Merrie N. Harrison
PURPOSE
This unit is to be used in seventh or eighth grade sex education classes. It’s focus is on values clarification and deciding whether or not to have sexual intercourse.
RATIONALE
To almost every individual Who works with adolescents, it is clear that teenage pregnancy is a problem in the United States today. It has profound effects on the young mother and her child as well as on an important unit of our society, the family.
Some recent studies have spoken of “an epidemic of teenage pregnancy.” Certainly, this is a very frightening and extreme description, and Maris A. Vinovskis disputes its accuracy. He points out that the birth rate among adolescent girls has stayed quite constant during the 60’s and early 70’s. The Guttmacher Institute reports that between 1970 and 1978 there was actually a decline in the incidence of teenage pregnancy. However, Vinovskis recognizes that there has been a significant increase in pregnancies among teens aged 10 to 14. In this group of teenagers there was a 33% increase between 1966 and 1970. It seems clear to me that whether or not all these numbers spell out epidemic, the fact is that over one million teenage girls face pregnancy every year. Of these million, about 600,000 give birth.
Children of teenage parents are born into one or the other of two different family situations. The families have either a single or married mother. In the past, a wedding was most often the solution to an unexpected pregnancy, and the child was born into a traditional family with mother and father. However, between 1960 and 1977 the number of babies born out of wedlock to teen mothers increased 66%. Obviously, society has come to be more accepting of an unwed mother. Another change has been in what the mothers choose to do with their babies. About 15 years ago 90% of all babies born to mothers out of wedlock were given up for adoption. Now, almost 90% elect to keep the baby. These changes have had a definite effect on all concerned, especially the teen mother and her child.
It is certainly not easy to be a teenage mother. Considering health alone, there are many significant problems. The babies of teen mothers are twice as likely to die in the first year than are babies of older mothers. Teen mothers themselves are more likely to die or to suffer other ill effects of the pregnancy than are older women. Also, teen mothers are much more likely to have low birth weight babies.
The education of teen mothers also suffers. The younger the mother is when her baby is born, the greater the chance that she will not complete high school. Mothers 18 years old and under are half as likely to complete high school than are other women. Women who do not have babies in the adolescent years are four to five times more likely to graduate from college. It is important to note that teen fathers also are less likely to complete high school, but their drop out rate is lower than for teen mothers.
Of course, the lower level of education has direct effects on income. These young people find it difficult if not impossible to find jobs or jobs that pay well. The younger the mother is when her baby is born, the lower her income will be. The Guttmacher Institute reports that in 1975 the average income of a woman who was a teen mother was half that of her peers who chose to have children later. Although many mothers seek child support payments from the fathers, these average only about $1,400.00 a year for those few who can get them. In short, teen mothers can expect a family income that is very low, often below the poverty level.
The financial problems of the teen mother are increased by the fact that she tends to have more children than women who start their families later. Teen mothers have 50% more children than do other women, and 15% of all teen mothers have a second child within a year.
Mothers who are struggling financially must often turn to the welfare system. The increased number of unwed mothers has increased the number of dollars spent by the government on welfare. Vinovskis notes that, in 1975, 4.65 billion dollars were paid by AFDC to mothers who had their first child as a teenager. This was nearly half of all the money spent on welfare that year.
In addition to the problems that the mothers face, there are definite problems for the children. These children tend to score lower on I.Q. and achievement tests. They are more likely to repeat grades in school. Children who are unsure that their physiological needs will be met are not likely to be ready to concentrate on educational activities.
This lack of education may have an effect on the employment possibilities of these children later in their lives. It has often been said that children of welfare recipients are likely to become welfare recipients themselves.
Furstenburg (1976), notes that this may be because they have fewer economic resources on which to draw as young adults.
Finally, a child of a teen mother is more likely to become a teen parent. This sad but all too true fact presents us with the problem of a seemingly endless and very discouraging cycle, especially for those who find themselves in it.
