Middle School/High School

Behaviors

Brittany Kinlicheenie
Kaitlyn Bell
Rachel Chacon
Guadalupe Espitia
 Sexuality Education
What does comprehensive
sexuality education entail?
According to the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States,
A Brief History... 1892 - The National Education Association advocates for
the necessity of sexuality education as part of the national
education curriculum.

1913 - Chicago is the first major city to implement sex

education at the high school level.It was dismantled shortly
after when the Catholic Church launched a campaign against
the initiative forcing the superintendent of schools, at the
time, to resign. Her name was Ella Flagg Young.

1918 - Congress passes The Chamberlain-Kahn Act which

allocated money to educate U.S. soldiers on syphilis and
gonorrhea.

1919 - A report by the U.S. Department of Labor’s

Children’s Bureau suggests that these soldiers would have
been better off if they received sex instruction in school.This
inspires secondary schools to implement sex ed programs.
History continued
1920s - High schools begin to integrate sexuality education into their curriculums.
*20-40% of U.S. school systems had programs on social hygiene and sexuality
1930s - The U.S. Office of Education publishes sex ed materials and trains teachers.
1930s-1940s - Human sexuality courses appear on college campuses for the first time.
1942 - Birth Control Federation of America becomes Planned Parenthood Federation of America,
Inc.
1964 - Sexualtiy Information and Education Council of The United States is founded by Dr. Mary
Calderon - physician/medical director of Planned Parenthood at the time.
1960s-70s - Sexuality education becomes a political issue when religious groups organize in
opposition to sex ed programs in schools
*During this time, rumors spread that sex ed instructors were encouraging students to be
homosexuals or even stripping in front of classrooms
*This led to parents protesting sex-ed curriculums country-wide.
History continued
1980s - The AIDS epidemic arrives - strengthening the stance of sex education advocates.
*However, religious conservatives found a new roundabout to sex ed and instead, worked to
install abstinence-only programs as a form of sex education.
1981 - Adolescent Family Life Act is passed; funding abstinence-only education
1996 - Abstinence-only programs are funded by the millions, for the first time by the federal
government (Welfare Reform Act)
Mid 1990s - Every state passes a mandate for AIDS education
2000s - Two reports are released; 1) abstinence-only programs are discovered to contain inaccurate
and misleading information 2) these programs were not reviewed for scientific accuracy before
funding/implementation
- Furthermore during this time, these programs are found to be ineffective.
2009 - Obama administration budgets $114.5 million to support evidence-based programs
2011 - Polling shows 90% of US parents support sex education in high school, 75% support in middle
school
2012 - The National Sexuality Education Standards: Core Content and Skills, K-12 published in January
2014 - 22 states and D.C. mandate sex education while 11 more mandate HIV education
A Nationwide Perspective
What about abstinence-only?
 Claim vs Fact
1. Abstinence-only education delays sexual initiation 1. Research shows abstinence-only programs are
and reduces teen pregnancy. not effective at delaying the initiation of sexual
2. activity or in reducing teen pregnancy.
2. Abstinence-only programs are responsible for the 2. A recent study showed that improved
decline in teen pregnancies contraceptive use was responsible for 86% of
3. the decline in adolescent pregnancy
3. Abstinence-only-until-marriage reflects American 3. Median age for sexual initiation among
values Americans is 17 and the average age for
marriage is 25.8 (indicating a big gap between
the onset of sex and marriage). Separately, 95%
of adults surveyed ages 18-44 reported to
having sexual intercourse before marriage.
4. Abstinence-only efforts provide accurate, 4. Many of the curricula distorts information on
unbiased information about reproductive health contraceptives, risks of abortion, and blurs
religion and science
What’s in the news now a days?

