Thus far, WHATS GOOD Program has had a successful summer from the end
of May till now we have been able to keep busy and accomplish many
things.
The end of May we celebrated our third year of a successful Prom
With No Regrets at ESPN Zone for Foreman High School students. In this
newsletter, you will find more information about Prom With No Regrets
(PWNR). You can also see pictures of our students who participated in
PWNR on our website www.whatsgoodprogram.com
We also participated in a parent workshop on how to Talk to Your
Kids about Sex. We had 65 women that attended. In this newsletter, you
will find an article for Parents called “It’s just harmless
entertainment!” Many parents do not realize what exactly is going on in
their child’s iPod or mp3 player. The effects of the media on our kids
can be a lot more dangerous than we think!
This newsletter we also included a “What do you think?” section. It
is an opportunity for us to comment on current trends and topics going
on in our society. A current topic of interest has been “When is the
best time to marry? When you’re older or younger?” Check out our
article and let us know what you think!
This summer, we also gladly have been chosen to be part of a “BACK
PACK DRIVE” with a local radio station, WMBI, Moody Radio that lovingly
gave us 400 back packs for one of the schools we serve in the
Monteclare Community. September 11th we had an amazing back to school
assembly encouraging positive choices. All the 6th- 8th grade students
received a fun and interactive assembly as well as free pack backs with
supplies! One of the teachers approached us after the assembly and said
with enthusiasm “I have been here for 17 years and this is definitely
the best assembly I have ever seen!” 8th grade teacher. We found out
recently students are still talking about it!
We are excited about reaching another 6,000 students this year with
classroom based instruction, assemblies, and after school programs.
From our understanding, there is promise for funding from October 2009
to September 2010, but unfortunately, after September 2010 there may
not be funding for abstinence education. President Obama has cut funds
for abstinence education in the 2010 budget. According to the National
Abstinence Education Association, “a Presidential budget proposal is
never identical to the budget that is passed by Congress. In other
words, just because the President favors an end to abstinence education
does not necessarily mean that it will end.” For more information on
how you can help us continue funding go to:
www.abstinenceassociation.org or www.abstinenceworks.org.
We plan on continuing the hard work of teaching students the truth
about sex and the best message these students deserve. At a time when
STD rates among teens are at epidemic levels and teen birth rates are
beginning to inch upward, why would the only approach that removes all
risk be defunded? We hope to do everything we can to continue
abstinence centered education funded so more students in Chicago will
get the life skills they need to reach their goals.
“What comes to your mind when you think of prom night?” When we
recently asked many high school students that question on a street
interview, many said “Sex”, “Partying” and some even said “drinking”.
This mentality has not changed since 1998 when Melody LaLuz Fabien was
a senior in high school. What started as a dream, to counter all the
pressures Seniors face on Prom night, turned into a reality when Prom
With No Regrets was funded in 2006.
Prom With No Regrets
by: Mari Gomez
“PWNR” has been provided, by our “WHATS GOOD Program”, to high
school seniors in the Spring for three years now. The program consists
of 2 co-ed and 2 gender-specific multi-media presentations. Each
assembly is designed to be enriching, enlightening and interactive as
we teach on topics such as: Teen, Pregnancy, STDs, Life Choices, and
Healthy Relationships, all while keeping with the theme of Prom Season.
High school Seniors are challenged and encouraged to have a “regret
free” Prom night, as well as a “regret free” life.
To strengthen and further support the message, PWNR hosts a
Post-Prom alternative for students. This year we hosted our event at
the ESPN Zone, in downtown Chicago. Students are given the chance to
purchase entry tickets at a discounted rate for a night full of
unlimited games, food , drinks, and enjoy a Prom Night they will Not
Regret!
Also this year, we held 8 PWNR assemblies throughout the Spring,
among Foreman and Steinmetz High Schools. We hosted our PWNR party at
ESPN Zone for more than 110 Foreman High School Seniors on May 29th
from 12am-3:30am. It was a great success! We were able to enjoy a night
of fun and games with the Foreman High School Senior Class of 2009!