Surely there must be some solutions to this problem. One that has been advocated is more and better use of contraceptives. Family planning clinics have provided a place for teens to go when in need of contraceptive advice. However, one out of five clinics require parental consent or notification. This inhibits some teens. Unfortunately, only one in seven teens who go to clinics is seeking birth control advice prior to having sexual intercourse; three in ten go soon after having sex, but most wait nine months or more About one third of all sexually active teens reports using a method of contraception consistently. However, the fact is that four out of five girls who are not using any form of contraception get pregnant. This explains why the single most common reason that teens go to clinic is for a pregnancy test. Yes, the use of contraceptives is rising. However, this may not be as positive as it sounds because the types of contraceptives chosen by teens in recent years have been the less reliable methods: foams, condoms, and withdrawal.
The following are some reasons why teenagers don’t use contraceptives (as listed in a report on teenage pregnancy by the Guttmacher Institute): fear of their parents finding out, fear of being examined, cost, real and imagined dangers of birth control methods, thinking that they are too young to obtain contraceptives, infrequency of sex. Addressing these reasons may be helpful; however, stepping back and looking at the nature of adolescence may suggest another approach. This alternate approach is what this unit is about.
The unavoidable fact is that adolescents’ changing bodies become a major concern for them. The stronger sex drive that they begin to feel may be confusing or even overwhelming for many. In general, the changes that they see occurring are not things they can discuss with an adult. Often adults have silently stated that sex is not a topic for discussion. As a result, teens rely on whatever information they can gather from their peers. Unfortunately, this information is not adequate and often not true.
In addition to getting used to a new body, young adolescents have many other significant tasks. They are seeking independence from their parents and trying to become accepted by their peers. They begin to alter their behavior and to dress according to what is acceptable to their peers. They experiment with their new found independence and changing bodies while trying to fit into the new role of young man or young woman.
The masculine and feminine roles they are learning present a double standard that can be very confusing. Boys are expected to be aggressive, socially and sexually. Girls are expected to work very hard to gain male attention through their clothes, makeup, and flirtatious behavior. But, when a boy responds in the expected way, the burden is on the girl to preserve her honor by setting the appropriate limits. This intricate game of role playing causes many problems for the young adolescent. Unfortunately, it is often the only way they know of interacting, especially on a romantic level, with someone of the opposite sex. Their first encounters are so significant that they want to do everything exactly according to the script. So, instead of being open and honest about their feelings they continue to play the game.
As time goes on, they come to realize that the game becomes more complex. The sexual aspects of a romantic relationship becomes very important. In deciding what to do and what not to do, young teens often become confused. Finally, when put in a sexual situation, they may decide instantly, without any prior help or advice from a mature individual. As a consequence, the decision is not always the best.
There are many reasons for teenagers choosing to have intercourse. Some of them are: lack of advice from amature individual, the natural sex drive, fear of loosing their boyfriend or girlfriend if they don’t have sex, peer pressure, feeling that they are missing out on something that everyone else is enjoying, wanting to find out what sexual intercourse is like, and proving that they are grown up. These reasons don’t reflect mature choices based on a positive self-image, strong values, foresight, knowledge about sex, or a clear concept of the possible consequences. These young people have chosen to perform an adult act without the maturity necessary to make a responsible decision.
Whatever the reasons teens become sexually active, an increasing number are sexually active and at a younger age. According to Kando (1978), 20 to 30% of boys age 13 have had sex. At least 40% of 13 year old boys have engaged in heterosexual play that may have begun as much as eight years earlier. As for girls, he states that 30% of girls age 13 have engaged in heterosexual play. Of the group he questioned, 17% had sexual intercourse by age 14. These numbers may be startling, but they alert us to the fact of teenage sexuality. We can no longer hope that children won’t engage in sexual intercourse or suppose that threatened punishment will deter them. Obviously, these approaches have not worked.
Although it has been said that young teenagers are developmentally unready to make mature decisions regarding their sexual behavior, it has been proven that teenagers do develop more mature attitudes when their parents have spoken freely with them about the topic.
