Presentation

I really enjoyed listening other's presentations. I thought poeple prepared really well and they did good job. I haven't done mine yet but it would be fun to present it.
Some people researched really well and i was very impressed!

Stop Teen Pregnancy and STDs Spreading

The U.S.A has the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the industrialized world and this is going to keep increasing unless we do something about it. This is mostly caused by a lack of sex education for teens and ignorance about contraception. According to Advocate for Youth, every hour of every day, two American young people contract HIV, 96 become pregnant, and nearly 350 more contract an STD, or a sexually transmitted disease (Llana). This means by the end of today, almost 50 young Americans will contract HIV, almost 2500 will have become pregnant, and nearly 8500 more will contract a sexually transmitted disease. In addition, USA Today says, “One of every two young Americans will get a sexually transmitted disease by age 25. Nearly 90% of young adults already had been infected with three diseases: human papillomavirus (HIP), Chlamydia and trichomonas (Sternberg). This issue can influence the economy in the United States. More than two-thirds of teens who have babies before the age of 18 do not finish high school; they drop out from schools (Strasburger). These are not just numbers. These are your sons and daughters, perhaps your students, who are at a high risk of being a part of them, even yourself. Teen pregnancy costs the United States is at least $7 billion annually (“Teen”). The lifetime medical cost for the 9 million infections at $6.5 billion. Costs range from a low of $18 per case for Trichomonas vaginalis, a parasitic infection, to $200,000 for HIV (Sternberg). As you can see by looking at Picture 1, the spreading of STDs is very easy and it can be spread fast without people noticing. I believe that making all parents agree with sex education and starting to teach sex education at home from students’ parents before children are teens would solve the problem.
There are two problems relate to this issue. First, some parents do not agree with sex education and they make it difficult for schools to teach in classes (“Education”). Sex education is effective and helps teens to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STDs (William R). Some parents believe that sex education is not appropriate for their children to discuss in schools or they think that their children are too young to discuss sex education (“Education”).
Second, younger children are having more sex than before (Picture 2). Twenty-three percent of all 14 year-olds and 30% of all 15 year-olds have had sexual intercourse (Feldman). Teaching sex education at home is an effective way to teach it to their children (“Sex Education that”). However, it is not easy for parents to do.
Keys to solving these issues are making all parents agree with sex education and starting to learn about sex education at home from parents before children are teens. I came up with the ideas of sending emails or sending letters to parents and having meetings at schools. These works should be lead by teachers and principals of schools, perhaps the U.S. Department of Education.
First, to make all parents agree with sex education, we have to have them understand what sex education is and we need to tell them how effective it is to children by using facts from research such as this fact: according to William Finger R, “Many studies have shown that educating youth adults about sex does not cause them to have sexual relations earlier or increase their sexual activities. Sex education has caused the number of teen pregnancies to drop and reduced teens’ risk of sexually transmitted diseases.”
Second, parents need to start teaching sex education early to children before puberty: normally 12 years old for girls and 14 years for boys (“Earlier”). Parents are the most effective people for their children. At home, young people can easily have one-to-one discussions with parents which focus on specific issues, questions or concerns (“Sex education that”). Providing parents with information about how to teach sex education at home is necessary (“Sex education: Start”).
According to U.S. census bureau, there are about 51 million students in elementary schools to high schools (The Official Website of the United States Census). To send emails to their parents is free of cost but not all parents have an email address. If the letters were sent by mail, it would cost $6.44 million with using discounts (The Official Website of the United States Postal). This budget should come from U.S. Department of Education. Perhaps, each school can pay for their own students. Meetings for parents to understand about sex education and how to teach sex education to their children at home should be discussed with teachers. To be able to do that, principles need to allow them to have the meetings and give them opportunities to have the meetings. All of this is expected to take about half a year including one month for making the letter for parents, one month for sending the letters and having parents read the letter, two months for planning for meetings, two months for having the meetings.
There would still be people who do not agree with sex education. It is important to convince them by meeting with them in person and talking about it. Another possibility of rebuttal is the cost. This $6.44 million may be refused by the U.S. Department of Education or principals of schools may refuse to pay the letter bills for their own students. If so, all the teachers can give these letters to their students at school and they can deliver it to their parents. If possible, teachers can go to parents’ houses and deliver it to them and talk about it which will be more effective.
If this proposal is accepted or is executed, the spreading of STDs and teen pregnancy would reduce in the United States and U.S.A. could save medical costs. In addition, children would be more responsible for having intercourse (“Sex Education that”). If not, the spreading of STDs and teen pregnancy would increase and costs to the United States would increase as well. Moreover, United States birth rates would decline because of undetected STDs. We need to start acting on this big problem and I believe my proposal would help to solve the issue.











