The Truth In Sex: Why Johnny Can't Abstain
Bennett, W. J. (1987). TRUTH IN SEX: WHY JOHNNY CAN'T ABSTAIN. Education, 108(2), 142.
As many have noticed, teenage pregnancy is an unavoidable dilemma. But how can the board of education help the number of teenagers getting pregnant to plummet? In a late, riveting article entitled “TRUTH IN SEX: WHY JOHNNY CAN'T ABSTAIN,” the author J.W. Bennett, formed a consensus about why the way sex education is thought is an imminent cause to the reason why teenage pregnancy rates continue to inflate, thus evaluating on the indispensable link between moralizing abstinence and sex education. It is highly unreliable for the youth of today to make well subsequent educated decisions in relation to sex when they are literally not suitably educated. According to Bennett, “in teaching restraint, courses should stress that sex is not simply a physical or mechanical act. We should tell the truth; we should describe the reality”. Inability to enlighten teens about every prospect of sex education is like giving them a car to drive without them even knowing how to drive. Trying to contradict, discount or even avoid the veracity of sex is not an effective way in handling the situation. “The act of sex involves deep springs of conduct. It is serious”.
Schools need to enact a more vigorous and assertive role in the apt of sex education, young teens, both male and females in order for the teenage pregnancy rates to plummet. Sugar coating information and holding back aspects of sexual knowledge does no good to an individual. It sends the wrong message and idea. Believe it or not, there is in fact a stigma in concerns to this society and teenagers. Sex education courses should be implemented on the concept and motion to deal with the phenomenon, and intricacy of sex. Reality-based sex education provides teens with the adequate knowledge of sexual encounters. The implementation of comprehensive sex education courses would teach teens how to competently safeguard themselves from becoming pregnant at a young age or perhaps even contracting a STD. This process would sequentially truncate the number of teenage pregnancies.
What We Need to Know to Help the Teenage Parent
Honig, A. S. (1978). What We Need to Know to Help the Teenage Parent. Family Coordinator, 27(2), 113
Despite the descending comprehensive rate of teen pregnancy, the rates have remained repugnant in teens that are susceptible. In Alice S. Honig's awakening article about "What We Need to Know to Help the Teenage Parent," the author outlines the essential and eminent attributes an individual could use to help a teenage parent as they try to unravel the life of being a mother. Being a mother is undeniably hard and quite unbearable at times, and invigoratingly detrimental to a teenage mom who is still growing up herself and having to raise a child just adds on to the loads of stress she's already experiencing in her teen life. Most teenage pregnancies are unplanned, and being so, becoming a parent permanently and profoundly alters a teenager's life. In the text, Honig notes that "As parents, teenagers frequently lack realistic understanding of the needs of infants and young children for nurturant developmental care" (113). Most teenagers lack consistency is taking care of their own bodies, and giving it the right nutrients and vitamins they need in order to sustain a healthy body and lifestyle. So how are they suppose to know how to feed their bodies, when their every source of intake goes to their baby? Failure to provide the baby with the right nutrients it needs in order to develop properly may cause the baby to face long-term problems from the pregnancy.
To help avoid problems like this, Honig implemented ten fundamental steps one can possibly take in order to help a teenage mother during her pregnancy and after. These ten steps consist of:
Statistical facts and figures
Special knowledge of about each individual teenager
Knowledge about a teenager's relationship with parents
Relationship with peers
Cognitive, moral and social stages of adolescent development
Sexuality: information, attitudes, practices
Knowledge of infant development and parenting skills
Health and nutrition needs of adolescents and pregnant teenagers
Community resources and family support systems
Audiovisual, written and consultant resources
With every step, Honig profoundly evaluated the core attributes of each solution and goes in deep depth about how knowing each fundamental would aid in helping an already pregnant teenager, and how they can also prevent teen pregnancy. This article was awe awakening and profoundly intriguing as the Honig's way of explaining these concepts was undeniably knowledgeable in a retrospective sense. As you read and grasp the core, intrinsic details of parenting and embrace the knowledgeable traditional skills needed to prevent the occurence of teenage pregancy, one will be left only wanting to know more.
Educating Adolescent Parents: Proactive Approaches by School Leaders
Scholl, M. F. (2007). Educating Adolescent Parents: Proactive Approaches by School Leaders.Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 73(3), 28-32
Due to the incompetence of teenage pregnancy, many teen girls are dropping out of High School due to the fact that they are unable to handle the amount of responsibility, pressure and compelling barriers thrown at them. Many programs within the school system do not contribute to helping pregnant teens cope with these barriers and try to motivate them into finishing High school, thus giving them motivational support and encouragement to do so. In Marilyn F. Scholl’s gripping article entitled “Educating Adolescent Parents: Proactive Approaches by School Leaders," Scholl constructs a fundamental in aiding educational leaders to incorporate peculiar programs into schools because "providing special programs for teenage mothers and their children dramatically increases high school graduation rates for this population of students" (29). Scholl's stresses the relevance of developing policies, programs, and activities regarding educating adolescent parents. As adolescent parents are still in their youth years, they significantly have a lot to learn and accomplish in life. It would be a tremendous idea to implement these institutions within the schools to give these teen moms a sense of hope for “adolescent parent and their children, in addition to the whole community, will benefit immensely when comprehensive, special programs are provided to meet their unique goals” (32).
Dissembling the fact that teen pregnancy is an unavoidable dilemma, is not going to do the society any good. The main adversities are dwelled in the simple misconception in the lack of trust and motivation of teen girls. Many teen moms do not fully get the solemnity of the situation. They need help. The children of today are the future leaders of tomorrow. Society should take action and endure a yearning sensation to hinder any repetition of past teen pregnancies or sexual endeavors that adolescent parents have experienced. Help adolescent parents make the right decisions, and teach them how to do pertinent things the right way. Educate them with the knowledge they need to know to prevent future pregnancies.
Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S.
Stanger-Hall, K. F., & Hall, D. W. (2011). Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S. Plos ONE, 6(10), 1-11. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024658
Abstinence-only education informs teens to not engage in sex period; but what many fail to understand is that there is entirely more to comprehensive Sex Education that teenagers need to obtain knowledge of. In “Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S,” the authors Kathrin F. Stanger-Hall and David W. Hall talks about these issues and describe the concept of what the importance of sex education and why it is greatly needed. The authors imply that sex education is not simply a promotion for teens to go out and engage in sexual conduct, but merely instruct them on the detriments of having sex and if they choose to go down the sexual intercourse path, they must always remember to protect themselves. A high percentage of teens are sexually active before they graduate high school. It's a simple fact. It is important to educate our children on sex and how to protect themselves. “The effect of presenting inadequate or incorrect information to teenagers regarding sex and pregnancy and STD protection is long-lasting as uneducated teens grow into uneducated adults”
It is quite profound that no one can impede teenagers from having sex, no matter how many lectures they give. If students are engaged in sexual activities, they might as well do it the safest way possible. This is a way for schools to provide these teens with the beneficial facts they’ll need to know when doing so. There is a deeper depth to sex education that teenagers need to know about besides impelling "abstinence" as the only alternative. Teaching abstinence-only to teenagers is impractical. Trying to convince teens to not have sex at all is veritably reinforcement for them to go out and do it, in the justification to prove that they can. Avoiding the issue of sex, and sex education only endangers the lives of those already having sex. Not knowing the precautions to take when having sex will only lead to an increase in teenage pregnancy and STD’s.