Monday, November 28, 2011

ABSTINENCE-ONLY: BREEDING IGNORANCE

Hyperlink

Obama's budget proposes almost $178 million for teen pregnancy prevention. About 75% of that is for programs proven to have delayed sex and increased contraceptive use or reduced teen pregnancy.

The author Mary-Jane Wagle races the issue of abstinence and how the abstinence-only sex education program try to scare and shame teens, teaching only the negative consequences of sexuality instead of teaching them how to protect themselves at the time of a sexual encounter with another person, it could be female c female , male c male , or male and female.

She believes this education programs shouldn't be about not having sex but protecting yourself. In this text she gives you many examples of the mistakes made to scare teens . For example: students are told that condoms fail to protect against HIV, one text book state that touching another person genital can result in pregnancy, another one refers to tears and sweat as risk factor for HIV transmission.

She raises the fact that you should educate our kids how to have safe sex instead of not sex at all.
://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-11-abstinence-only_N.htm

http://www.openeducation.net/2009/01/05/abstinence-only-sex-education-statistics-final-nail-in-the-coffin/

http://stats.org/stories/contrac_v_abst_dec12_06.htm

As we know abstinence means no sex until you get married, what a joke!!!!!!!!

I love this article . This is exactly what the author is talking about.

Abstinence vs. Sex Ed.

Which approach is most reasonable for today's kids?

WebMD Feature

Feb. 21, 2000 (San Francisco) -- Assembled in the auditorium of Mackenzie Junior High School in Lubbock, Texas, 15-year-old John Karras -- and the other students who returned a parental permission slip -- sat quietly while a guest speaker discussed S-E-X. "The speaker talked about some things that your parents and teachers wouldn't be comfortable talking about," says Karras. The virtues of abstinence were discussed. Contraception, on the other hand, was not -- except in passing, according to Karras. The group was told: "Condoms can't stopAIDS all the time and won't prevent pregnancy all the time," recalls Karras. The bottom line message: Sex is good, but only if you're married.

"Abstinence Only" Vs. Contraception Information

This take on sex education is known among educators as the "abstinence-only approach," in which totally refraining from sex outside of marriage (including masturbation) is generally the only option presented to students. The "abstinence-only" message, in which contraception information is either prohibited or limited to a mention of its ineffectiveness, is used by 34% of schools that have a district-wide policyto teach sex education, according to a study conducted by The Alan Guttmacher Institute published in the November/December 1999 issue of Family Planning Perspectives. Obviously this message is embraced -- although surely not solely or entirely -- by conservative and religious groups. Critics say that such edited presentations rob teens of critical information and ignore the realities of teen sexual behavior.

The majority of U.S. schools (66%) provide information about contraception, such as condoms and birth control pills, as well as about other practices that fall in the safer-sex category. However, this does not mean that the benefits of abstinence are not stressed in these programs or that they take a backseat. On the contrary, the majority of schools that include contraception information in their sex-ed curricula promote abstinence as "the preferred option," the Guttmacher Institute reports. And according to surveys reported by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 82% of parents who have children 18 and younger support schools that teach this "comprehensive" approach (the term used by educators and legislators).

The Risks Teens Face

The supporters of abstinence argue that it is the only infallible way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. But, by definition, abstinence works only when teens are sexually inactive -- without exception. Unfortunately, statistics indicate that one-fourth of 15-year-olds have had sexual intercourse at least once, and more than half of 17-year-olds are sexually active, according to the Institute.

The risks are even more startling: A sexually active teenage girl who has sex without contraception has a 90% chance of becoming pregnant within a year, according to the Institute. Just as disturbing is that in a single act of vaginal intercourse with an infected male partner, a female teenager has a 30% risk of contracting genital herpes, a 50% chance of contracting gonorrhea, and a 1 in 100 chance of acquiring HIV.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Promising Practices 2011.

When I register for the Promising Practices conference I had no idea what I needed to do or what it was about. I arrived at the Donovan Dinning Center around 8:00 clock am or maybe a little later because people where already walking to the designated area when I got there. The next step was to tell them my name so they could locate my package, collect my $20.00 dollars and let me sign my name. After that someone told me and guided me to where I was suppose to go . I went to Workshop G on room 212. To be honest with you I didn't know what I was registering for , so I register for what I though was in relation with our class. The name of the workshop was WORKING WITH SPECIAL POPULATIONS which I believe now that I know is for teachers and people who work in the school system, but anyways it was too late for me to change it.

The workshop WORKING WITH SPECIAL POPULATIONS had two presenters. The first one was Ellen Bensusan. Who talked about how people or students with disabilities needed to advocate for themselves. She also talk about the school system and how people like her are trying to improve it for kids with special disabilities. She also said that kids that can advocate for themselves tend to succeed more than the ones that stay quiet and don't speak up in their lives. She also mention some universities that have special or are just for students with disabilities. I believed this was somewhat related to our class because to me it was refer to not let anyone oppress you just because you have a learning disability, speak up , let your teachers know when you have a problem, don't be afraid of society, don't be afraid of letting your teachers know if you are struggling.

The second speaker was Dr. Amanda K. Sox. She talked about people that come from another country and they are trying to learn English as a second language or ESL. How to teach those people and all the different ways and models there are to help them learn the language.

At 10:45 we left the rooms and everyone went to the Donovan Dinning Center. While in the dinning room you could walk around to all the different tables that were set up with a variety of information . They were giving water, tea, coffee, and granola bars.

We left approximately at 11:45 to the auditorium where while in there we heard the Teen Empowerment and Heang Ly talking and playing games with whoever was brave enough to stand in front of everyone. They played two games. First they played a game called Wind Blows with words. Which was conform of seven people. And the other game was Bag Toss,which also had seven people to play. Both games were interesting, and it helped some people come out of their shell, because they were force to talk while playing the games.

After that was finish at 1:00 pm everyone went back to the cafeteria , where everyone had lunch . They were serving pasta with salad and bread for everyone that assisted the conference.

Finally while in the cafeteria important people were called to give a little speech, like the vice president of RI college. And for the ending Dr. Leslie spoke and presented the person who represents the A.L.L.I.E.D. They spoke to all of us about who impacted them in their lives and their experiences as part of the team empowerment and the A.L.L.I.E.D organization.

After all the conference was really inspiring for me. After seen and hearing young kids talk about their lives experiences and how someone inspired them in life was great. It made me think about who inspired me in my younger days and how I could make a change in someone's life at some point. It could be my own kids like Juanita's mother had an impact in her live or like Dr. Leslie had an impact in Chris life.

I am so so sorry about the pictures , I took some with my cell phone , I downloaded to my computer and it doesn't wanna cut and paste.