{"id":4508,"date":"2020-05-08T15:16:24","date_gmt":"2020-05-08T19:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=4508"},"modified":"2020-05-08T15:16:24","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T19:16:24","slug":"lets-talk-about-sex-education-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=4508","title":{"rendered":"Let&#8217;s talk about sex education"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Nina Simon &amp; Alice Scott<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Tower<br \/>\nGrosse Pointe South HS<br \/>\n1st Place Division 2, News Writing<br \/>\nNews Analysis<\/p>\n<p><b>JUDGING CRITERIA<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sharp, attention-getting lead that underscore the why\/how elements of the news<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clarifies the news elements, i.e. timeliness, nearness, impact and prominence<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clarifies through research the background necessary to understand current news<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Develops an understanding of the issues\/problems through interviews with varied and balanced sources<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoids personal opinion unless properly attributed<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sentences, paragraphs of varied length, written clearly, concisely and vividly<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Effective use of facts\/quotes from both primary and secondary sources<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proper diction\/grammar; use of third person<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\">E<\/span>ven when many students have concerns in relation to underage sexual activity, Michigan health classes have implemented policies to restrict the amount of true sex education taught in classes. How are students who have faced consequences because of sex supposed to know what to do if they aren\u2019t allowed to be taught the proper information?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Michigan policy states that schools will emphasize that abstinence from sex is a positive lifestyle for unmarried young people because abstinence is the only protection that is 100 percent effective against unplanned pregnancy, sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), and more. It also states that the class shall be elective and not required for graduation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Health and sex education teacher Nicole Westfall said if there was anything she could change about the program, it would be making sure that students were taught more detailed and current material.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">\u201cThere are more things we could add to the curriculum,\u201d Westfall said. \u201cDiscussing anatomy, pregnancy and STDs just scratches the surface of the basics that teens need to be aware of. It has bits and pieces of what kids need to know, but not the whole picture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">With the Center for Disease Control reporting that approximately 55 percent of people under the age of 18 have had sexual intercourse, Lily Bates \u201921 said sex education is crucial for teenagers, despite some viewing it as an uncomfortable topic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">\u201cThere shouldn\u2019t be such a stigma surrounding (sex education\u2019s) discussion,\u201d Bates said. \u201cSex and the human body are important things to be taught, and with the right teachers and curriculum, that experience could be a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">According to Bates, expecting high schoolers to refrain from sexual activity is not an effective way of emphasizing the consequences of what unsafe sex can lead to. Bates said she believes in a more modern and practical program because it would be more applicable to teenagers today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">\u201cPushing abstinence on teens is outdated and unrealistic,\u201d Bates said. \u201cInstead of disregarding sex as part of teenagers\u2019 lives and pushing it off to the side, it would be more beneficial to educate them about sex.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Westfall points out that because of the severely outdated policy, there are some gaps in content that she feels would be important to fill, especially considering not all students have the same knowledge entering the course. She said it is a \u201chuge problem\u201d that she is trying to fix.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">\u201c[During health class,] we talk about STDs, pregnancies, HIV and all these other consequences of sex, but do not teach what specifically leads to them,\u201d Westfall said. \u201cWe are really missing some pieces in making sure students know things that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Westfall said she still feels she can be open with her students regarding sex, but does feel there are barriers to what she can teach because of Michigan law and the district policy that mirrors it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">\u201cThere are definitely limits on what we can say and show because of the policy,\u201d Westfall said. \u201cI do not feel like I am ever asked questions that I can\u2019t answer, but I do think our curriculum is outdated and could be polished up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">According to Westfall, any changes must be made by the Sex Education Advisory Board &#8211; a legally-mandated committee of community members dedicated to creating and editing an up-to-date sex education program for the Grosse Pointe Public School System. She said they have not met in over three years, nor made any significant changes in over 10.