****90**** Pregnant girls at ****ONE**** school

[ShyGuyInChicago]

http://www.parentdish.com/2011/01/19/teen-pregnancy/


Prompted by news reports last week that 90 girls at one Memphis high school are pregnant or have had a baby this school year, local officials are launching initiatives to stem the tide of teen pregnancy.

Officials question the number, noting that more than three dozen girls transferred to Frayser High School to take part in a program designed specifically for teen moms. Nonetheless, they admit teen pregnancy is a serious problem.

"Do we have a community-wide issue of babies having babies? The answer is yes. Unequivocally, yes," Dr. Kriner Cash, superintendent of Memphis City Schools, tells NBC's "Today."

Despite the increase in baby bumps, though, Cash insists the students are not involved in a pregnancy pact.

One teen mom at the school has a different take on why the number is so high. Some girls, she tells the "Today" show, got pregnant by accident and others because they "think it's cute."

Tennessee ranks in the top 10 for the highest teen-pregnancy rates in the country. Also, according to 2008 numbers, Frayser is in one of four ZIP codes in Memphis where at least 25 percent of babies are born to mothers age 19 and younger, WREG.com reports.

"The key is not how bad is it. The key is how many people are working on it, and by that measure I think we're off to a good start," Memphis Mayor AC Wharton says.

One new pregnancy prevention initiative is the "No Baby" awareness program, which will consist of after-school centers run by Girls, Inc. Memphis.

"The whole point of that is to teach them to say no. That's the reason this is 'No Baby.' No, we're not going to have babies. No, we're not going to have sex. Or at least we're going to be protected if we're going to do something. So, that's really our purpose, is to teach these girls how to say no. They don't know how," Deborah Hester Harrison, president and chief executive officer of Girls Inc., tells WREG.com.

Psychologist Dale Atkins tells "Today" that both sexes need to be involved in raising awareness.

"We also have to educate the boys, too," she says. "It's not just about educating the girls."


To that end, Memphis has also announced a new program for teen boys with Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center, WREG.com reports. The program includes five mentoring sessions and a three-month follow up with counselors, says Meri Armour, president and chief executive officer of Le Bonheur.

The program, called "Be Proud! Be Responsible!" is funded with a $4 million, five-year federal grant that the medical center won in September, Sara Burnett, communications manager with Le Bonheur tells ParentDish. The evidence-based program for kids ages 13 to 18 has proven effective with teen boys, though the new version will also include girls, Burnett says. In addition to sex education, it will focus on developing self-esteem and healthy behaviors.

Psychiatrist Janet Taylor tells "Today" that parents should start discussing sex with their kids early on.

"This is not just about sexual activity," Taylor says. "This is about how our young girls feel about themselves."

[Amnesiac]

Did this school have an abstinence program before?

[Jess]

wow....do these girls even think of the bad things that might happen?

I'm so glad I don't want kids AT ALL let alone get pregnant

[nick]

God, yeah, I remember that day I visited that school, I was soooo tired afterwards...

[Perseus]

God, yeah, I remember that day I visited that school, I was soooo tired afterwards...

Hoho, you. :rolleyes:

And some people have never heard of the concept of a condom.

[ShyGuyInChicago]

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/011911-teen-mom-program-questioned-at-frayser-high-school

According to this link several girls who are pregnant or have babies transferred to the school because the school has a programs that helps girls in such circumstances.

[Daniel_]

And this kids, is why wrapping your penis with a napkin is not a good substitute for condoms.

[Sith Lord 13]

Why yes, the school for teenage mothers does have an unusually high number of teenage mothers. People need to read more than just the headline. The school has been a magnet for teenage girls who already have children. I bet if one averages this school with the remaining high schools in the area the number would at worst be a little higher than average.

[Magus]

Did this school have an abstinence program before?I bet not. Nothing can stop those animalistic drives. Also, I love to stress on this article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility_and_intelligence).

[HeroesAndCons]

Discusting

[Amnesiac]

I bet not. Nothing can stop those animalistic drives. Also, I love to stress on this article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility_and_intelligence).

I'm curious as to whether or not they did, since states with abstinence programs (like Texas) have, ironically, the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the United States.

tl;dr social conservatives fail again.

[Sogeking]

I'm curious as to whether or not they did, since states with abstinence programs (like Texas) have, ironically, the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the United States.

tl;dr social conservatives fail again.

On there defense I think they don't want safe-sex programs because they think it will promote sex. Abstinence IS the 100% effective solution in preventing the spread STDs and teen pregnancy.

[Amnesiac]

On there defense I think they don't want safe-sex programs because they think it will promote sex. Abstinence IS the 100% effective solution in preventing the spread STDs and teen pregnancy.