Due to funding, we were unable to provide Steinmetz with a Post
Prom party. However, we designed “Prom’s Over, Now What?” brochures,
for those students; full of fun and safe post-prom alternative
activities throughout the city. We also raffled off 2 free bowling
coupons, and 24 Navy Pier Cruise tickets for those Steinmetz students
to use after their prom. With teen pregnancy and teen drinking on the
rise, WHATS GOOD hopes to continue speaking truth to High School
Seniors all over Chicago, in hopes that more students will say,
“I Had a Prom, With No Regrets”.
To see pictures of our night click on our PWNR Tab!
“It’s just harmless entertainment!”
By: Leslie Santiago
Being a parent can be hard work, especially when you are required
to work long hours, and you’re not able to spend most of your day with
your child. Sometimes our children are involved in so many activities,
they are rarely home; or maybe they just hang out with their friends a
lot or spend too much time watching TV. Whatever it may be, most
families, especially in Chicago, have a busy city life. Spending real
quality time with their children can be difficult. However, it is vital
that parents start scheduling some “family time” moments. Parent may
not realize it, but they are the main educator and influencer in your
child’s development and overall life.
When it comes to the topic sex, parents might feel very
uncomfortable, bringing it up in discussion. However, our children are
learning about it from their friends, on the street and especially from
the media. From what we hear on the radio and watch on day and night
time television, we can deduce that this is an overly sexualized
generation. Now a days, you can turn on daytime TV and see things that
you yourself would never seen as a child or teen.
Remember the good ole’ shows like “I Love Lucy?” Compared to a
current popular show called “Gossip Girl”, you can see a visible
difference! The girls on “Gossip Girl” are sleeping with men who are
not their husbands, and are not sleeping in separate beds like Lucy did
with Ricky. Unfortunately, marriage is not seen in a positive light in
the media anymore. In some ways, the media has become our children’s
first source of education. . They spend more time with Homer Simpson,
Lil’ Wayne and with Grand Theft Auto then with mom and dad. One article
wrote that the average child in America will spend more time watching
TV by the age of 5 than talking to his or her father in a entire
lifetime! If you ask me, this is a problem!
The result of the countless hours of sexual exposure in the media are as follow:
A study of 1792 adolescents ages 12-17 showed that watching sex on
TV influences teens to have sex. Young people who watched more sexual
content where more likely to initiate intercourse and progress to more
advanced non-coital sexual activities in the year following the
beginning of the study. Those in the 90th percentile of TV sex viewing
had a predicted probability of intercourse initiation that was
approximately double that of youths in the 10th percentile. Basically,
kids with higher exposure to sex on TV were almost twice as likely as
kids with lower exposure to initiate sexual intercourse. - Study
Conducted by RAND and published in the September 2004 issue of
Pediatrics.
46% of high school students in the United States have had sexual
intercourse. Although sex is common, most sexually active teens wish
they had waited longer to have sex, which suggest that sex is occurring
before youths are prepared for its consequences. 1 case of an STD is
diagnosed for every 4 sexually active teens.
In a sample of programming from the 2001-2002 TV season, sexual content
appeared in 64% of all TV programs. Those programs with sexually
related material had an average of 4.4 scenes per hour. Talk of sex is
more frequent (61%) vs. overt portrayals (32%). 1 out of every 7
programs includes a portrayal of sexual intercourse.
Portrayals that included sexual risks (stds or becoming pregnant),
abstinence or need for sexual safety was depicted in 15% of the shows
with sexual content. Hence, sexual content on TV is more likely to
promote sexual activity among US adolescents that it is to discourage
it. American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement, Volume 95, Number
6 - June 1995
As parents we need to remember that it is our job and
responsibility to have to talk to our children about sex and the
importance of waiting. Some parents may think that giving their teen a
condom is “responsible” since “their gonna do it anyway”. But that is
simply not the best advice to give our children. Our children need to
know that no contraception is perfect. Condoms reduce the risk of STDs,
when used consistently and correctly every single use, but they do not
eliminate all the risks. We need to teach them the value of sex, and
more then that, their own value. At the appropriate time, parents
should start conversation with their teen by asking questions. Explain
to your teen that sex is beautiful and wonderful at the right time in
their life (marriage) when he/she won’t have to worry about having a
baby outside of marriage or getting a sexually transmitted infection.