Work Cited
“Earlier Sex Education could Avert Later Social Problems.” Academic Search Premier. 20 Oct 2006.Gateway Community College (AZ). 30 Mar 2007.
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“Education in the United States.” Wikimedia Foundation Inc. 29 Mar 2007. 30 Mar 2007

Feldman, Robert, Ed. “Social and Personality Development in Adolescence.” Child Development. 4th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc, 2007. 439 – 469.
Finger, William R. "Sex Education Has Succeeded." Sex Education. Ed. Kristen Bailey. At Issue Series. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson Gale. Maricopa CountyCommunity　College. 20 Apr. 2007 =retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010023214&source
=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=mcc_main&version=1.0>.
Llana, Nossel. “Pregnancy and Childbearing Among Younger Teens” Advocate for Youth. 28 Mar 2007
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The Official Website of the United States Postal Service. The United States Postal Service. 1 April.2007
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The Official Website of the United States Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau. Mar.2007. 18 Apr.2007
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“Sex Education: Start Discussions Early.” CNN.com. 7 Jun 2005. 30 Mar 2007 .
“Sex Education that Works.” 15 Mar. 2007. AVERT Organization. 25 Mar. 2007 .
Sternberg, Steve. “USA's Youth at High Risk for Venereal Diseases.”
USATODAY.com 24 Feb 2004. 20 Mar 2007
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“Teen Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, Pregnancy and Childbearing: General Facts and Stats.” Teenpregnancy.org Nov 2006. 21 Apr 2007
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Strasburger, C Victor. “Teen Pregnancy Rates in the USA” CoolNurse.com 21 Apr 2007 .
Wagoner, James. “Teens Need Information, Not Censorship.” Advocate for Youth. 12 June 2001. 28 Mar 2007
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The solving problems

It was interesting to go to the meeting and listened to people from all over the world. I saw many friends there and i was suprised.I really enjoyed it.
This proposal essay is the hardest of all!!!need a lot of reserach!!!

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

My topic is sex education in schools in the United States. My main questions are if sex education should be taught in schools and when it is appropriate for children to start attending sex education. Sex education has been a big issue in the United States and it is a serious problem that we have to focus on. The U.S.A has the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the industrialized world and this is going to keep increasing unless we do something about it. This is mostly caused by a lack of sex education for teens and ignorance about contraception. In addition, I found a new issue when I was researching that it is difficult for schools to teach sex educations in schools.
One of the reasons for this is because some parents do not think that sex education should be taught in schools. Another reason is because President Bush called for abstinence-only sex education and has the power to withhold funding, so many schools are staying away from sex education.
I organized my sources starting with sources containing facts in the United States, especially focused on teens. These sources have information on STDs and they also say how STDs are easily spread to other people and how they influence the economy in the United States. I also listed a source talking about the difficulty to teach sex education in schools. I wanted to bring up this issue as a question to answer. I believe that sex education is necessary and good for teens to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STDs and save their lives. I listed a source which includes an overview of sex education after the facts that I explained above to give details about sex education including what sex education is and what it teaches to children. After the overview of sex education, I listed a source with facts assuming sex education is taught in schools, it would reduce the numbers of teen pregnancy and the spread of STDs to state my opinion. In addition, it is important to understand how teens develop physically and mentally. I included a source as an overview and the facts of sex education groups. As a second question, I put the answers for when sex education is appropriate for children to start learning. I believe that it is appropriate for children before they are teens to start learning sex education. I listed a source that has information about why it is good to start learning from an early age to state my opinion. At the very last, I listed the source that has experts’ suggestions to help find proposal to solve these issues.
I have about fifteen more sources that I did not manage to include. I would like to use them to help write my final project. While I was conducting research, I found that sex education at home is a big key for children including teens. Learning sex education from their own parents is the best way to learn and it is a big influence to children. The final goal of this issue is to reduce teen pregnancy and the spreading of STDs rates in the United States after all. I am thinking about including this important key for my final project as well. I believe the sources I listed are great sources to find out about sex education in the United States and these would help to write my final project.

