Mom Upset About Son's Homework on Drinking, Sex, Herpes

A New Jersey mother said she was shocked when her eighth-grade son showed her a homework assignment that asked him to consider what he would do if he contracted herpes after drinking and having a one-night stand. Amy Loper said her son was given the assignment in his language arts class. The question asked students to respond to a hypothetical story involving a bad day, blackout drinking, and sex with a stranger culminating in a herpes diagnosis.

Loper, who openly talks to her 13-year-old son about such topics, said he thought it was funny. She said she knows some people think the scenario could happen at that age, but she believed it was the wrong class for such an essay. She said the school superintendent told her it was part of the core curriculum and was a companion with a book the students were given titled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. "She said I could opt him out of sex education if I wanted, but I wanted to opt him out of language arts instead," Loper said. Her son did not complete the assignment. (More homework stories.)