Ending Teen Pregnancy
By: Whitney Ortiz Some of my most memorable times were from my teenage years. I can recount endless situations that still make me laugh today, but I can also remember things that now looking back were not good choices. I grew up in Ruskin, a small town that lacked things to do. So most of my poor choices happened because I had parents that at times were a little too trusting of a teenager, and although I begged to differ, lacked a lot of maturity and life experience. I still live in the same town and teens around here still behave the same way. So, I guess you could say, not much has changed although many years have passed. The older buildings remain and new homes, fast food restaurants, and gas stations have popped up. But one thing that has held strong is the amount of teen girls I have witnessed become mothers. I myself was not a teen mother but I was a teen who grew up here and had quite a few friends who did fall victim to what seems like a never-ending problem. There are ways we can combat this, but it would take everyone in the community coming together and contributing by having open and informative conversations with our teens and pre-teens about sex and the risk of pregnancy, pushing for new businesses and organizations geared toward teens to make Ruskin their new home, and petitioning Hillsborough County to make sex education an elective offered to our students in public school. One thing that is uncomfortable but inevitable as parents is talking to your teenagers about sex and their available options. Often most parents just suggest their teens don’t have sex or just forbid dates and having boyfriends but fail to talk to their children about the possible risks they take when they decide to partake in sexual activities. For example, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. The more our children know the better even if it is uncomfortable and sometimes graphic. Having these conversations with children is not giving them the green light and encouraging them to go and have sex, instead it is showing them we understand that they have natural urges and curiosities about sex but showing them that we are there to enlighten them on the possible repercussions that can also come along with having sex. Reminding them that sometimes “when you play you pay.” Opening a strong line of communication with our children will allow for them to feel comfortable to talk with their parents when or if the time arises so we can firstly encourage them not to but also provide them with safe methods if they so choose to still participate. Realistically majority of teens rely on their parents when it comes to their financial needs so a box of condoms or a copay and prescription will always be cheaper than taking care of two children, yours and theirs. In Ruskin, like most rural cities there is not a lot going on or many things to do. There are some fast food restaurants and grocery stores, and whole lot of new subdivisions. Sadly, other than public schools and one park that many of the locals have been going to since they had afterschool programs in kindergarten, our small town is lacking things for teenagers to do here. In return they spend their free time with boyfriends and girlfriends and begin exploring things like sex. Keeping our teens busy through things such as new stores and business, organized sporting events, or even more job opportunities would help in accomplishing this. There are still quite a few plots of land and even commercial buildings vacant that can be turned into something for teens to do and get into. It would be a smart business move for anyone willing to invest because the population in Ruskin continues to grow, but also there really isn’t any competing business’s in the area making it a very profitable area to be in. Some examples are teen centers, Y, and movie theaters. You can find some of these places in neighboring cities but not all teens have access to vehicles and transportation to commute. Also new business means more jobs for teens to get and less time to partake in sexual activities. It would be helping the business owner and local teens alike. High school students in Hillsborough County are required to take one physical education course as part of their graduation requirements. This class is called health opportunities through physical education or also referred to as “HOPE.” They focus on 4 areas of wellness: physical, emotional, social, and academic. Out of the 71 topics and concepts this course vaguely covers, one is the risks of teen pregnancy. Because they have crammed so much information into one class the information on teen pregnancy can be lost in the mix or rushed through. Abstinence and teen pregnancy are a “topic” in our students current required health class alongside things like personal hygiene and body image. Grouping such an important topic with why you should wash your hair and armpits everyday degrades the seriousness of teen pregnancy. Offering sex education as one of the 8 electives students are already required to complete to graduate from high school would be an easy option to accomplish. The school board can take the content offered through HOPE on teen pregnancy to make the subject its own course and use one of the schools existing physical education teachers to teach it costing the schools no extra money and most importantly also educating students on methods and ways to prevent teen pregnancy. Mahatma Gandhi said it best when he said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. We all want to see an end to teen pregnancy. We can first start here locally by talking to our teens, getting them out and involved, and educating them at school. These steps will help end teen pregnancy locally and then we can move to ending it nationally. |
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References
https://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/doc/567/coursedescriptions
https://www.flvs.net/flex/courses#highschool/757
https://www.cityfeet.com/cont/hillsborough-county-fl/commercial-property-for-sale?llz=27.72542,-82.41551,13z&l=10-328
https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2017/05/beyond-the-birds-and-the-bees-talking-with-your-children-about-getting-pregnant
https://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/doc/567/coursedescriptions
https://www.flvs.net/flex/courses#highschool/757
https://www.cityfeet.com/cont/hillsborough-county-fl/commercial-property-for-sale?llz=27.72542,-82.41551,13z&l=10-328
https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2017/05/beyond-the-birds-and-the-bees-talking-with-your-children-about-getting-pregnant