A Mississippi school is taking disciplinary action against a teacher who required sixth-graders to vote who among their classmates was most likely to get pregnant, contract HIV, go to jail or die by the age of 19.
The Chastain Middle School science teacher wrote the students’ names on the chalkboard ranked in lists for everyone to see.
School officials told WorldNetDaily the assignment was designed to be an “exercise in statistics,” but parents are outraged. Many said their children will receive counseling or will transfer to another school.
Curtis Lyons, the father of a student voted most likely to get pregnant, is holding a meeting for parents Friday. He is asking the school to fire the teacher and address the psychological effects the survey may have had on students.
Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Family Action, compared the case to the infamous 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against parents who protested a sexually explicit survey given to their elementary-age children.
“We are seeing more and more incidences like this of public schools trying to usurp territory that only belongs to parents — and using it in incredibly destructive ways,” she said. “It’s heartening to see the parents in Mississippi drawing a line in the sand against this — and forcing changes.”
