A lesson in dating at Woodland Park Middle School in San Marcos, California took a weird turn when the instructor asked students to stand under signs marked with romantic and sexual acts - ranging from "smiled at" to "holding hands" to "all the way" - to show how far they'd be willing to go on a date.

Parents, outraged (understandably) that their kids were or may have been publicly humiliated, contacted the news to express their outrage, saying that an activity such as this could do nothing but embarrass kids who are at a pretty sensitive point in their development. On parent said to ABC 10, "To put them up in front of their friends to be humiliated or to be asked questions that I believe are personal, it's really none of the school's business." Preach on, anonymous parent!

The school says that that wasn't their intention at all. Instead, they say that this was actually an exercise in which the students were being asked what would be appropriate to do on a date at their grade level as opposed to being asked if they'd actually previously engaged in any type of sexual activity.

The parents sign permission slips for the class and can look at the curriculum prior. The purpose of the lesson was to open the lines of communication between parents and students about dating expectations.

Can you imagine having to do this in your eight grade class? You know, the same classroom that erupted into laughter during the human anatomy portion of Biology class, or someone asked "why boners happen"? No. And for the record, Jason N., that wasn't a very appropriate question to ask the Librarian.

The school's officials say that the activity comes from a community clinic and that the school has been using it for years. They also say that the outraged parents signed permissions slips allowing their children to be part of the class. Woodland Park Principal Brian Randall told ABC 10 that, "The parents sign permission slips for the class and can look at the curriculum prior. The purpose of the lesson was to open the lines of communication between parents and students about dating expectations."

The parents who reported the incident to the news have said that the lesson didn't tech their kids anything about what is and isn't appropriate, and that any confusion about the activity is a reason not to do it again.

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