Sexual harassment prevalent in school

As a junior high school student, I still remember trying to dodge the boys known for sneaking up behind you and grabbing your … how to say it … rear end, hind quarters, tush.

Then there was the bra snapping and some antics at early teen parties that really make me wonder whether certain boys known for inappropriate groping are now living life as registered sex offenders. Then there were the labels – being called a “blue nun” one week and “whore” the next.

I remember not liking this, but also believing there wasn’t much that could be done about it. You couldn’t exactly tell a teacher.

In fact, I also had a junior high school teacher who did much the same thing. He rubbed girls’ shoulders in social studies class. He coached our girls’ basketball team, leering at us all the while. We mocked him mercilessly rather than tell the principal. Somehow, we already knew tenure would protect him.

With so much of an emphasis on bullying these days, a new report on sexual harassment in schools caught my eye. Turns out, many young women – and young men – experience far worse forms of sexual harassment at school.

A report released this week by the American Association of University Women found that sexual harassment “pervades the lives of students in seventh through 12^th grades.”

Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School, the most comprehensive research conducted in the past decade on sexual harassment in middle and high schools, found that nearly half of those surveyed said they had been harassed during the 2010-2011 school year.

Opinion: Don’t opt out of Obama school talk

If you’re a parent of a child in public school, chances are you recently got a notice like this from your teacher, school or district:

Dear Parents,

We’ll be listening to and watching President Obama’s Back to School Speech on Wednesday. If you want to opt out and not have your child watch this you must fill out the attachment and return it to school on Monday.

As much as I like to be in the loop as far as school events are concerned, this really ticked me off. This is not a choice I want. I don’t believe it’s a choice I should have. I don’t care if our president is a Republican, a Democrat, an independent, black, brown, white, young, old, middle-aged, Jew, Mormon, Christian, man or woman.

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