UK school apologizes for homework asking kids to define 'hardcore' porn, 'sexting'
A religious school in the United Kingdom is apologizing after a homework assignment required students to define several kinds of pornography.
The headteacher of Archbishop Sentamu Academy in Hull said he is "sorry" if the homework led some students to research it online and access illicit content. The assignment, which asked students to define terms such as "sexting," "revenge porn," "hardcore porn" and "transgender pornography," was given to children ages 11 through 14 as part of the "Personal, Social and Health Education" curriculum, the BBC reported.
Students were also asked to define the topics of female genital mutilation and breast ironing in addition to questions about alcohol and drug use.
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Local parents were outraged.
"I'm just thinking is there kids out there who have done this work? You would be scared at what you saw. At 11 I was playing with Barbies. If they have seen it they can't unsee it," one mother told The Daily Mail, who asked only to be quoted as Mrs. Taylor.
The 34-year-old mother continued: "'She was only in primary school last year living her best life, now she is being asked to search for hardcore pornography. She's 11, she should be doing stranger danger, and don't share your info online, but genital mutilation is another thing. It was asking about male circumcision, breast ironing ... I don't even know what that is myself."
"They have been told to use Google and she would have searched it. I did Google hardcore porn and some of the images that came up was quite disturbing."
The mother explained she was not opposed to all sex education but objected to content that would destroy their minds.
Another local man, Leon Dagon, a 25-year-old with a 13-year-old sister at the school took to social media to voice his disgust: "The majority of children nowadays will now go on the internet to help them with their homework and if you type that kind of thing on the internet, God knows what's going to pop up."
"Luckily I found the work otherwise she would have typed this stuff into Google and you know what would have come up and that makes me feel sick. I felt sick thinking she was going to go onto the computer to search it up," he said.
Chay Bell, principal of the school, said in response to the issue that he was "genuinely sorry if parents or students have unnecessarily researched any of these phrases and for any offense caused."
"I have asked that any future materials of this nature have a clear statement ensuring students and their parents are aware of any potentially sensitive content and will ensure all materials are fully age appropriate," he said.
He maintained that students were not instructed to research the topics on the internet because the answers to the questions that students posed were contained in the teacher-produced materials that had already been shared.
"The PSHE materials that we share with students are produced in line with government guidance, the PSHE Association Programs of Study and the Sex Education Forum's definition of Sex Education. They also cover the Equality Act of 2010."
In recent years, what is known as comprehensive sex education has generated significant controversy around the world, particularly with the rise of transgenderism where it is being suggested to young children that some people were "born in the wrong body."
Archbishop Sentamu Academy is a Church of England school that serves "children and families of all faiths and of none." Its mission statement says, "Through Christian principles, we aim to offer an education that transforms lives and communities."
