A 16-year-old student at a Missouri high school brought home an English class assignment that her mom felt crossed the lines of good taste.
A page from the assignment begins with the following sentences: "Prudence is thirty-four. She's had sex with twenty-one men and three women."
The description goes on to say that Prudence met a guy named Larry, and they got romantic and talked about their "sexual histories." Other topics such as "heavy petting," being "inhibited in bed" and faking orgasms were covered as well.
Mom apparently tried chatting with the principal at Scotland County R-1 Junior-Senior High School in Memphis, Missouri, but "got a bit of a run-around," Fox News' Todd Starnes wrote after speaking with her and getting a look at the assignment page she photographed.
Starnes said he contacted district Superintendent Ryan Bergeson who did some investigating and later indicated the assignment wasn't part of any approved curriculum and that action was taken against the teacher.
The teacher in question confirmed Tuesday night to KTVO-TV that he submitted his resignation after administrators asked for it. The station didn't name the teacher.
Turns out the photo of the page with the sexual content comes from a satirical short story called “Test” by G.A. Ingersoll, the station said. The text is structured just like a typical page of mathematical word problems, along with instructions, except that the purpose is to "lampoon testing conventions and may not be appropriate for PG audiences," KTVO said.
The station noted the superintendent's statement on the matter:
The Scotland County R-I School District is providing this statement in response to inquiries regarding a document that was distributed to students by a teacher in the district. The administration and Board of Education want to make very clear that this document was not part of the district’s curriculum. The district would never approve or adopt that type of content and had absolutely no knowledge that this material was present on school premises or that students would have access to such content, in any way. Appropriate action has been taken, and will continue to be taken, to ensure that this conduct will not be repeated. The district is very grateful to the persons who brought this situation to our attention, so that it could be addressed immediately and permanently. We also appreciate the support of the community in confirming that this type of material is not acceptable for students in our schools. We look forward to having a positive and productive end of the school year, including all of the celebrations that involve graduation and related activities.
