ministers, attorneys counselors and psychologists speaking on various aspects of human sexuality. The resource speakers provided students with current, and accurate information, as available. Students have responded enthusiastically with questions that often require more background training and experience than I have to offer. I do not have the expertise that the community resource speakers possess collectively. I have had professional training recently in the area of human sexuality but feel that I cannot stay abreast of all the changes. Therefore, I am hoping to continue to call upon outside speakers. Family Planning speakers do not encourage any point of view except, Don't have a baby, unless you want it and have planned for it.” They don't advocate abortions or promiscuity. Please consider my comments as representative of one teacher involved in preparing and presenting lessons about human sexuality and other psychological concepts related to family living. It is difficult to say in a few words what I think about Family Planning. Inc., with all that has been said before the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and the Grand Jury. If it all could be summarized, it comes down to local control. For one, it placed the county in a bad situation when the county had no say about policy, procedures nor personnel used by FPI, but the county was liable for damages if a malpractice suit were brought against the county. Another problem was, who oversaw FPI? The citizens who met with the representatives of the evaluation team which HEW selected were told that there had never been an on-site evaluation in the seven years of FPI until the issue of FPI's role in the community was questioned. When the board of supervisors evaluated FPI in August of 1977, the county realized that there was no local supervision and so they voted unanimously for a condition approval of the FPI funding with local control. FPI did not want the conditions, so the supervisors allowed only a short interim funding until the investigation was completed. The supervisors’ vote was not against a pregnancy prevention program since the county would have put FPI under the direction of the county health department. The county would receive funds from the same sources from which FPI obtained them. The controversy in the school district had nothing to do with free speech and academic freedom. FPI is a private corporation funded with public money. No organization, public or private, should be given an audience in a public school which has the following problems: FPI was under investigation by the Shasta County Grand Jury as well as several agencies of the state and federal governments for many allegations. FPI would not have received continued funding if it could not clear itself. I was dismayed when the school board failed to temporarily suspend FPI's presentations with so many things unresolved. Putting the problem into perspective, suppose that the safety of a school bus were in question. I am certain that the school board would not permit such a bus to run until the matter were investigated. viewpoint 5

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(ABOVE) Towering pines and lush, green meadows hedge the shimmering waters of Cold Boiling Lake in Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park. 6 travel