Our society has lowered the bar of expectation and standards for
our teens, but as parents we don’t have to lower it! Be encouraged,
there is so much you can do to influence your child or teen, starting
by setting an example. Many parents feel guiltily because they don’t
think they have the “right” to say something if they made some poor
choices growing up. But the past does not matter. What you believe
about love, sex and relationships will have a direct affect on what
your child believes as well. Even if a parent made a choice they
regret, they can still “their mess, to make a message” and use that
moment to teach their child what they wish they would have done.
Please know that the media is not our enemy... I repeat: the media
is not our enemy! It can be a valuable resource, but because there is
so much fantasy involved and so many unrealistic scenarios depicted in
the media. It is the responsibility of the parents to be the balance or
in a sense, to be the “reality check” for your kids. You have the right
as a parent to say what can and can not be listened to and watched in
your house. It is also important to seek to understand why your teen
enjoys watching or listening to something. As much as you probably
don’t want to this, take some time to watch and listen to what they are
listening to, so you can teach them. It’s important that we remember
that even though they might not “like you” at the moment or think
“you’re not cool”, it will be worth it. I am sure we can remember
moments our own parents/guardian reprimanded us about something and now
as adults we realize they were right all along and how foolish we were
for not paying attention.
There is no such thing as perfect parenting. So do not feel
discouraged if you don’t always get it right. But make every effort
even throughout your busy schedule to know what they watch, listen to
and play… they might not like it, but they’ll thank you later.
What do you think? By: Vasti R. Daniels
Marry Young….or Marry Older….What do you think?
Marry young or marry older? This seems to be a popular topic these
days. I sat in a conference in which they were exploring the
“Premarital Culture”. Dr. Jim Van Epp stated that more people in
today’s generation are marrying later. As I reflected on this, I
realized that I myself got married at 28 just six months ago and so
have most of my friends. I asked myself “if I could do it all over
again would I get married at 21 or 25? And I did say to myself, “Maybe
I would have married at 23 or 25” but now being 6 months married, am
not sure if I actually was mature enough to handle marriage in my early
20’s.
As I sat in the conference he mentioned some statistics that
pointed out to me he stated “ In the 1940’s the divorce rate was 10%”
this is mind blowing I sat there in shock thinking “what how so, when
today the divorce rate is at around 50%”….think about that for a
minute. Singles today are becoming the majority and married couples are
the minority. I would have never thought it would have been this way.
When I was growing up I wanted to be married and done having kids by
25. Well, that’s not how my plan ended up… and I have no regrets. But
why is it that some people are getting married at 19 or even 20 and
they accomplish dreams together and have a family. While others wait
until they are over 28 to settle down and commit to someone. Is it fear
that’s holding people back? Is it selfishness? Why is it that people
are delaying marriage? If they are delaying marriage are they
abstaining? Are they just taking risk?
In light of the fact that we want to encourage teens to save all
types of sex for marriage and they are probably not going to get
married until they are in their late 20’s, this posses a possible
problem. We are encouraging teens to delay sexual gratification for a
very long time. It is not impossible considering four couples I know
that recently got married 25 years and older and all four couples
waited until marriage. It’s just a little more difficult.
The past 35 years, the number of independent female households in
the U.S. has grown by 65 percent, while the share independent male
households has skyrocketed, leaping 120 percent. As a result, fewer
than half of Americans households today are made up of married couples.
Another indicator is the age of first time marriages, which has risen
from 21 and 23 for men in 1970 to where it is today: 26 for women and
28 for men, the highest figures since the Census Bureau started
collecting data about it. That’s five additional, long years of peak
sexual interest and fertility, for every man marrying at 22, there’s
one marrying for the first time at 34.
For those students that are sexually abstinent, marrying after 25
years of age may not be a problem. But for those who do not plan on
being sexually abstinent, the more sexual partners they are likely to
have by the time they settle down to get married. The more partners
they have the more at risk they will be. We have realized that just as
important to teach on benefits of marriage, we should also teach the
benefits of marriage and viewing marriage as a way to allow people to
see it as an opportunity to enjoy life and share dreams with the person
you love. Not seeing it as once you marry your life is over.