Abstinence Plus - Sex Ed for Teens

Sex education, including its spiritual aspects, should be part of a broad health and moral education from kindergarten through grade twelve, ideally carried out harmoniously by parents and teachers. – Dr. Benjamin Spock, Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care

Promise the Children has long supported the avoidance of teen pregnancy, and the teaching of abstinence only plus sexuality education. We have supported local and federal laws that will offer broad sexuality education in schools in grades k-12, and school clubs where children can speak with trained facilitators.

How interesting that some members of Girl’s Inc. in Lynn MA have joined with the North Shore Medical Center Mobile Van to hand out hot chocolate and condoms outside of a Lynn High School. When the van is there, between 30 and 50 students seek contraceptives, and referrals to local hospitals, and health centers.

While the Lynn Schools teach about abstinence and STDs, they do not offer information on safe sex. While many teens are not sexually active, statistics show that others are and would like information on contraception. Family planners from the Lynn Community Health Center are on the van, as well as counselors. Occasionally there are workshops conducted by teens regarding health relationships and safe sex.

In Hyde Park, and other Boston neighborhoods, teens have been advocating for more information on sexuality education in addition to abstinence.

Are teens in your community asking for more information on sex besides abstinence-only? Who is responding? Please let us know!

http://itemlive.com/articles/2011/04/19/news/news03.txt

http://www.girlsinc.org/
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/info-for-teens/index.asp

http://answer.rutgers.edu/page/training

Give her two red roses, each with a note. The first note says “For the woman I love” and the second, “For my best friend”. – Source Unknown

An American Diet Dilemma

“It’s really very simple, Governor. When people are hungry they die. So spare me your politics and tell me what you need and how you’re going to get it to these people.” Bob Geldof

Are cuts to child nutrition proposed in your State? In Massachusetts, our Governor, lawmakers and public health personnel are proposing a 20% cut in addition to the 9% already cut from infant’s and children’s food subsidies. The total spent would fall from $12.4 million to $9.8 million.

Our nutrition program in Massachusetts is called Women, Infants and Children (under 5 years) or WIC. This program provides 130,000 low-income women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or raising children with supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition education.

Many of us casually throw away food, many of us are wasteful about money, as are corporations, wealthy people, and the military. Wouldn’t it be great if we could agree to tighten our belts a little so that our nation’s infants and small children could have food?

What you think?

Becky Richardson – President
Promise the Children

http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-16/news/29425689_1_wic-cuts-budget-gap/ http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/2011/04/where-were-pro-lifers-when-budget-ax-fell/

Stretching for Improvements in Public Education

Laws for the liberal education of youth, especially of the lower class of people, are so extremely wise and useful, that, to a humane and generous mind, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant. – John Adams 1776 – a devout Unitarian, which was a non-Trinitarian Protestant Christian denomination during the Colonial era. …

Swampscott MA High School receives a $1 million to improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Math teaching (STEM) by paying for 3 teachers’ salaries and their training over the next 3 years starting in the fall of 2011. One will teach in the High School, one in the Middle School and one teacher will be shared by the 3 elementary schools. Hopefully this program will become self-funded when the grant runs out.

Swampscott is a relatively small district with about 800 + students in the High School. More than ¾ of the students do very well in English and Math compared to the state average, but not as well in science.

This is a wonderful gift for young students in a relatively wealthy school district. The donor, Mark Gelfand, recognizes that our public schools are falling behind and has taken action to bring improvement. See the full article at

http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/articles/2011/04/14/news/news02.txt

The goal is to interest children in STEM by encouraging the recognition of math and science in all subjects including the arts, and by encouraging clubs where activities involving science can take place in free time.

According to one school committee member; “you can really feel the love here”. Did she mean that you can sense the love for children who need more opportunity to succeed in our changing world?

What to you think?

http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/mcas.aspx/