Sternberg, Steve. “USA's youth at high risk for venereal diseases.”
USATODAY.com 24 Feb 2004. 20 Mar 2007.


This news article starts with an amazing fact that makes you want to read more. It says, “One of every two young Americans will get a sexually transmitted disease by age 25.” It talks about many facts from research about teen sexual situations and conditions. It has another point saying that “Nearly 90% of young adults get three diseases: human papillomavirus (HVP), chlamydia and trichomonas, which often go undetected.” It suggests using condoms to prevent from spreading STDs or getting STDs from someone else. The USATODAY is the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States and it has been for over 20 years. The way they write is easy to read and the information is trustworthy. This news is interesting to read and useful for us to know.

Wagoner, James. “Teens Need Information, Not Censorship.” Advocate for Youth. 12 June 2001. 28 Mar 2007.

This article is saying how dangerous America is now. The number of people who are getting transmitted STDs and becoming pregnant are increasing in America. The U.S.A has the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the industrialized world. The author has a big concern about this fact and he is suggesting people do something about this issue. This website was established in 1980 for young people to make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. This website is a non-profit website and they truly want to solve the problems of adolescent sexual health. The articles they have are interesting to read because they use a lot of facts that impact readers and makes them read the articles. I say the information they have is accurate and article is easy to read.

“Education in the United States.” Wikimedia Foundation Inc. 29 Mar 2007. 30 Mar 2007.

It talks about the overview of Education in the United States including history and related issues. In these issues contents, sex education is included. Sex education is a big issue in the United States and many schools attempt to avoid the study as much as possible because of the President Bush has called for abstinence-only sex education and he has the power to withhold funding. There are a number of surveys and facts about how many people agree or disagree with this issue. This website is written by people who want to write meaning anyone can. The information they have is current since it is updated thousands of times an hour. One of my concerns is that according to wikipedia, they say that “Many issues on specific matters are written by professionals or have firsthand knowledge on the subjects”. I do no know how we can know if the issue is written by professionals, if it is trustworthy. It is a good resource to start with when you look for something, to get an idea what it is.

“Sex education that works.” 15 Mar. 2007. AVERT Organization. 25 Mar. 2007.

This website provides information about HIV, AIDS, Sex and other related issues and it is regularly updated. Most readers are from the UK and USA, and this website is the most accessed HIV & AIDS website in Europe, and is in the global top three. In November 2005, AVERT.org was selected by the British Medical Association as the winner of the BMA Patient Information Award for Websites. The website was praised by judges for being “very well referenced, information rich and possessing a clean look”. This website is an excellent website to learn about issues of Sex. The information they have is accurate and current. This website helps people to learn, protect themselves and save people’s lives. It is a major educational and informational tool, shaping decisions and providing information for anyone, from individuals, to governments, to journalists and to teachers.

Likoudis, James. "Sex Education Programs Are Ineffective at Reducing Teen Pregnancy." Sex Education. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. At Issue Series. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson Gale. Gateway Community College (AZ). 28 Mar. 2007 .

This article proves teen sexual risk taking is reduced by attending schools, using facts from researchers. It also talks about how schools reduce sexual activity among teens by considering teen’s characteristics. This article was written by Douglas Kirby who is a senior research scientist at ETR Associates in Scotts Valley, California. He has directed statewide and nationwide studies on adolescents and sexual activity for about twenty-five years. He has also authored over one hundred volumes, articles and chapters on adolescent sexual behavior and programs designed to change that behavior. I can say that he is an expert on the field of adolescent and sexual activity. The information in the article is accurate and has powerful facts from researchers. There is a lot of information that helps you to understand the facts of adolescents in school.

