A Toronto, Canada grade 7-8 teacher was placed on paid leave after he posted a sexually graphic brochure depicting a gay sex act on a bulletin board in his grade 7-8 classroom, the Toronto Sun reports.
Toronto District School Board (TDSB) officials suspended teacher Wade Vroom in May 2013 after he created a bulletin board in his classroom last October that included graphic illustrations on how to perform safe oral sex on men.
The teacher intended the brochure to be part of the Toronto school system’s sex education curriculum. The brochure was published by the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT), and titled “Use Your Head When Giving It: Bl0w Job Tips.”
The brochure is the type normally posted in gay men’s bars and bath houses to educate gay men on safe sex and HIV/AIDS prevention. The flyer contained the language “If You Like to F—”.
“We do use explicit language because we’re targeting a specific community where this kind of language is warranted and needed,” ACT spokesman Andrew Brett told The Toronto Sun newspaper.
The brochure, including graphic images of men performing fellatio, remained on the bulletin board in full view of the children for 7 months.
The brochure was finally taken down when a news reporter visited the classroom and spotted the flyer on the bulletin board.
The reporter, with the Sun News Network, called the Toronto school board to inquire about the flyer and other materials used in the school’s sex-education curriculum.
TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird insisted the teacher had “good intentions” when he posted the sex literature.
“They were put up by the teacher in an attempt to speak more directly to youth on what is a sensitive topic,” said Bird. “Having said that, it was clearly inappropriate and has been taken down.”
Doretta Wilson, of the Society for Quality Education, said the brochures were too “mature” for “vulnerable” kids as young as 11 or 12.
“For that age group, it’s entirely inappropriate,” said Wilson, who questioned why the school’s principal wasn’t aware of the graphic brochure for 7 months.
“You mean, a principal hadn’t visited that classroom since October? We know … that it’s important for the principal to monitor what is in the classroom and what teachers are doing. The more principals are involved with their teachers, it makes for a better atmosphere in the school.”