1. According to SIECUS, 2. April 10th - U.S. Department of

legislation introduced and Health and Human Services
passed in state legislative announces it will provide funding
sessions showed an overall only to organizations promoting
purpose to further serve sex abstinence-only approaches
education and positively within the Teen Pregnancy
impacted state policies. Prevention Program
a. Areas introduced for further
expansion of sex education in
legislation were: developing
healthy relationships, teaching
consent, and developing
communication skills.
 So if abstinence-only programs are
not effective, why are we still funding
them?
Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Arizona
● 76% of Arizonans believe the best way
to reduce teen pregnancy is through
medically accurate sex education,
including birth control education.
● 80% of Arizonans believe that parents
and teachers who are trained in the
subject should both play major roles in
teaching sex education in the home
and in schools.
So, is CSE effective?
● In a National Survey for Family Growth, those
who reported they have received
comprehensive sex education instruction before
their first sexual intercourse experience were
significantly less likely to report teen pregnancy
than their counterparts who had
abstinence-only education.
● The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) recognizes that health-risk behaviors
such as sexual initiation, violence, and physical
inactivity are linked to poor grades and lower
educational attainment, thus “school health
programs can have positive effects on
educational outcomes, health-risk behaviors,
and health outcomes.”
Substance Abuse
What is Substance Abuse?

Substance abuse refers to the harmful or hazardous use of

psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs.
Psychoactive substance use can lead to dependence syndrome - a
cluster of behavioural, cognitive, and physiological delay that
develops after repeated substance use. This typically includes an
uncontrollable desire to take the drug, difficulties in controlling its
use, persisting in its use despite harmful consequences, a higher
priority given to use drugs than to other activities and obligations,
increased tolerance, and sometimes a physical withdrawal state.
World Health Organization (http://www.who.int)
http://www.drugabuse.gov
 Statistics
1. “By the time they are seniors, almost 70 percent of high school students will have tried alcohol, 50 percent

of those students will have taken an illegal drug, nearly 40 percent will have smoked a cigarette, and more

than 20 percent will have used a prescription drug for a non-medical purpose” (National Institute of Drug

Abuse, 2014).

2. According to RAND (Drug Policy and Research Center), “Each year, substance

abuse treatment programs in the United States record approximately 150,000 admissions of

youths under the age of 18” (RAND, 2006).

3. One of the most highly abused substances among youth in the U.S. is alcohol. Youth engage in binge

drinking, a pattern of drinking that elevates the blood alcohol concentration to 0.08 percent or above, more

than adults do. This can lead to risky and potentially harmful behaviors, and many times substance abuse

(60-75 percent of youth with substance abuse problems) co-occurs with mental health disorders. (youth.gov)
Risks of Substance Abuse
Biological/Genes:
● Genetics
● Gender
● Mental Health Disorders

Environment:
● Chaotic home
● Abuse
● Parental use
● Peer influence
● Community attitudes
● Poor school achievement

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Why Are Teens
Using
Substances
and Alcohol?
http://www.drugrehab.com
 1. Early on drug interventions even if
the adolescent is not addicted
2. Routine medical visits to privately
speak with doctors, and addressing

Prevention
the real life risks associated with
substance abuse
3. Designing an individualistic
treatment plan unique to them
4. A treatment plan that addresses
the whole person rather than just
the addiction
5. Therapy
6. Acknowledging any other mental
health issues that may be a
contributor. (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2014).
How Do We Help as Teachers?

● Get to know your students - be an available source of support

● Address mental health and the effects if not treated
● Provide real, statistical facts about substance abuse… not scare tactics
● Listen
● Integrate drug education into the curriculum.
● Know where to get help
● Communicate with parents
● Provide age appropriate information
● Create an environment where students/children feel comfortable
approaching you, expressing their feelings, and asking questions
● BE AWARE
Peer Pressure
Peer Pressure Definition

A peer pressuring someone into doing something he/she

wouldn’t normally do in order to satisfy a social or
emotional need.
Why Peer Pressure Works

Students in adolescence…

● Afraid of being rejected by others

● Want to be liked, accepted, or popular
● Don’t want to lose a friend
● Want to appear grown up
● Don't want to be made fun of
● Don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings
● Aren’t sure of what they really want
● Don’t know how to get out of the situation
● Are apathetic

