65 pregnant teens = one canceled abstinence-only program

[Vette73]

65 pregnant teens = one canceled abstinence-only program

It became nearly impossible for the Canton, Ohio, school board to ignore the unintended byproducts of its abstinence-only program when 13 percent of Timken High School's female student population became pregnant last year. Thanks to Feministing for pointing us in the direction of this ridiculous-but-true story about a school board that has, to its credit, finally seen the light of sex education.

Of course it took 65 of the 490 female students becoming pregnant within a year to adequately deliver that message, but as Jessica of Feministing queried, "I guess better late than never?"

Sure, we can throw them that bone. The board decided Monday to include safe-sex education in the curriculum, while continuing to promote abstinence. It also plans to replace a few well-worn health textbooks that are "older than some students," according to WYFF 4 of South Carolina. Patty Rafailedes, a physical education teacher in the district, told the station, "If we had math books from 1988, reading books from 1988, as a parent, I would be furious."

Susan Ross, coordinator of health services for the Canton schools, admits the district was well behind the times. "Our sex education curriculum was really outdated," Ross told the Associated Press. "It was about 18 years since it was revised. With kids, having good and updated knowledge is critical." Sounds to me like the adults were the ones lacking "good and updated knowledge." Let's hope their recent enlightenment spreads to the rest of Ohio.

According to the Canton Health Department, statistics through July 2005 showed that 104 of the 586 babies born to Canton residents in Aultman Hospital and Mercy Medical Center had mothers between the ages of 11 and 19.

Just saw this. HaHa... 13%
Hope it is not a repost.

 

[waggy]

damn. 13% wow.

 

[yllus]

Amusing because it sounds like it'd be good times as a male high schooler in Ohio, but this will assuredly go the way of P&N shortly.

 

[amdhunter]

fvck abstinence.

 

[Syrch]

wow

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

can we get a pwned pic?

why is "WYFF 4 of South Carolina" reporting this?

And Im pretty sure this is a repost from a few years ago...either that or just a very similar case

 

[glen]

What is wrogn with books from 1988?
Has reading, math, or sex changed since then?

 

[mugs]

How dumb are these kids that they NEED someone to tell them how not to get pregnant?

(Not saying we shouldn't teach it, but come on - who doesn't know about condoms?)

 

[BlancoNino]

I'm all for whatever = less money for the schools.

 

[CKent]

Seems like generally, the more stringently anti-sex an area is, the higher its rate of teen pregnancy. Lol.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: mugs
How dumb are these kids that they NEED someone to tell them how not to get pregnant?

(Not saying we shouldn't teach it, but come on - who doesn't know about condoms?)

I guess kids in Canton, Ohio.


That and you have to also think if this is what they are doing in schools, I am sure it is not easy to get condoms. Not every 16 year old has a car and money (even the little they cost) etc... to get them and keep them without the "no sex is the only way, you don't need these..." being put on them.

 

[BlancoNino]

Originally posted by: glen
What is wrogn with books from 1988?
Has reading, math, or sex changed since then?

No we just keep trying to idiot-proof society with sex education. Of course that breeds the idea that "the schools will take care of our children, not us, the parents." Thus, if the school doesn't become the parents, students fvck up.

 

[petejk]

rather than teaching abstinence..they should be teaching safe sex...

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Absitance has a 100% success rate in avoiding pregnancy and STDs, but it needs to be presented and supported strongly.

Teens too stupid to know that having sex unprotected can lead to preganncy would probably be too stupid to open a concom wrapper anyway.

 

[DAGTA]

1. Parents need to be parents. Don't depend on a public school to teach your children about sex.
2. It's Ohio. For some reason, in rural areas, getting pregnant is a status symbol to the girls in high school. Seriously.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: mugs
How dumb are these kids that they NEED someone to tell them how not to get pregnant?

(Not saying we shouldn't teach it, but come on - who doesn't know about condoms?)

I guess kids in Canton, Ohio.


That and you have to also think if this is what they are doing in schools, I am sure it is not easy to get condoms. Not every 16 year old has a car and money (even the little they cost) etc... to get them and keep them without the "no sex is the only way, you don't need these..." being put on them.

then they shouldn't be poking their d!cks in places that can get them in trouble. saying that there's not good enough sex-ed is just some half-assed excuse for the fact that parents aren't doing their job anymore. kids don't need to be having sex when there's no way in hell they can possibly deal with the responsibilities and consequences it entails.

 

[Crescent13]

Originally posted by: amdhunter
fvck abstinence.

:thumbsup:

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
I'm all for impregnating 11-19 year olds.

translated for those who don't speak blanconese.

 

[dullard]

Another thread with the same complaint about the book comment.

 

[mordantmonkey]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Absitance has a 100% success rate in avoiding pregnancy and STDs, but it needs to be presented and supported strongly.

Teens too stupid to know that having sex unprotected can lead to preganncy would probably be too stupid to open a concom wrapper anyway.

however, abstinence has a far lower adherence rate among highschoolers, regardless of support and presentation.

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: mugs
How dumb are these kids that they NEED someone to tell them how not to get pregnant?

(Not saying we shouldn't teach it, but come on - who doesn't know about condoms?)

I guess kids in Canton, Ohio.


That and you have to also think if this is what they are doing in schools, I am sure it is not easy to get condoms. Not every 16 year old has a car and money (even the little they cost) etc... to get them and keep them without the "no sex is the only way, you don't need these..." being put on them.

then they shouldn't be poking their d!cks in places that can get them in trouble. saying that there's not good enough sex-ed is just some half-assed excuse for the fact that parents aren't doing their job anymore. kids don't need to be having sex when there's no way in hell they can possibly deal with the responsibilities and consequences it entails.

Sounds like someone here didn't lose his virginity until he was 35!
Hey, I'm 25 - I still don't think I can afford to have a kid...It's NYC and I'm just not ready for that leap.. Does that I shouldn't have sex? Nah, it's too much fun -I'll just use a condom, thank you very much.

 

[feelingshorter]

"ages of 11 and 19."

Wow, seems like 11 year olds are having babies.

 

[chambersc]

The ideological game known as abstinence does absolutely nothing to adress the practical problem of underage children. One assumes that children are going to ignore their hormones and primal urges in fear of having a child and when they do sneak off to do something that is "taboo" they are woefully unprepared and the consequences are such that a lot of kids end up having kids in the end -- thus defeating the whole point of the program.

A whimsical program for folks who want to scare their kids into not having kids is fine if you believe it will work. A more pragmatic approach is needed in the vast majority of places (schools/churches/homes) that choose to deal with this issue. The approach should be a sort of "defeatist abstinence" solution -- which really isn't all that negative since if one evaluates abstinence on the whole it is evident that it's a failed philosophy at combatting underage sex. The idea of abstinence should be taught in an overwhelming proportion but the idea of a safer sexual encounter shouldn't naively be tossed away. Together they should be introduced in hopes that the 1-2 combination would help to combat the current epidemic.

 

[mugs]

Haha... I won't post a link but you can find this yourself pretty easily... on their website, the athletics pictures page is a list of 6 team photos with 60x80 thumbnails that you click to view the full sized image. That ONE page is a 20 MB download because instead of using a photo editor to resize the pictures they just changed the dimensions in the IMG tag.

 

[0roo0roo]

heh yea abstinence "education" tends to be bullsh*t, it tends to be filled with scare tactic lies, and or omissions when it comes to contraception. its known that compared to real comprehensive sex education it has poor results. children aren't just robots you can tell to abstain and hope for the best, the result is just going to be bad. stats show this, but the religious folk don't like facts.