Whitney High School

The following controversial issues are not separate units of instruction, but integrated into the curriculum.  The suggested method of integration is:

• Abortion – during or after Section I, B: Embryonic and Fetal Development
• Masturbation – during or after Section I, D: Sexual Health
• Homosexuality – during or after Section 2, C: Relationships, and/or Section 1, F: HIV/AIDS

Opinions or value statements of the teacher will not be presented.  In discussion, all viewpoints will be addressed.  Students will be referred to parents/guardians, religious leaders, or other trusted adults in order to form an opinion or make a value judgment regarding these issues.

 

Goal:

To make the student aware of abortion as a medical intervention which terminates a pregnancy. It should not be presented as a method of birth control.  It is appropriate for the teacher to present issues for and against abortion and to allow for a discussion of the issue.  The teacher, school, and material will avoid either advocating or censuring abortion.

Objectives:

The student will be able to:

1. Understand the possible serious medical and psychological consequences of abortion and repeated abortion.
2. Understand the medical and surgical procedures used.
3. Understand fetal development from conception to birth.
4. Discuss the ethics of abortion with parents, guardians, religious leaders, or other trusted adults.
5. Distinguish between the morning after pill (prevents fertilization) and RU486 (causes the shedding of the endometrium).

Resource Materials:

“Ultrasound: "Eyewitness to the Earliest Days of Life," Sound Wave Images, Inc.  Video

Induced Termination of Pregnancy Before and After Roe v. Wade.  Council on Scientific Affairs and American Medical Association.

Abortion Surveillance: Preliminary Data.  United States, 1990,

Legal Abortion: The Public Health Record.  Author: Willard Crates, Jr.

Facts About Abortion.  Planned Parenthood of Sacramento Valley.

Facts and Statistics from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

 

Goal:

To explain that masturbation is defined as self-touching or self-stimulation of the genitals for sexual pleasure or arousal.

Objectives:

The student will be able to:

1. Understand that masturbation is not physically harmful to a person.
2. Discuss the myths associated with masturbation such as causing blindness, acne, or nervous disorders.
3. Discuss the ethics of masturbation with parents, guardians, religious leaders, or other trusted adult.

 

Resource Materials:

Discover Healthy Sexual Development; p. 34; paragraphs 2 & 3.

 

Goal:

No formal discussion instigated by the teacher will be presented.  In student initiated discussions, the teacher will follow the below listed objectives, not present personal opinions or values, discuss all view points of the issue, and refer students to parents/guardians, religious leaders, or other trusted adults.  Family values and respect for marriage and lifelong, monogamous, committed relationships will be affirmed throughout the program as well as the dignity of all individuals.

Objectives:

The student will be able to:

1. Understand that feelings of affection for persons of the same sex are not necessarily an indication of homosexuality.
2. Understand that early experiences of a homosexual type do not indicate that one is homosexual.
3. Understand that slurs, harassment, or violence either against or from individuals based on sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation are unacceptable and illegal.
4. Discuss the ethics of homosexuality with parents, guardians, religious leaders, or other trusted adult.

Resource Materials:

Health Framework for California Public Schools, Sacramento, 2003

American Psychiatric Association, Fact Sheet Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Issues, Questions About Sexual Orientation section only, December 2000.