In the United States, in contrast, according to the Guttmacher Institute, the 1990s decline in teen pregnancy rates "started to stall out in the early 2000s, at the same time that sex education programs aimed exclusively at promoting abstinence-and prohibited by law from discussing the benefits of contraception-became increasingly widespread and teens' use of contraceptives declined.... "

Ever since Congress signed into law in 1996 the Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act and added to the Title V of the Social Security Act a new program of grants to States for abstinence-only-until-marriage education, 50 states participated in the program.

According to Advocates for Youth, almost half a billion dollars were spent for these programs from 1998 to 2003 with few lasting results. Advocates are also claiming that the evaluations of the abstinence-only programs showed that none resulted in any significant change in sexual behavior among teens in the programs, or reduced their sexual risk-taking behaviors. Moreover, the abstinence-only programs left teens with no information how to protect themselves from HIV, sexually transmitted disease or pregnancy. Even worse, they made teens more ambivalent about contraception and less willing to use it.

It would be nice if everyone practiced abstinence, but that's never going to happen (ever). Telling teens that it's "HURR ILLEGAL" and that they should "HURR WAIT UNTIL YOU'RE MARRIED" is ridiculous. I remember having a fuckface idiot former cop come to my middle school and vomit up a disgusting PowerPoint on his shitty, fascist, diseased plan for teenage sex he called "abstinence". We were given NO advice on contraceptives. All we were told by this small-brained idiot was that we could go to jail for an absurd amount of time, we have no privacy in our own personal situations (basically, he said that the police are FUCKING EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME WATCHING YOU), and a bunch of other other propagandist police-state bullshit he shoved down our vulnrable 7th grade throats. Teens have sex. All the social conservatives need to get this into their heads. The best way to prevent teen pregnancy in the real world is to encourage birth control.

[Sogeking]

It would be nice if everyone practiced abstinence, but that's never going to happen (ever). Telling teens that it's "HURR ILLEGAL" and that they should "HURR WAIT UNTIL YOU'RE MARRIED" is ridiculous. I remember having a fuckface idiot former cop come to my middle school and vomit up a disgusting PowerPoint on his shitty, fascist, diseased plan for teenage sex he called "abstinence". We were given NO advice on contraceptives. All we were told by this small-brained idiot was that we could go to jail for an absurd amount of time, we have no privacy in our own personal situations (basically, he said that the police are FUCKING EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME WATCHING YOU), and a bunch of other other propagandist police-state bullshit he shoved down our vulnrable 7th grade throats. Teens have sex. All the social conservatives need to get this into their heads. The best way to prevent teen pregnancy in the real world is to encourage birth control.

It would be nice if sex-ed promoted abstinence as well as teaching teens how to use contraceptives. That's what I got when I was in seventh grade. Some advocate from an organization who wants to stop the spread of STDs and prevent teen pregnancy spoke to us about abstinence as well as some commonly used contraceptives. But this is more of a moral issue though. I believe it's the parents job to teach children and teens Sex-ed and not rely on some program at school to do that for them. They should state the facts about sex and the problems of it and present the solutions. I'd put half of the blame on lazy parents.

If people were more educated on the subject and not told lies about it, teen pregnancies and the number of STD cases would both drop significantly.

[Amnesiac]

It would be nice if sex-ed promoted abstinence as well as teaching teens how to use contraceptives. That's what I got when I was in seventh grade. Some advocate from an organization who wants to stop the spread of STDs and prevent teen pregnancy spoke to us about abstinence as well as some commonly used contraceptives. But this is more of a moral issue though. I believe it's the parents job to teach children and teens Sex-ed and not rely on some program at school to do that for them. They should state the facts about sex and the problems of it and present the solutions. I'd put half of the blame on lazy parents.

If people were more educated on the subject and and told lies about it, teen pregnancies and the number of STD cases would both drop significantly.

I would advocate any plan that does the following:


Does NOT put an emphasis on age of consent law and the possible punishments for having sex.
Encourages the use of conraceptives and provides teens with easy access to condoms.
Encourages teens not to engage in sexual activity until they are 18, citing the effects of pregnancy on everyday life (note: NOT BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL.)


So, I agree with you. Sex-ed should encourage the use of contraceptives and abstinence. However, I don't want any of this "you will go to jail for __ years and get placed on the sex offender list for the rest of your life" bullshit. That's not appropriate sexual education.

Also, I do believe parents need to educate their kids about sex, but there are too many parents who refuse to talk about the issue. I hate to say it, but we must rely on public schools to educate all teens about sex and its side effects. Leaving it 100% up to parents would only lead to many teens growing up in religious families being thrust into a world where everyone around them is having sex, something they would know nothing about.

[Sogeking]

I would advocate any plan that does the following:


Does NOT put an emphasis on age of consent law and the possible punishments for having sex.


Unless there is a significant age difference between the participants


Encourages the use of conraceptives and provides teens with easy access to condoms.
Encourages teens not to engage in sexual activity until they are 18, citing the effects of pregnancy on everyday life (note: NOT BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL.)