Unfortunately, many parents don’t approach the topic in a helpful way. Certainly some one needs to guide teenagers in their decision-making where sex is concerned. Although teachers are not replacements for parents, an attempt to address this issue in the classroom is far better than neglecting the issue totally. Hopefully by approaching the topic of sexual decision-making in the classroom, the students will be challenged to do more mature thinking.
In my experience as a sex educator, it has been evident that much has been lacking in the curriculum. All too often, teachers of sex education approach the topic from a purely scientific standpoint. Of course, there are many questions that arise concerning the functions of the reproductive systems and changes during puberty that are of great concern to the young adolescent. These questions should not be neglected. However, the students often lack the ability to deal with the knowledge that they gain in such a course.
Many students have commented that sex education is their favorite course. Quite naturally it is, because it is talking about the one topic that has become most important to many young teens. However, my concern is that discussing the biological facts before some maturity has been developed to deal with this information may provoke their new found sex urges even more than puberty itself. For these reasons, it seems imperative that a curriculum be developed that can aid young adolescents in the development of more mature thinking before they are thrown into indepth biological discussions regarding sex.
OBJECTIVES
Simply stated, the one main objective in this unit is to help young adolescents, in about the seventh grade, to develop emotional maturity that will aid them in making intelligent and appropriate decisions regarding their own sexual behavior.
As I contemplated this objective, I was almost overwhelmed by the enormity of this goal. However, this is what is needed more than anything else in addressing the problems of teenage sexuality and teenage pregnancy. Although it is very idealistic to imagine that teachers can actually accomplish this goal with even a small percentage of their students, this unit will at least expose the students to new concepts that may help them along the road to emotional maturity.
As I see it, the development of the maturity necessary for sexual decision-making can be broken down into eight smaller objectives: developing self-confidence and personal values, understanding dating and heterosexual relationships, exploring the degrees of sexual involvement, distinguishing between sexual attraction and love, developing foresight in deciding about sexual relationships understanding the responsibilities of choosing to have sex, investigating the choices available to a girl with an unwanted pregnancy, and understanding the full impact of becoming a parent.
The first objective, developing self-confidence and personal values, provides an essential base for this whole process. It is a commonly known fact that adolescents are easily swayed by peer pressure. They want to be accepted. To do this they feel that it is necessary to”be like everyone else.” They feel pressure to talk, dress, and act the same as their peers. This is no less true of sexual behavior. Teenagers tend to do what they think everyone else is doing, hoping that their behavior will make them more accepted among their peers. We adults, know that teenagers don’t do all of what they imply in their conversations. We know also that trying to be accepted by certain groups of people can be not only pointless and unfulfilling but harmful as well. Developing a sense of personal values helps teenagers to select a group of friends among whom they are comfortable. Self-confidence enables them to talk, dress and act in a way that reflects their own personal values.
Once the students have learned more about themselves in step one of this process, they are ready to begin in the second objective, understanding dating and heterosexual relationships. Interacting with a person of the opposite sex takes on a different light in early adolescence. The newness of the dating scene often creates an excitement that causes the young teen to jump in head first without any thought Understanding what makes someone a desirable person to date, considering male and female roles in a dating situation, examining the games that are played between the sexes and deciding what makes a relationship valuable are all topics that are often totally overlooked by teens. Taking the time to consider them will help teens make better decisions and to avoid undesirable situations.
For all adolescents, the question of sexual involvement is of great concern and potentially confusing, especially in a dating situation. This brings us to objective three, exploring the degrees of sexual involvement. For many people sexual involvement is an expression of an emotional attachment. When teenagers begin to be attracted to the opposite sex, it seems natural that they express their feelings in a physical way. As a result, teens often become more involved sexually than they expected or even wanted. Some feel that intercourse is the appropriate (or even the only) way of showing affection. Obviously, some education is necessary. Teenagers need to be shown that there are ways to express affection other than through intercourse. There is a natural progression of sexual involvement that needs to be understood in order to be prepared to handle a sexual situation. Above all, teenagers need to be encouraged to draw on their self-confidence to make choices about their sexual involvement that are comfortable for them.
