Video by Bryana Nguyen
Story by Jose Valle-Alvarado
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina — Elizabeth Chambers and Ruth Ann Chavis are best friends, but they have opposite opinions of Get Real, a controversial sex ed program piloted in Cumberland County middle schools until February.
Both women have children that attend Mac Williams Middle School, one of the schools included in the pilot. Chambers supported the program; Chavis rejected it.
Chambers was a fan of Get Real because it was more up-to-date and relevant to students than the previous program.
“Anything that is implemented in the schools should be based on current research and evidence-based,” Chambers said. “The old curriculum might be evidence-based, but it was based on evidence from 10 years ago. Snapchat wasn’t a thing back then. We have to teach kids based on what their reality is right now, and it’s not what it was 10 years ago.”
For Chavis, moral teaching is key.
“I’m not against teaching sexual education, safety and precaution and parenting,” Chavis said. “But no one can convince me that while someone is teaching my kid what sex is, that they’re teaching to engage in this you should be in love, you should be committed and that you should be monogamous.“
Amanda Fritts, community coordinator for Cumberland County for Sexual Health Initiatives for Teens (SHIFT) NC, describes Get Real as a curriculum that builds on lessons from sixth to eighth grade. The program provides students with information that is medically accurate but also age-appropriate and focuses primarily on decision-making skills. She said it promotes that the best choice is abstinence and incorporates discussions with parents every step of the way.
In the 2016-2017 school year, the Planned Parenthood-created program was piloted in nine Cumberland County schools in sixth and seventh grade, involving more than 2,000 students. It was the first county in North Carolina to implement it.
The program caused no controversy until October 2017 when parents at one school, which had not yet instituted Get Real, raised concerns. Though the school board implemented Get Real after modification and recommendation by its School Health Advisory Council, multiple parents voiced concerns.
Eventually, the Cumberland County Board of Education voted to revert back to the locally developed Middle School Reproductive Health & Safety Lessons that were implemented in 2009 and updated in 2013.
“It’s just unfortunate because in the big scheme of things, I think most people would be happy with it if they just went with it,” said Tania Conaughton-Espino, director of Integrated Community Initiatives at SHIFT NC. “That’s why I don’t think we had any complaints the first year. It’s pretty mild and the school system actually tailored it to their needs.”
Get Real includes a unit on sexual identity, which was a point of contention. Though not covered in this unit, Chavis said there were mentions of anal sex.
“It wasn’t the homosexuality aspect that turned me off, because that’s an issue that’s not any of my business,” Chavis said. “I’m not here to Bible-thump. I do go to church and I do love Jesus, but my viewpoint on homosexuality is that’s not me to answer for. My issue is that I think we’re opening up a can of worms for a much younger generation.”
Meanwhile, Chambers said she has friends who opposed the LGBTQ portion of the program. She believes that despite them being against it, they cannot stop reality.
“I think that reality is reality and that educating people on reality is important,” Chambers said. “The only way we’re going to get away from people being so nasty to each other is to normalize reality. It’s not going to go away because your church doesn’t believe in it.”
In the end, Chambers and Chavis don’t see their differing viewpoints as something that will ever affect their friendship.
“I think that what people tend to forget is that you can be whoever you want to be and you can think whatever you want to think,” Chavis said. “Even in sexuality, being gay, being a lesbian, being whatever doesn’t define who you are. Your viewpoints are your viewpoints and I can respect that as a person.”
