April, 2008

Teenagers Consider The Source

Harold Valentin, The Tampa Tribune
April 30, 2008

FOREST HILLS - Not only is lack of sex education a problem for high school students in Hillsborough County, said members of Teen Source Theatre, but also misinformation.

Source teens say a few popular myths include: Only gay people can get AIDS; pregnancy can be prevented if sex occurs in a swimming pool; and condoms don't work.

Experts say sex abstinence program doesn't work

Will Dunham, Reuters
April 24, 2008


Programs teaching U.S. schoolchildren to abstain from sex have not cut teen pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases or delayed the age at which sex begins, health groups told Congress on Wednesday.

The Bush administration, however, voiced continuing support for such programs during a hearing before a House of Representatives panel even as many Democrats called for cutting off federal money for so-called abstinence-only instruction.

Some state lawmakers pitch uniform sex education

As schools grow and STD rates rise, some state lawmakers want contraception taught in 6th grade.

Claudia Zequeira, Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer
April 14, 2008

In theory, Florida's schools are supposed to teach sex education by promoting abstinence as the way to avoid pregnancy and disease.

But the reality of sex ed in Florida varies from school district to school district.

In Orange County, for example, schools teach students about condoms and birth-control pills.

Teen Study Says Romance Makes for Safer Sex

Laura Sessions Stepp, Washington Post
Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Teenage romance can be a good thing and so can dating, a large study of youth in grades 7 through 12 has concluded.

An analysis of national data conducted by Child Trends, a research
center that focuses on children and youth, found that sexually active
teens who identify their relationships with a partner as romantic and
who go out socially with that person are more likely to use
contraceptives than similar teens in more-casual relationships.

Sex ed bill will require more than abstinence only

Bill Kaczor, Associated Press
April 1, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Some Florida teens believe drinking Mountain Dew or
smoking marijuana will prevent pregnancy and that swallowing a capful
of bleach will prevent HIV/AIDS. One reason those dangerous myths have
spread is the state's reliance on abstinence-only sex education, say
advocates of a bill to require a more comprehensive approach in
Florida's schools.