Meanwhile, in Idaho:
A Dietrich science teacher is being investigated by the state’s professional standards commission after a complaint from parents over his teaching methods. […]
According to [teacher Tim McDaniel], four parents were offended that he explained the biology of an orgasm and included the word “vagina” during his lesson on the human reproductive system in a tenth-grade biology course.
Well, that doesn't sound very fair. Surely, there's got to be more to it than that?
According to a letter from the Idaho State Department of Education to McDaniel, the allegations also include that he shared confidential student files with an individual other than their parents, showed a video clip in class depicting an infection of genital herpes, taught different forms of birth control and told inappropriate jokes in class.
No word on what that first one is supposed to be about, but showing kids how to recognize herpes or what birth control is, now that's some serious outrage fuel. And telling jokes in sex-ed class? NO. NOT ALLOWED. Maybe the problem isn't that he
said vagina, maybe it's how he said it. Like, maybe he said it with an exclamation point afterwards? Vagina! Yeah, that seems a bit more alarming.
Parents can opt out of having their kids taught about vaginas, and it appears the upset parents didn't do that—so I'm not sure the "he said vagina!" complaint is going to pass muster with the ol' professional board. Who knows, stranger things have happened. This, though, might offer a bit more insight as to what might be going on here:
According to McDaniel, the commission is also investigating a complaint that accuses him of using school property to promote a political candidate. The complaint was because he showed the climate change film “An Inconvenient Truth,” also in his science class.
McDaniel said he includes the film to spark a discussion on climate change among the students. After watching the film, he asks students to write a response paper explaining their thoughts on climate change.
Ah. Looks like what we have here is a science teacher teaching a whole
lot of crazy science stuff. Climate change, critical thinking, the existence of vaginas—the whole deal.
Apropos of nothing, The Atlantic Wire points out that the part of Idaho in question has both a large Mormon presence and the state's highest teen pregnancy rate. Draw your own conclusions, etc.