While talking about sexual involvement, undoubtedly someone will mention the concept of love. This leads very naturally into the forth objective, distinguishing between sexual attraction and love. This is difficult for many adults and even more difficult for the less experienced teen. All too often teenagers mistake sexual attraction for “true love” and use this “love” to justify early sexual involvement. Unfortunately, the combination of an innocent attraction and new surging sex drive can create a new feeling that is blindly accepted as love. Again, some essential questions are overlooked. for example: what is love, how do you know that you love someone, how can you be sure that someone really loves you, and how do people show that they love each other? If nothing else, challenging their concept of love provides teenagers with some serious food for thought.
Even if teenagers do decide that they are truly in love, sexual intercourse still may not be appropriate for them. Objective five, developing foresight in deciding about sexual relationships, may help them realize this. Often teenagers don’t consider the effects of early intercourse on the future. Most teenagers have considered to some degree the idea that a child could interrupt educational or career plans. They may realize that an unwanted child could hinder their social activities. These points are very important and should not be overlooked or minimized. However, too often, teens don’t realize that early intercourse can cause emotional upset that is very difficult or even impossible to overcome. Growing up too quickly and missing out on simple childhood pleasures is not reversible. Becoming caught up in adult activities that produce adult concerns is not fun or easy to handle especially without the maturity that often comes with age and experience. Teenagers need to contemplate the value of each stage in their lives and assess the importance of each stage in their growth.
Objective six, understanding the responsibilities of choosing to have sex, is important for those students who decide to have sex at an early age. Teenagers must be made to understand that, while they must practice contraception, their responsibilities to one another go beyond that. The potential for emotional upset among sexually active teens is great. Teenagers frequently think only of themselves. Self-centeredness greatly increases the likelihood of someone being hurt. In many instances hurting someone is very difficult to avoid, but even so, teenagers need to be more kind in dealing with each other. They need to consider the other person’s feelings more and to try to avoid unnecessary hurt. Especially in a relationship as intimate as sex, both parties have the responsibility of being open, honest, and considerate.
Still there will be those who are faced with an unwanted pregnancy, so, we must include objective seven, investigating the choices available to a girl with an unwanted pregnancy. The options are perfectly clear: abortion, raising the baby alone, or getting married. In exploring the options it is not sufficient to discuss the legal aspects of each or the procedures involved in each. It is also essential that the students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option. They must try to comprehend the emotions that go along with each. It is not totally possible to imagine what each situation would be like, but is is important to try. Hopefully, the problems related to an unwanted pregnancy will become more real to the students.
Unfortunately, some adolescents want to become parents before they are ready to handle it. Objective eight, understanding the full effect of parenthood, attempts to bring to light all the responsibilities of parenthood. Too many teenagers see having a baby as an accomplishment, something fun to do or proof of their manhood or womanhood. Certainly, no maturity, no manhood or womanhood, is required in the creation of a child. The ability to raise a child and care for its emotional as well as its physical needs shows maturity. Unfortunately, many teens have no concept of a child’s physical needs and even less understand of a child’s emotional needs. Teens often fail to recognize the effect of a child on their lives. The statistics presented earlier in this unit regarding the consequences of early parenthood for both parent and child need to lie presented to the students. Hopefully, a clearer understanding of this topic will help those who want children to reconsider and will encourage those who would be careless in their decision making to be more thoughtful.
In conclusion, the teacher should give the students the opportunity to express their opinions concerning sex. This will be evidence to teacher of their developing sense of maturity.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Each classroom activity is geared towards achieving one of the eight objectives listed earlier in this unit. The activities have been broken down into eight sections, one for each general objective. Each section includes only one activity. However, many activities are necessary in completing each of the eight objectives. Therefore, the activities presented are meant only to be a base from which to build.
