By Mona Austin
As school resumes across the nation, parents are placing their attention on wat their students are being taught. Contentious debates about CRT and the removal of classic literature that some educators deem armful have been the focus, but discussion of appropriate sex education as always been a concern.
Dr. Stephen Kershnar, a professor from SUNY in Fredonia, has taught that sex between children and adults is acceptable. Outrage over his controversial views has not silenced him and although the university president released a statement condemning his stance and reviewed the situation, he kept is job. Some of the outrage stems from parents who worry that this acceptance may empower teachers in grade school and high school who share alternative views to influence their children in the classroom.
One student who took Keshnar's course said he did not come to college to "debate the ethics of a 16-year-old in a 40-year-old's body."
The professor of libertarian philosophy shared his taboo views in a Tik Tok video that was posted to Twitter and went viral in February of this year.
“Imagine that an adult male wants to have sex with a 12-year-old girl. Imagine that she’s a willing participant,” Kershnar says.
“A very standard, very widely held view is that there’s something deeply wrong about this — and it’s wrong independent of it being criminalized,” he continued.
“It’s not obvious to me that it’s in fact wrong. I think this is a mistake. And I think exploring that why it’s a mistake will tell us not only things about adult/sex and statutory rape and also fundamental principles of morality.”
More of these taboo views are shared in the book Dr. Kershner authored, "Pedophilia and Adult Child Sex: A philosophical Analysis."
Students on all levels do not choose the curriculum that is presented to them. Certain subjects have been restricted by age and other factors of student development. As more previously shunned views become tolerated in the public sphere, alternative thought enters the realm of pedagogy, in this case by imposition. Students were repulsed in Keshner's lectures on the subject explored in his book according to a local news report and hoped that he would be fired.
Christians in particular are denouncing his philosophy on moral and civil grounds. Keshnar's views neither respect God's moral codes, nor the American system of law, which punishes rapists and pedophiles. His beliefs drastically deviate from psychological norms that hold that children are not fully mentally developed. He presumes a level emotional and mental maturity in youth that is similar or almost equal to an adult's maturity level by saying children can consent to sex.
Including alternative views like the above mentioned falls in line with LGBTQ subject matter in school curriculum being contested by conservative parents. Most people find defending pedophilia "reprehensible" just as the university claimed it does in a statement. There are gay and lesbian educators in our schools as well as same sex parents who are open to normalizing their lifestyles, yet opponents of the change feel it is a gateway to more extreme teaching such as Dr. Keshner's. Some teachers are not comfortable with the parameters they are given to teach sex education, as religious views are awash in most public school settings. Parents have a right to be concerned. Many things have changed in society having first been introduced in classrooms. It is possible for Keshnar's philosophy to trickle down into primary and secondary level schools.
So far we could not find reports of any sex education classes being offered that normalize pedophilia. However, there are parents bracing for it as years of debates at school board meetings have not fully blocked sensitive practices or teaching, such as the use of sexual identity pronouns. We have included this in our reporting to show concerned parents the breadth of changes in public schools.
Comments