ICAH and Sex-Ed Loop featured in New York Times
ICAH and Sex-Ed Loop featured in New York Times
New York Times: Sex Education Gets Directly to Youths, via Text
Published online: Dec. 30, 2011; published in print: Dec. 31, 2011 on A3
Recently, The New York Times highlight efforts across the country to provide youth with sex education information, including what is happening in Chicago and ICAH's efforts. Excerpts from the article:
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Sex education is a thorny subject for most school systems; only 13 states specify that the medical components of the programs must be accurate. Shrinking budgets and competing academic subjects have helped push it down as a curriculum priority. In reaction, some health organizations and school districts are developing Web sites and texting services as cost-effective ways to reach adolescents in the one classroom where absenteeism is never a problem: the Internet.
In Chicago, teenagers can subscribe to Sex-Ed Loop, a program endorsed by the district that includes weekly automated texts about contraception, relationships and disease prevention.
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Most online services receive grants from philanthropies, like the Ford Foundation, and health and education agencies on the state and federal level. Classroom content is largely controlled by school districts, but it is a low priority in many areas. Chicago, for example, does not have a mandated sex education curriculum, although teachers are encouraged to include material in science or physical education classes. School officials see programs like Sex-Ed Loop, which began in September, as vital.
Mary Beth Szydlowski, the H.I.V. education prevention specialist for Chicago schools, said that Sex-Ed Loop not only reinforces what students learn in class but can reach all teenagers, including dropouts. It is managed by the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, which enlists Chicago teenagers to create the text messages as well as blog posts and testimonial videos for its site.
Juan Chavez, 19, a sophomore at DePaul University, remembers sex education during ninth-grade health class as awkward.
“The teacher had been a nutrition major,” Mr. Chavez said. “He was really uncomfortable. He just said, ‘I don’t believe you guys should be having sex, so I’ll just say this because I have to.’ ”
Now, through the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, Mr. Chavez texts and blogs, with a focus on gay teenagers, about such subjects as what to do if a condom breaks, which clinics are gay-friendly and where to find low-cost lubricants — “things people need to know on the fly,” he said.
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Read the entire story at this link: Sex Education Gets Directly to Youths, via Text
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