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cIt somehow went backwards when they tried to update the curriculum in 2008,\u201d Westfall said. \u201cWe used to be allowed to teach how to use a condom, but some community members were upset, so there was no improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Nurse, midwife and Grosse Pointe parent Tish Roeske said, in her profession, she frequently sees what can happen when there is a lack of sex education in schools, having encountered many young people who are the product of an \u201cineffective\u201d curriculum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cAlmost every day in my clinical practice, we see young patients who didn\u2019t know or didn\u2019t have access to crucial information,\u201d Roeske said. \u201cNo one taught them where they could get preventive or emergency contraception without parental permission, which is where I become involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Community member and parent E. Cooper said that although teens should understand that the only way to truly avoid the consequences of sexual activity is to refrain from it, it is also necessary to educate them about alternative courses of action.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cThe school should be required to teach different options to prevent pregnancy and STDs, but with a focus on abstinence being the safest option,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">According to Cooper, there is a \u201cfine line\u201d in deciding when kids are old enough to be learning about sex. She argues that it may not be the school\u2019s job l to determine where that line is, especially if a parent doesn\u2019t agree that it\u2019s the right time for their child.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cIf it has not been introduced at home, and now it\u2019s being required at school, that can be tricky,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cIt\u2019s really uncomfortable for some children if they are not ready for that because all kids mature so differently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Bates argues that contrary to some opinions, the school\u2019s intention for providing students with crucial information is not to condone certain behavior. She believes it is in the best interest of the students for the school to give them as much knowledge as possible, not to promote promiscuity or recklessness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cThey are not encouraging it, they are just saying there is no way to stop teenagers from having sex if they want to,\u201d Bates said. \u201cThey are educating us in every way possible so that we are informed and safe, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s perceived that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">According to Roeske, statistics support her professional opinion that it is more beneficial for students to be offered a well-rounded sex education because lack thereof can be counterproductive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cPublic health research shows that wherever there are abstinence-only programs, those are the areas where there\u2019s the highest incidences of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases,\u201d Roeske said. \u201cI think parents mistakenly think that more information about sex will lead to more consequences, but that is not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Bates said one of the main reasons she disagrees with an abstinence-based curriculum is because it inadvertently does the opposite of what it is marketed to do: protect kids from unplanned consequences and help them to make good choices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cThey do not want all the (consequences) that can come from sex, but there are other ways to prevent those things and teach about, other than abstinence and telling kids not to do it,\u201d Bates said. \u201cThere are so many more consequences of shoving it under the rug.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">However, Cooper said it is important for the curriculum to make clear there is no way to fully prevent the repercussions of sex without abstaining. With the CDC reporting that only around 50 percent of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by the age of 22, those repercussions can be detrimental to teenagers\u2019 futures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cOne of the benefits of not having sex is that you have unlimited choices for your future,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cIf you have an unplanned pregnancy or get an STD, your options are much more narrow, whereas if you refrain from sexual activity, there are no risks whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Roeske said that in her opinion, there is no reason to portray sexual activity in such a negative and consequential way. She believes that problems should be prevented before the fact as opposed to after.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">\u201cThere\u2019s no reason mistakes have to turn into lifetime crises,\u201d Roeske said. \u201cWe are better and smarter than that, and we have more tools and resources than that. Sex is something big that happens in our society, but we don\u2019t know how to talk about it in a normal way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Bates said the school\u2019s sex education program is not enough to fully help students navigate intimacy throughout their lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\u201cSchools teach kids every other essential thing that will help them in life,\u201d Bates said. \u201cWhy not this?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Nina Simon &amp; Alice Scott The Tower Grosse Pointe South HS 1st Place Division 2, News Writing News Analysis JUDGING CRITERIA Sharp, attention-getting lead that underscore the why\/how elements of the news Clarifies the news elements, i.e. timeliness, nearness, impact and prominence Clarifies through research the background necessary to understand current news Develops an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[53,4],"tags":[175,21],"class_list":["post-4508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-newsanalysis","category-nw","tag-2019-20","tag-division2","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Page-1-7.jpg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Page-1-7.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Joel Beeker","author_link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?author=9"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Page-1-7.jpg?fit=1424%2C2530&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6K0n6-1aI","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}