Stories like this are disturbing enough when they happen in the Democrat domiciles of New York, Illinois, or California, but this happened in America’s heartland. The Buckeye State is known for having some of the top school districts and best-trained teachers in the nation. And yet, this story out of the town of Hudson, Ohio, just goes to show how deeply corrupt the public education system has become.
Hudson Mayor Craig Shubert confronted his errant school board on September 13 with the statement: “It has come to my attention that your educators are distributing essentially what is child pornography in the classroom. I’ve spoken to a judge this evening and she’s already confirmed that. So I’m going to give you a simple choice: Either choose to resign from this board of education, or you will be charged.” This was met with enthusiastic applause from parents in the audience.
BREAKING: Hudson mayor demands all school board members resign or face possible criminal charges over high school course material that he said a judge called “child pornography.”
— Jenny Beth Martin (@jennybethm) September 14, 2021
“I’m going to give you a simple choice: You either choose to resign or you will be charged.” pic.twitter.com/guhp0zc0ns
These are pretty serious charges and are based on several instances of “grooming” happening at Hudson High School. The most egregious is a writing prompt book used by a college-level class. The book, 642 Things to Write About, has several explicit prompts such as “write an X-rated Disney scenario,” “write a sex scene you wouldn’t show your mom,” and “describe your favorite part of a man’s body using only verbs.”
One of the students who was interviewed about this book stated that she found this salacious material within a few minutes of looking though the book. It was pervasive enough that a cursory examination would have exposed this trash for what it was. Students were also not allowed to bring this book home, so their parents weren’t able to see firsthand what was in it — which indicates that the educator was fully aware of how bad it was and wanted no pushback.
Just think of how many adults this book had to get past before it landed in the hands of these kids. It had to be viewed and approved by the teacher, department colleagues, the school administration, and the school board. This book had been used for six years and is only now being called into the light. It is the failing in judgment by several layers of accountability. High school students are minors, and this material is asking these impressionable adolescents to engage in their own sexualization. It is sick.
A local police officer who attended the meeting demanded more accountability from teachers and a way to prosecute them with video evidence when they display this child-sex-grooming behavior. His reasoning is that if police officers have to wear body cams, then classrooms should have cameras so that law enforcement and parents have a viable means of proof of what is being taught in their children’s classrooms. While this sentiment is understandable, it may be a bridge too far. It is rife with the potential for misuse and overreach by governing bodies. There has to be a balance between accountability and allowing good teachers to do what they do best.
To be fair, perhaps a few of these writing prompts could be used for good purposes. Here’s a link of a hundred PG-13-rated prompts taken from the book. However, even in those 100 prompts, some still could be interpreted in a perverted way.
In other words, even if teachers are being discrete — i.e., not giving out this book to students but still using some of the prompts — they could still run into trouble if they’re not careful. The most responsible solution is: Don’t use this book. There are better resources out there, and even if there weren’t, teachers can always make their own.
This school board exhibited criminally poor judgement because it allowed schools to engage in this malpractice. Everyone in the chain of command holds some measure of responsibility. All those who allowed this book to be used as an “educational resource” should be charged and prosecuted.
As of this writing, the school board is not going to resign, according to the school board’s president, David Zuro. So in typical leftist behavior, they won’t take responsibility.
If you are a parent with children in the public school, these are the types of issues that your children will likely face in their classes. If it can happen in Hudson, Ohio, it can happen in your child’s school as well. Ask your teens about what they are doing and learning so that you can help stand up for them should the situation arise.