Remember when you first learned about reproduction and heard the words “vagina” and “penis” for the first time? Those words probably seemed pretty taboo and kind of funny, but you learned to deal with it. Well, the school officials at Harper Creek Middle School in Battle Creek, Michigan apparently couldn’t.
When substitute teacher Allison Wint guest-taught an art history class about Georgia O’Keefe to a group of eighth graders, she inevitably brought up the term “vagina”. She asked her students to “imagine walking into a gallery when [O’Keeffe] was first showing her pieces, and thinking, Am I actually seeing vaginas here, am I a pervert? I’m either a pervert or this woman was a pervert,” according to the Detroit Free Press.
Unfortunately for Wint, when the principal heard about what had occurred in her class, Wint was let go for violating a policy that required her to get permission before discussing content relating to reproductive health. In an interview with WWMT.com, Wint says, “I did not know about this policy, they were entirely within their right to remove me, however I was not aware of this policy beforehand; if I had known about this policy, I would have never done it without approval.”
“I thought if I used a euphemism, that would make it into a joke,” she told the Detroit Free Press. “And I don’t think that’s a word you should be afraid of.”
The school has issued a statement saying that they did not let Wint go because of “controversial subject matter.” “We do not shy away from controversial issues,” the school wrote. “The district did have concerns that the substitute teacher did not follow district art curriculum. These concerns, in addition to other failures, were the basis for the determination.”
While we can see where the school is coming from with this reproductive health policy…Come on, they’re eighth graders. Do we really want students entering high school without being able to use the word “vagina” in a serious context? This seems like a misguided policy that could do more harm than good.