Feldman, Robert, Ed. “Social and Personality Development in Adolescence.” Child Development. 4th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc, 2007. 439 – 469.
This book discussed personality and social development. Adolescence brings about major changes in the ways in which individuals must deal with the world including how they form their views of themselves. This book also discusses relationships with the family, peers and other influences during adolescence. It considers sexual behavior, standards of adolescents’ sex lives and issues of teenage pregnancy. This book was written by an expert of child development and information in this book is regularly edited to be current. This book is used by many different colleges in the United States. This book is an excellent book for learning about adolescence.

“Earlier sex education could avert later social problems.” Academic Search Premier. 20 Oct 2006.Gateway Community College (AZ). 30 Mar 2007.

This article suggests that children should be given sex education earlier because they are going through puberty earlier. This is based on the research from Liverpool John Moores University. The researchers claim that if children received information earlier in their school life on alcohol abuse, unprotected sex and self-harm, they could be avoided. This article is from the education website and it was written by a specialist in the field. All the articles on the website were written by experts. This is a short article but it has the strong points that I agree with and the information they have is trustworthy.


Silverberg, Cory. “When should sex education start?.” About.com. 20 Mar 2007.
30 Mar 2007.

This website helps parents to know how to deal with their own child while teaching sex education. It talks about how important it is to teach sex education and it tells you how to do it at every age. The article has examples on how to teach children of different ages so it is easy to read and understand. This article was written by Cory Silverberg who is an AASECT certified sex educator, author, sexuality media contributor and researcher. He has an honors BA in psychology and a Masters degree in counseling psychology. For both degrees his area of research was sexuality; specifically sexuality and attachment theory and sexuality and disability. He is an expert in this field. The way he writes is understandable and he writes with both perspectives as parents and as educators. This is a good resource for parents and educators.

“Sex education: Start discussions early.” CNN.com. 7 Jun 2005. 30 Mar 2007.

This article helps parents to teach sex to their children and it tells you why it is important to tell them at an early age. The article also tells what children are thinking at each age and what parents or educators should tell them about sex. This article encourages parents to be open, be honest and talk about sex with their children from younger ages. This article is actually written by the Mayo Clinic staff who has abroad knowledge of the field. This website is trying to help people to manage their health by providing useful and up-to-date information and tools that reflect the expertise. They are experts on human’s health and it is a good website for parents and educators for children.

Strauss, Kandra. “The Birds, the Bees, Oh My!.”Academic Search Premier. Apr 2003. Gateway Community College (AZ). 30 Mar 2007.

This article talks about the policies of school districts on sex education and the attitude of parents toward teaching sex education in schools. It also has voices from people in the field such as teacher’s opinions and facts from researchers. This article encourages educators to play a role in helping kids make healthy choices even if abstinence-only programs have restricted sex education talks in many districts. The author of this article, Kandra Strauss, is from the NEA (National Education Association) Health Information Network. NEA is the nation’s largest professional employee organization and it helps educators while being a volunteer-based organization. The article is a good resource for educators to know the facts of how to teach sex education in schools.

concerning?

Researching takes a lot of time. Seems like there are not enough time for research, but I am trying to get information as much as I can and I will chose the best resources for the essay. The hardest part of this process is finding the specific information I want!!!

game

I really enjoyed the game we had for the finding how to write bibilography.
It was exciting and i could learn how to write bibilography at the same time!
and we won! yeah. i think that was the best time ever in the ENG102 class!!!

Starting Reaserch Paper!!

It took me a long time to write the research paper!!! I was so frustrated when i was looking for resorces... but once i started writing the essay, i started to enjoy writing. It was fun to organize the essay and write about Nova(The biggest English company in Japan). Oh another thing, I never wrote the bibliography so i had to go to the Learning Center few times. The learning center is really helpful!