A no-holds-barred PowerPoint presentation has forced parents and teachers to confront the tough issues of adolescent sexuality and what constitutes proper and age-appropriate educational conversation.
Choice and Consequence, produced by Tom Dunn at the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center, was made to show students how their actions, particularly sexting, cyberbullying and inappropriate touching can affect their future.
But its use of terms like “vaginal penetration,” “prostitution,” “masturbating” and “genitals” has riled some parents at Liza Jackson Preparatory School.
Principal Mary Gunter said Wednesday she’s spoken to or met with “about 20” parents upset by the CAC’s presentation.
The complaints have come in the week and a half since the PowerPoint was shown to students in the fifth through eighth grades. Dunn and officials at the CAC said they’ve also fielded some limited criticism.
“They’re not negative to the idea of letting children know about the dangers of sexting and cyberbullying,” Gunter said of the parents she’s spoken to. “Where they had a problem was with the use of explicit language. I think some kids were uncomfortable and some asked their parents what some of these words meant.”
There also were questions raised about allowing fifth-graders, mostly 10-year-olds, to watch the presentation, said several parents who contacted the Daily News but declined to speak on the record.
The CAC stood firmly behind its presentation.
“We stand behind the content and the age appropriateness,” said Jen Floro, the agency’s public relations director.
Dunn, who has been the CAC’s case advocate since 1998, said the words parents found offensive “were taken right out of the state statutes.”
He said he believes it is important for children to realize what the laws say and how crossing the line with inappropriate behavior can impact their lives.
“It’s important for them to understand what the legal ramifications are and the choices you can make so you can make good choices,” Dunn said.
Dunn put together his Choice and Consequence PowerPoint about five years ago at the request of a Walton County middle school, according to CAC Chief Executive Officer Julie Hurst.
The presentation has been made to about 10 schools, and Hurst said the complaints lodged by the Liza Jackson’s parents were the first the CAC has fielded.
“Before this it’s been very positive feedback from students and teachers,” said Dunn. “The students asked a lot of questions afterward.”
Middle school students need the type of information the presentation provides because in many cases it is their age group that are victims, Dunn said.
As an agency formed to protect the victims of child abuse and prevent it from happening, the CAC knows how important education is in today’s social media crazy world, Hurst said.
“I’m sorry we have to put on this type presentation,” she said.
Dunn spoke of talking with 13-year-old girls who had been manipulated into sex by an adult. “They said, ‘I didn't expect it to go that far and when it did I didn’t know what to do.’ ”
“A lot of people don’t want to believe what’s happening. We see it every day,” Hurst said. “We can only hope at least one child who views that presentation won’t be a victim.”
The CAC’s staff did say it welcomed the input from the Liza Jackson’s parents and intends to recommend in the future that schools showing Choice and Consequence screen the material beforehand and notify parents of its subject matter.
The agency also will recommend that the PowerPoint program be presented to different age groups at different times, Dunn said.
Gunter said she will meet with her leadership team in mid-February to discuss options to ensure that students and staff aren’t blindsided by a presentation in the future.
Parental notification, opt-out options and even a parental pre-screening of material will be on the table, Gunter said.
Kay McKinley, Okaloosa County’s deputy superintendent of schools, said she was aware of Choice and Consequence and said the school district’s principals were “blown away” by the raw nature of the content.
The school district has not been approached by the CAC about providing the presentation to students and wouldn’t agree to do so, she said.
“In my opinion I feel it is not the school district’s job to be disseminating this kind of information,” she said.
Walton County Superintendent of Schools Carlene Anderson said Dunn had approached her two weeks ago about making the presentation available.
“We’re looking for some good information on sexting. Kids need to know about this. It’s dangerous,” she said.
Anderson said she wanted to speak first to school administrators before making any decisions and was hesitant to commit to doing anything with the CAC’s presentation.
She said “parental rights” will play a large role in any decision about bringing up the topic of sexting in Walton County schools.
Dunn did say the CAC would be happy to tailor any presentation to the desires of the audience.
The agency also announced plans this week to present a program Feb 28 called Darkness to Light, intended to educate parents about the dangers their children face.
“This program shifts responsibility to parents,” Hurst said.
“Maybe if parents don’t want kids to view this type program, they will take it upon themselves to come forward and participate,” Dunn said.
The program is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. at the CAC headquarters in Niceville.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.