(Information from The Cool Spot)

Ways to Peer Pressure

Put downs - insulting/ calling names to make one

feel bad

Rejection/passive aggressive -
threatening to end a friendship or relationship

Reasoning - explaining why they should/should not

do something and why it would be OK

By example - something one feels without

anything

(information found from The Cool Spot)

Types of Peer Pressure

● Good or bad
● Indirect or unspoken
● Direct or spoken
● Group and individual

(Information from Play and Playground

Encyclopedia)
Peer Pressure Statistics

● 70% start smoking because they felt pressured by their friends

● 40% of 8th graders have tried alcohol to peer pressure
● 30% of teens are offered drugs in middle school
● 19% of teens said they would give up their cell phones while driving if their
friends did
● 55% try drugs because they felt pressured by their friends
● 23% of teen girls (15-17) feel pressured from peers to have sex
● 33% teens boys (15-17) feel pressured from peers to have sex
(Statistical figures are from AptParenting.com)
How can Parents and Teachers get involved?
● Keep communication lines open / Create a safe zone or safe
environment
● Build their confidence levels and establish a firm foundation
● Encourage positive relationships
● Get to know their friendships and peers
● Be aware of bullies and do NOT tolerate bullying
(The National Lifestyle)
At-Risk Students
 “The term at-risk is often
used to describe students
What is an at-risk
or groups of students who
student?
are considered to have a
higher probability of failing
academically or dropping
out of school.”

("At-Risk", 2013)
Non-school-related circumstances that threaten
their ability to finish school:

● Teen pregnancy
● Domestic violence
● Homelessness
● Incarceration
● Serious health issues
Non-school-related circumstances statistics:

● In 2015, approximately 2.23% of women aged 15-19 gave birth in the United States. Though it was
an 8% drop from 2014, the teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. is still higher than other western
industrialized nations.
● Collective data from 2011 showed that more than 1 in 9 (≅11%) were exposed to some form of
family violence.
○ “Such exposure can cause them significant physical, mental, and emotional harm with long-term effects that
can last well into adulthood.”
● According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 24,770 students were homeless during
the 2015-2016 school year, in Arizona alone. The total for the United States was 1,301,238
students.
○ Arizona’s homeless student population decreased by about 3,600 from the previous school year, while the
overall total of the U.S. increased by approximately 40,500.

("About Teen Pregnancy", 2015)

(Hamby, Finkelhor, Turner, & Ormrod, 2011)
("National Center for Education Statistics", 2017)
School-related circumstances and statistics:

● Disciplinary problems
○ Bullying has become one of the biggest disciplinary problems. During the 2015-2016 school year, the
percentage of public schools that reported student bullying occurred at least once a week was higher for
middle schools (22%) than for high schools (15%).
● Learning disabilities
○ “In 2015–16, some 34 percent of all students receiving special education services had specific learning
disabilities.”
● Low test scores
● Grade retention

("National Center for Education Statistics", 2018)

Why is this important? At-risk students who do not receive help are
more likely to drop out. Without a high
school diploma, they:

● Have a negative effect on the

economy — they earn less and in turn
rely on government aid
● Lack basic skills that employers look
for
● Are more likely to end up incarcerated

(Herbert, 2018)
 According to Maurice Elias, the 4 keys to helping
these students are:

1. Caring, sustained relationships

It is extremely important to build trust and
provide stability.

How can we, as 2. Reachable goals

What they see in the media can be misleading or
educators, help at-risk unattainable, so we must help them develop
realistic goals for themselves.
students? 3. Realistic, hopeful pathways
Every path comes with obstacles; we are there
to guide them and provide support.
4. Engaging school and community
settings
“Engaging settings in the school and the
community have logos, mottos, missions, and
other tangible things that allow students to
experience a sense of belonging and pride.”