So, I agree with you. Sex-ed should encourage the use of contraceptives and abstinence. However, I don't want any of this "you will go to jail for __ years and get placed on the sex offender list for the rest of your life" bullshit. That's not appropriate sexual education.
Again, thats implying teens will go ahead and have sex with their fellow teens.


Also, I do believe parents need to educate their kids about sex, but there are too many parents who refuse to talk about the issue. I hate to say it, but we must rely on public schools to educate all teens about sex and its side effects. Leaving it 100% up to parents would only lead to many teens growing up in religious families being thrust into a world where everyone around them is having sex, something they would know nothing about.

Teens that are taught good moral values and know well about sex will not so easily succomb to peer presure and are less likely to have sex.

[Amnesiac]

Unless there is a significant age difference between the participants

Agreed.

Again, thats implying teens will go ahead and have sex with their fellow teens.

Well, many of them will do it, no matter what anyone says. It's important we provide teens with the items needed to do it safely. We can't just assume every teen is going to abstain from sex because some adults told them to.

Teens that are taught good moral values and know well about sex will not so easily succomb to peer presure and are less likely to have sex.

Key phrase: know well about sex. There are too many parents who don't want their kids to know about sex at all.

[Sogeking]

Well, many of them will do it, no matter what anyone says. It's important we provide teens with the items needed to do it safely. We can't just assume every teen is going to abstain from sex because some adults told them to.

True that.


Key phrase: know well about sex. There are too many parents who don't want their kids to know about sex at all. Why would that be?

As I said before, if people knew well about sex and had the courtesy to pass that knowledge to their children, this world would be a better place in the terms of teen pregnancies, spread of STDs and the money spent on sex ed programs.

[Amnesiac]

True that.

Why would that be?

As I said before, if people knew well about sex and had the courtesy to pass that knowledge to their children, this world would be a better place in the terms of teen pregnancies, spread of STDs and the money spent on sex ed programs.

It's usually the devout religious families that refuse to teach their kids about sex. For example, it's well known that the Catholic Church is basically anti-sex and anti-protection, so families following it won't tell their kids about it, assuming they won't do something they don't know about.

[Sogeking]

It's usually the devout religious families that refuse to teach their kids about sex.For example, it's well known that the Catholic Church is basically anti-sex and anti-protection, so families following it won't tell their kids about it, assuming they won't do something they don't know about.

I find that hard to believe because most of the congregations I've been to advocates for parents to teach their children about sex and the side effects. I'm not catholic so I wouldn't know about that.

[Amnesiac]

I find that hard to believe because most of the congregations I've been to advocates for parents to teach their children about sex and the side effects. I'm not catholic so I wouldn't know about that.

I remember having a Catholic family down the street with 7 kids. They were ultra-conservative and wouldn't tolerate anything related to sex.

I'm not saying all Catholics are anti-sex-ed, but there are plenty of people out there who are.

[Sith Lord 13]

Does NOT put an emphasis on age of consent law and the possible punishments for having sex.


Better they be blindsided by the draconian laws? We may not agree with them but so long as they're on the books students need to be informed about them.

[Amnesiac]

Better they be blindsided by the draconian laws? We may not agree with them but so long as they're on the books students need to be informed about them.

They should be informed, of course, but it shouldn't be emphasized like it's a threat, like what I was told.

[Sith Lord 13]

They should be informed, of course, but it shouldn't be emphasized like it's a threat, like what I was told.

I think so long as the law is on the books the emphasis needs to be made, not because the act is wrong but because being a sex offender fucks up your life.

[Amnesiac]

I think so long as the law is on the books the emphasis needs to be made, not because the act is wrong but because being a sex offender fucks up your life.

Yes, that's true and I agree, but sex-ed curriculums need to be realistic too. I mean, yes, it needs to be shown that it's technically illegal, but it's not practical to assume that teens are going to stop having sex just because of that.

[Sith Lord 13]

Yes, that's true and I agree, but sex-ed curriculums need to be realistic too. I mean, yes, it needs to be shown that it's technically illegal, but it's not practical to assume that teens are going to stop having sex just because of that.

They do, but being realistic means telling kids that they could fuck up the rest of their life.

[Amnesiac]

They do, but being realistic means telling kids that they could fuck up the rest of their life.

Yes, of course. :rolleyes:

[Quick_Sylver]

Being illegal makes kids want to do it more. Same with drugs.
Being bored makes kids do it more.

Grade 7 sex ed course, [at a catholic school] We had a speaker come in, and he plain spokenly told us, yup, its illegal, and yup, y'all are gonna end up doing it eventually, and yup you should wear a fuckin condom.
Then he gave us all condoms, and the teachers told us that if any of us needed one, to talk to them and they'd get us them.

And how many pregnancies has that school had? 0.

Make it illegal, it'll get done. REBELLION! -.-