Merriam Webster Dictionary Pulled From Elementary School For Defining Oral Sex; Guess What All The Students Just Found Out About?

from the yeah-good-work,-parents dept

Tue, Feb 2nd 2010 2:14pm — Mike Masnick

Pickle Monger points us to yet another story of overreaction that will clearly backfire in a misguided attempt to "protect the children!" Apparently a parent of a student at Oak Meadows Elementary school in Riverside, California got very upset when she discovered that the schools had copies of the collegiate level Merriam-Websters Dictionary which (gasp!) contained a definition of the phrase "oral sex." Because of that the dictionary was removed from classrooms and a committee was formed to "investigate." Thankfully, the committee concluded that the original dictionary was fine and should be returned to the classroom, but that an alternative dictionary will be provided as well.

Of course, many other parents at the school pointed out how ridiculous it was that the dictionaries were removed in the first place. It's not as if kids will never hear a phrase like that and seek out an answer somewhere. Would parents really prefer that the kids go to Google and do a search on "oral sex," or go to a dictionary instead? Furthermore, this is a definite "Streisand Effect" situation. Now that this story has made the press, you have to imagine that a significantly higher number of elementary school students at Oak Meadows have now heard the term "oral sex" and figured out what it meant.

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Filed Under: dictionaries, oral sex, streisand effect

61 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:15pm

I used to think all the Puritans were long dead.
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dwind (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:20pm

Schools still have hard cover dictionary's?
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Anonymous Poster, 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:21pm

Re:
No, they survived by taking on the appearance of normal, free-thinking people.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:22pm

Also, we're forgetting the real tragedy: The child whose mother is a moron (and has ruined at least part of his school life).
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Alan Gerow (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:23pm

Re:
You'd be amazed at how much society has advanced in the past 15 years, but schools are remarkably the same.

Except for the metal detectors. And armed paramilitary. And drug & bomb sniffing dogs. And random searches.

But paper dictionaries, blackboards, flags with 48 stars, history books that refer to it as "The Great War" ... those are all still there.
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Robert Ring (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:27pm

Similar story
A high school teacher of mine once told us that years before us, when he first began teaching at the school, there was a history book the school was using, and in one silly chapter introduction or something like that, there was the word "damn" (used, I believe, in a quote). Of course, no kid is going to go actively read a non-assigned portion of any textbook (much less a history textbook), but nonetheless, the school required all students in that class to give the teacher their book so that he could tear out the offending page and return the book to them. Naturally, every kid suddenly wanted to go read that page before having it torn out.

Plus ... over "damn"?
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dwind (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:27pm

I've been away from schools too long.
Sigh
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aguywhoneedstenbucks (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:31pm

Re: Re:
The Civil Rights Movement: Trouble Ahead
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:34pm

Re: Similar story
In one of my middle school "Reading" class (yes, there was an entire class just for reading), we read a book that happened to contain a chapter that had about 2-3 paragraphs describing animals reproducing (on a farm). Our teacher said something like "Skip chapter ## because it has inappropriate content!"

So, naturally, everyone read it (and were just as bored as during the rest of the terrible book).
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Esahc (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:35pm

Google
"go to Google and do a search on "oral sex,""

And that is why dictionary are still useful.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:36pm

Question
Did the dictionary also happen to include the definition of the word "is"? If so, we could always repurpose it for use in the Clinton Library....
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aguywhoneedstenbucks (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:37pm

Darn Kids
I agree with removing the dictionary. They should figure it out the old fashioned way like we had to. It was more fun that way.
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sehlat (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:44pm

What's the fuss about?
People talk about sex all the time. Isn't that oral sex?
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Dark Helmet (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:45pm

Re: Darn Kids
"I agree with removing the dictionary. They should figure it out the old fashioned way like we had to. It was more fun that way."

Spoken like someone who never went to Catholic School....

/sarcasm
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IshmaelDS (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:47pm

Re: Google
Actually if you do that the first link is the link to Wikipedia article about oral sex. :P Google Search for Oral Sex
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Pickle Monger (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:50pm

Re: Question
Good one DH. Long live sarcasm!
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Esahc (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:50pm

Re: Re: Google
My fault for assuming as I didn't want to search "Oral Sex" while at work.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:50pm

Re: Re: Google
":P"

I can't think of a more appropriate emoticon for a story involving oral sex....

Other than maybe :0
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 2:53pm

Merriam Webster Dictionary Pulled From Elementary School For Defining Oral Sex; Guess What All The Students Just Found Out About?
Did they find out about a new line of hats coming soon from the No Reason To Buy experiment?
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IshmaelDS (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:09pm

Re: Re: Re: Google
Luckily I'm the network admin at my work so I have to police myself when doing search's at work.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:09pm

Re: Re: Similar story
classes*
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:12pm

:O
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:13pm

bunch of phonies
Yet nobody legalises drugs.
Think of the children, drug dealers have no interest in asking for ID's.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:20pm

I think I read about one of these so called "books" recently. From my understanding "books" were used for reading some years back...
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Yakko Warner, 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:26pm

Re: Re: Re: Google
I'll never be able to look at those emoticons in the same way again.

*resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at you*
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:27pm

Re: Re: Re: Google
:o
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Spanky, 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:39pm

Question
So what's it mean?
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taoareyou (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:44pm

Re: Re:
The school my daughter goes to still teaches kids how to use the card catalog in the library.
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Ben, 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:47pm

Books are for..
Burning! ;-)...
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 3:47pm

Re: Question
Ask The Anti-Mike. He's a good stand-in for an elementary student.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 4:05pm

I have to ask ...... why was the mother looking for a definition for oral sex in the first place?
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ChimpBush McHitlerBurton, 2 Feb 2010 @ 4:12pm

Re: Porno Parents
I don't know which bothers me more: The idea that a school would make such a lousy decision to remove a fucking dictionary from the library, or the idea that some kid's parent is lurking in the school library looking up "oral sex" in the dictionary...

...Oh wait, come to think of it, I DO know which bothers me more.

Cweepy.

CBMHB
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 4:20pm

and better yet .... i bet she is a member of some religion.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 4:20pm

and better yet .... i bet she is a member of some religion.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 4:32pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Google
:()
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 4:52pm

Re: Books are for..
Some books are great kindling for burning book burners.
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PAF56, 2 Feb 2010 @ 5:11pm

Teach about it YES, but have the word in the dictionary??
I seems that in a whole bunch of Liberal run Grade Schools and even pre-school and kindergarten, that 'anything goes' as far as being outside the NORMAL bounds of School and training the children.
In those schools (nay, Liberal/homosexual indoctrination centers for children) GAY sex is taught among other things such as fisting, Islam, Witchcraft etc. but never anything to do with Christianity.
In those brainwashing academies they have given the terms "Liberal Education" and "Liberal Arts Education" a whole new meaning.
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wizened (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 5:12pm

Re: I used to think all the Puritans were long dead.
Are you kidding. There are at least 52 million of them at last count. At least if you consider the voting records and returns. (I'm only partly kidding but still kidding.)
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wizened (profile), 2 Feb 2010 @ 5:17pm

They're burning the wrong books
If "they" really want to get rid of a book with a lot of inappropriate sexual content "they" really need to collect the Christian Bible. That thing is full of violence, sex of every description, incest and a whole lot of things that "they" say is "shocking". To protect the children, I think we need to start a movement to remove this vile book from all public spaces and libraries. It's for the children. No. Really it is.
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john, 2 Feb 2010 @ 5:23pm

Re: Re: Re: Google
:o~>
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 5:43pm

Re: Teach about it YES, but have the word in the dictionary??
I honestly cannot tell whether you're insane, stupid, and wearing a malfunctioning tinfoil hat or a brilliant satirist.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 6:00pm

Your Mom's a nut ! Haha
How embarassing for the kids.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 7:13pm

:-0
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e100, 2 Feb 2010 @ 8:05pm

Oral Sex:
:-}====8

I'm not that creative, found that here:
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall/smileys.html
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 10:20pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Google
:*

:O
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2010 @ 10:22pm

This is exactly why Bill Clinton needed someone to define the word 'sex'. How are we going to better educate the next generation of presidents if we take away more complete books?
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Mr RC (profile), 3 Feb 2010 @ 12:29am

:-P(())
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ethorad (profile), 3 Feb 2010 @ 4:45am

Re: What's the fuss about?
That's what I thought when I was younger. Wish someone had pointed out to me that I could check it in the dictionary!
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Liquid (profile), 3 Feb 2010 @ 5:47am

Re: They're burning the wrong books
Yeah but anything that was written in the name of the good lord is ok.
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Rekrul, 3 Feb 2010 @ 8:57am

The linked story says that the dictionary contained the "term" and definition for "oral sex". I'm guessing that "oral sex" wasn't the term that set them off. More likely it was either "cunnilingus" or "fellatio".

Now if it had a definition for "gerbiling" or "bukkake", I might agree that it was inappropriate for younger students. :)
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kevjohn (profile), 3 Feb 2010 @ 9:06am

Re: Teach about it YES, but have the word in the dictionary??
HAR HAR! Kudos to you, sir. Your post made me giggle uncotrollably like a gay schoolboy. This was just the shot of humor I needed to get me through a boring morning at work. I do apprecia... Wait, you were serious?!?

....BWAHAHA.
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nasch (profile), 3 Feb 2010 @ 11:44am

Re: Teach about it YES, but have the word in the dictionary??
I like how he put Islam in the same category as gay sex, fisting and witchcraft with regard to appropriateness of teaching elementary students.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2010 @ 6:16pm

mormons...
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PaulT (profile), 4 Feb 2010 @ 12:46am

Re: Re: Google
...and the second is a page giving instructions on how to do it properly :D
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Enrico Suarve, 4 Feb 2010 @ 5:43am

Re:
Wasn't fellatio the guy Romeo killed?
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Chucklebutte (profile), 6 Feb 2010 @ 1:58am

...
SKEET SKEET SKEET!
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Feb 2010 @ 5:41am

Re: Teach about it YES, but have the word in the dictionary??
Troll detected.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Feb 2010 @ 12:42am

Re:
lol
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Irina, 18 Feb 2010 @ 12:45am

Re:
I somehow go to this site from the urban dictionary...
Ironic.
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Lafawnduh, 20 Feb 2010 @ 6:16pm

people are retarded
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MrsFun, 15 Mar 2010 @ 11:05pm

Re: Re:
And Social Studies texts that refer to the Civil Rights movement as "trouble on the horizon."
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