DISTRICT REVIEWS SEX ED : SCHOOLS MAY SEPARATE BOYS, GIRLS IN COURSE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Fathoming the mysteries of the opposite sex can be a thorny task for adults, much less high school freshmen asked to discuss reproduction and other sensitive subjects in sex education class.

To make it easier for students, the Antelope Valley Union High School board is considering separating boys and girls when it comes time in freshman health class to talk about sex. Male teachers would talk to the boys, while a female teacher would be assigned to the girls.

An informal poll of students by their peers shows they favor the idea. Boys-only and girls-only classes would allow more frank talk about sex and limit the snickering and discomfort that's inevitable when teens talk in school about the facts of life, the students said.

``It will add comfort ability, and you would have teachers that have gone through the same thing,'' said Ruben Marin, a 17-year-old Littlerock High School senior. ``Girls will be much more comfortable and be able to ask much more intense questions that boys can't handle. Boys, they can ask questions just as intense, and they won't feel offended or have to act macho.''

The idea of separating sex education classes by gender grew out of a proposal by board president Sue Stokka to offer ninth-graders a voluntary, alternative sex-education course with a stronger emphasis on abstinence. She wants the course to be taught to boys and girls separately.

The board voted 3-2 Sept. 4 to further study the proposed course. In the meantime, members of the Interschool Communication Council, consisting of student representatives from each campus, told trustees they would survey students about the idea of separate classes for boys and girls.

The ICC serves as a liaison by presenting student ideas and opinions on various issues to the school board, staff and teachers. The ICC is made up of five student representatives from each school.

At Littlerock, Marin, who is the ICC president, said he polled 86 students in three health classes last week on the idea of separate sex education classes.

Forty-five students said it was a good idea, 29 were against it, and 12 said they didn't care, Marin said.

``They all had varying opinions,'' Marin said. ``Some girls felt boys acted immaturely. Some boys felt embarrassed or offended by certain things.''

On the other hand, students who thought mixed classes were a good idea said, ``You can learn more about the opposite sex better than when you are separated,'' Marin said.

Marin remembers taking the class as a freshman in a class with girls, saying he learned ``some things about women that I wouldn't have learned by myself.''

``It was a good class, but not anything in-depth,'' Marin said. ``Sometimes it got uncomfortable. When there were certain questions or when the teacher said something, everybody starts laughing.''

Sarah Goodwin, a 17-year-old junior at Quartz Hill High School and ICC secretary, said the majority of the 15 students she has surveyed are in favor of separation.

The few who were against it said having boys and girls in one class ``is more fun that way,'' Goodwin said. Those who were for it said students can ask more personal questions and feel more comfortable in discussions, Goodwin said.

Girls' and boys' attitudes about sex differ, Goodwin said. Girls are much more serious about the subject, while guys like to joke around, as in, ``ha, ha, whatever,'' Goodwin said.

Goodwin took the health course and said while she herself did not feel awkward in class, she sensed other students did.

At times, it seemed as if students wanted to discuss things, ``but they couldn't because they felt embarrassed because of the opposite sex being there,'' Goodwin said.

Personally, Goodwin said she favors separation. ``Girls want to ask about certain things that they don't want guys to hear about. More questions would be answered,'' Goodwin said.

JaAson Willson, a 17-year-old Antelope Valley High School senior who sits on the school board as a student member, said he remembered his sex education class as being ``comfortable,'' but there were ``always kids who are immature and don't know how do deal with it.''

Willson said he thinks gender separation might help students who are embarrassed to ask questions in class. He said the district can try it, and if it doesn't work, go back to having boys and girls in one class.

Complete student survey results are scheduled to be reported back to the board at the Oct. 2 meeting. The board is expected to make a decision on Stokka's proposed course and the issue of gender separation by February.

Sex education is part of the yearlong ninth-grade health course called Healthful Living, which also covers nutrition, physical fitness, communication skills and substance abuse. Teachers spend about a month on the sex education portion of the course.

``Abstinence is taught as the predominantly accepted and preferred personal sexual behavior,'' the course guide says. Students are taught that abstinence is the only certain way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and pregnancy, and they are also taught about different forms of contraception.

Although the current course covers abstinence, Stokka claims the message gets lost in a sea of information about contraception.

Dissenting trustees in the 3-2 vote, Wilda Andrejcik and Bill Olenick, said they feel the current sex-education curriculum is sufficient and that not enough students would be interested to justify adding a new course.

At a board meeting last week, district administrators briefed trustees on the hurdles faced in reshuffling class schedules with boys and girls separated and having an instructor of the same sex, given the male-female ratios among students and teachers.

``It will be difficult to address but not insurmountable,'' said Ray Monti, assistant superintendent of educational services.

There's also the quesAtion of whether classes would need an extra sets of course materials, Monti added. ``Right now we teach different sections at different times,'' Monti said.

Stokka said separating classes would require health courses to be scheduled first before the rest of the master schedule of courses is created.

At least three trustees, Stokka, Kevin Carney and Steve Landaker, have voiced support for separating classes by gender.

``I've heard from numerous parents and people in the community who thought it was a good idea,'' Landaker said. ``The students would be separated and could talk freely.''

``There are some gender-sensitive issues that are better addressed when the two genders are separated,'' Stokka said. ``Each needs privacy to discuss things completely. It provides an opportunity for students to be more open without the snickering and discomfort that naturally comes.''