Objective 1
Developing Self-confidence and personal Values
Purpose
This activity provides students with the opportunity to recognize peer pressure and discuss how it affects them and how to deal with it.
Materials
blackboard and chalk
Procedure
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1. Define peer pressure and self-confidence verbally or on the board.
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2. On the board begin a list of situations that may involve peer pressure. Some examples are:
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A. going to a movie that your parents told you not to see;
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B. smoking cigarettes;
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C. not wearing your favorite shoes because a friend doesn’t like them.
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3. Have students brainstorm ideas to add to the list.
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4. Lead a discussion about each situation by asking the following questions:
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A. How does this situation involve peer pressure?
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B. What would you do in this situation? Why?
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C. Could giving in to peer pressure have a negative effect on the person involved?
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D. How would someone benefit from giving in to peer pressure?
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E. How would a person with self-confidence deal with this situation?
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5. Look for opposing views.
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6. Encourage students to include reasons for their statements.
Objective 2
Understanding Dating and Heterosexual Relationships
Purpose
A student may become infatuated with someone for no apparent reason. This activity will help them understand the type of person they are and the type of person they would like to date.
Materials:
paper and pen and pencil, blackboard and chalk
Procedure
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1. On the board list the following words:
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A. appearance
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B. interests
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C. hobbies
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D. qualities
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E. values
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2. Have the students write a description of themselves including some information relating to each work on the board.
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3. Have the students follow the same procedure in describing the ideal date, an imaginary person that they would like to date.
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4. Read the descriptions out loud anonymously.
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5. Discuss the following questions:
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A. Will two people be compatible if they are only attracted by appearance?
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B. What makes two people have a good relationship?
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C. Is it possible to find someone who fits your description of the “ideal date”?
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D. Is it important to think about what type of person someone is before dating them? Why? Why not?
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E. What do you think it means when a person does not know why they are attracted to someone?
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F. Is someone who is good to date also good to mate?
Objective 3
Exploring the Degrees of Sexual Involvement
Purpose
This activity will give the student the opportunity to think about and discuss their values related to physical relationships. It will help the students understand the common progression of a physical relationship. This will help the student develop the foresight needed to keep a physical relationship at a comfortable degree of involvement.
Materials
blackboard and chalk
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1. List the steps of physical relationship on the board as follows:
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A. handholding (walking arm in arm)
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B. kissing
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C. necking
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D. petting
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E. sexual intercourse
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2. Define all terms listed on the board.
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3. Discuss the students values related to the steps listed on the board by asking the following questions.
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A. When is it appropriate to . . . (kiss, neck, etc)?
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B. What does it mean when two people . . . (kiss, neck, etc)?
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C. Why do some people skip steps and go right to intercourse?
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D. What is the purpose of each step?
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4. Explain that petting is the natural preparation for sexual intercourse and can easily lead to that but does not always.
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5. Explain the importance of stopping the progress of a sexual relationship at a comfortable stage. (See Riker, page 30-32)
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6. Ask the following questions:
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A. Is it possible to make a decision about your sexual limits before you are involved with someone physically? how is this done?
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B. Is it important to discuss your limits before a physical relationship starts? Why? Why Not?
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C. How important is a physical relationship? Why?
Objective 4
Distinguishing Between Sexual Attraction and Love
Purpose
Teenagers’ concept of love is often very vague. This activity will give them the opportunity to explore their concept of love.
Materials
paper and pen or pencil
Procedure
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1. Conduct a discussion with the students about love based on the following questions:
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A. What is love?
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B. Are there different types of love?
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C. What are some examples of the types of love?
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D. How is romantic love different from other forms of love?
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NOTE: The following questions refer only to romantic love.
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E. What is romantic love?
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F. How do you know that you love someone?
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G. How do you know that the other person loves you?
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2. Divide the class into groups.
