The North Adams Public Schools, through grant funding from the Department of Public Health, is providing a nationally recognized health unit to eighth graders. Quoting from the letter sent to eight-grade children’s parents, ” “Making Proud Choices” is an eight hour, research-based program that has proven to be successful in encouraging teens to behave in ways that reduce their risk of unintentional pregnancy and infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted illnesses.
The curriculum encourages participants to take pride in themselves and their communities, to behave responsibly for their own sake as well as for the sake of their family and their community, and to consider their goals for the future and how unhealthy behavior might thwart those goals.
The curriculum acknowledges that abstinence is the most effective way to eliminate the risks associated with sexual activity. It also provides factual information that will help students who do not choose abstinence to practice safer sex.
“Making Proud Choices” contains eight class lessons on topics ranging from setting life goals, to attitudes and beliefs about HIV/AIDS and condom use, to the consequences of sexual activity, to helping students build their refusal and negotiation skills to help them deal with the pressures that teens inevitably feel.”
Teenage pregnancy continues to be a serious issue in North Adams. The Pittsfied School District is also doing the “Making Proud Choices” program.
Anything that addresses teen pregnancy is a step in the right direction. What would you recommend the North Adams School District do to further address this important issue?
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3 comments:
I don't know - how about teaching about contraception. How about teaching that oral sex is sex and can pass on both AIDS, HPV and other diseases. Pregnancy is a small part of an overwhelming issue that is no longer being addressed. I think parents would be SHOCKED to learn how many of their MIDDLE SCHOOL and high school students engage in casual oral sex. It's also disturbing that students think AIDS is a gay disease. They also flaunt terms such as bisexuality without even knowing what it is. There are gay teens struggling with their identities and they have other kids making a farce out of this. I think an eight lesson program, with abstinence at the forefront is absolutely absurd and a joke.
It's all about a culture change that I don't know an 8-week program can really do much about. Teen pregnancy is a symptom of many things, including self-esteem. A low self-esteem is the result of having no future, which is a result of having a poor education. Teenage pregnancy is no different from smoking, drugs, alcoholsim, violence and it is not likely to be bled out of a culture in 8 weeks.
It might take a generation.
In the meantime, not only real sex education, but real, scientifically -based curriculum in health, medicine and biology throughout a school career is the best way to instill knowledge of the risks of almost any behavior, not just sexual.
And condoms couldn't hurt.
Unfortunately, North Adams is under such a Catholic stranglehold that seems content to allow teen motherhood to be the norm that little is going to happen until we turn back the old ways and look at the world realistically.
Good for people to know.
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