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3. Instruct each group to write a list of ways in which people show that they love each other.
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4. Use the lists as a basis for discussing how people show that they love each other.
Objective 5
Developing foresight in Deciding about Sexual Relationships.
Purpose
Teenagers often fail to connect their present actions with the possible consequences. This activity will give the student a chance to set some long range goal and to consider what they will need to do to reach the goals.
Materials
Copies of the introduction in step 1 of the procedure,
Procedure
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1. Give each student a copy of the following introduction to the lesson and read out loud:
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It is now 1992. You have grown and changed a lot over the past ten years. Many things have happened in those years to get you to where you are today. On the paper in front of you describe your life now. Tell about your income, job, family situation, hobbies, or whatever is most important to you. Tell how you have changed since you were a student at school. Then think back and tell how you got where you are today: What happened? What did you have to do? Did you enjoy the last ten years? What mistakes did you make? finally, what advice would you give to someone ten years younger than you are?
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2. Instruct the students to follow the directions given in the introduction.
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3. Explain that each person has set some goals in writing their essay and explain that there are certain steps that have to be followed to reach a particular goal.
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4. Ask the students to read their essays aloud or collect them and read them to the class.
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5. Ask the students to identify the goals and steps leading up to each goal after each essay is read.
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6. Be sure to ask the students if the author forgot to include some necessary steps in reaching the goal.
Objective 6
Understanding the full Responsibility of Choosing to Have Sex.
Purpose
This activity will allow the students to practice thinking about another persons feelings before doing something that may hurt that person.
Materials
Situations involving relationship problems written on separate slips of paper.
Procedure
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1. Explain to the students that people often act in ways that could hurt another person. Usually, this is because they have not considered the other person’s feelings. All of our relationships could be better if we would take time to think before we spoke or acted.
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2. Divide the students into groups.
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3. Give each group a situation involving a relationship problem. Some samples are listed below:
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A. Bob and Sally are dating. They are at a dance together when Bill starts flirting with Sally. Sally begins to be interested in Bill.
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B. Jack and Judy are going steady. The senior prom is coming up. Judy wants to go very much but Jack hasn’t asked her. She doesn’t know that Jack would rather gave his money for college.
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C. Sue and Mary are best friends. Pete, who is dating Mary, told Sue that the only reason he likes Mary is that she is very free with her body. Sue knows that Mary thinks that she is in love with Pete.
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4. Instruct the students to act out the problem and its solution in a short skit.
Objective 7
Exploring the Choices Available to a Girl with an Unwanted pregnancy
Purpose
This activity will shed some light on all aspects of these two possible choices, abortion and adoption.
Resource People
: a representative from a family planning clinic a representative from an adoption agency or Birth Right
Procedure
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1. Each resource person is given the opportunity to present information concerning either abortion or adoption.
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2. Encourage the students to ask any related questions.
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3. Later, lead a discussion about the emotions that may be involved. Ask questions such as the following:.
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A. How do you think a girl would feel after she had an abortion?
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B. How do you think a girl would feel after giving her child up for adoption?
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C. What feelings might the father have in either situation?
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D. Why would someone choose either option?
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E. What social pressures could be involved?
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F. Do you think the girl’s decision could effect her in the future?
Objective 8
Understanding the Full Effect of Early Parenthood
Purpose
This activity will give the class the opportunity to view some problems and concerns of both the teenage father and the teenage mother.
Materials
Woman Child (a 15 minute film from Planned Parenthood)
Teenage Father (a 25 minute film from Planned parenthood)
Procedure
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1. Show each film to the class.
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2. Lead a discussion about the concerns of the father and the mother using the guides enclosed with the films.
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3. Be sure to cover the following questions:
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A. What are some concerns of the father?
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B. What are some concerns of the mother?
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C. Did the people in the films really understand parenthood before the baby arrived? What was different after delivery?
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D. What emotions did the teen parents display?
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E. Do think these teen parents would choose to have this baby if they could go back in time?
