Boarding Schools for Girls

Teen pregnancy is on the rise again this year, and many girls admit to getting pregnant so they can "have someone to love." But parenting isn’t all cuddles and warm fuzzies. A unique parenting class aims to get that point across.

"Since last Thursday… a Vidalia High School [MS] sophomore has been caring for a mechanical baby that needs all the tender, loving care a newborn baby needs. She fed, soothed, cleaned and changed the diaper of her lifelike doll equipped with sensors that recorded her every move 24 hours a day. Her parenting class teacher will receive a report from the electronic doll that will be used to determine [the student’s] final grade." [Source: The Natchez (Missouri) Democrat]

The student admitted to the newspaper that she has been spending a lot less time with her friends, and that caring for the baby is harder than she expected.

"I'm not having kids anytime soon," she said.

Labels: mothers, pregnancy, teenagers

In an effort to increase educational opportunities for all students, a coeducational public primary school in New Zealand's Central Otago district is implementing single-sex classrooms for the first time, according to a Jan. 30 article by Rosie Manins of the Otago Daily Times:

Central Otago Principals Association chairman Doug White said it was the first time a school in the district (where all schools are co-educational) had separated gender classes.

Mr White said such separations had been successfully implemented at other schools throughout New Zealand …

Teachers and school staff had been toying with the idea for the past two years, and decided to implement it after analysing the performance of pupils heading into year 7 and 8 this year.

"It appeared to us that the boys and girls worked and learned differently, and this was a way in which we could address those different needs," Mr Bell said.

Labels: public-schools

The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate of any developed country. But a recently completed two-year study indicates that abstinence-only programs may help reverse that trend.

A Feb. 10 MercuryNews.com article by correspondent Tom McMahon provided the following information about the study, which was led by John B. Jemmott III, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania:

• Students were assigned to attend one of five classes.
  
• With 662 urban students between the ages of 11 and 13 participating, researchers found that only 33.5 percent of the students who went through classes that focused on abstinence started having sex in the next two years.
  
• In contrast, 48.5 percent of students who attended other classes, including details on contraception, became sexually active.

"One of the things that's exciting about this study is that it says we have a new tool to add to our repertoire," Monica Rodriguez, vice president for education and training at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, said in Rob Stein's Feb. 2 Washington Post article.

Labels: pregnancy, sex-education

Can your high school student balance a checkbook? Does she understand how much of her car loan payment is going for interest -- or know how to calculate annual percentage rate charges on her credit card?

More and more high schools are teaching courses in personal finance, and many experts believe these may be the most important skills a young person can learn.

"It is one of the most important things we can be teaching students because it will affect them for the rest of their lives," said Sheila Miller, who teaches high school students about banking and personal finance.

Daniel Hebert, president of New Hampshire JumpStart Coalition, noted that new laws will soon make it illegal to issue credit cards to young people under 21 years old without proof of adequate income or an adult cosigner. He said while the new laws will help, teenagers still need to learn personal finance as a skill for adulthood.

Labels: finance

Teenage girls are driving more aggressively, even as teenage boys are taking fewer risks behind the wheel, according to new research from Allstate Insurance Company.

• 16 percent of the girls said they were very aggressive while driving, compared to only 9 percent of girls in 2005
• Among boys, reports of aggressive driving declined from 20 percent in 2005 to 13 percent in 2009.
• Almost 30 percent of girls admit to speeding 10 miles per hour over the speed limit compared to 20 percent of boys
• 25 percent of girls said they text while driving, compared to 15 percent of boys.

"As more young women participate in activities like competitive sports and take on a more assertive lifestyle, they are narrowing the gender gap when it comes to risk taking in all the aspects of their life, " said Dr. Alan Williams of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Car crashes are the number one cause of death for teenagers in the United States, and most crashes involve speeding, driver distraction, and driver error.

Labels: driving, teenagers

A study of teenage girls in Great Britain found that 46 percent did not get the minimum daily requirements for nutrition, and only one in 10 consumed the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables daily.

The study also found that most teen girls did not eat enough food, and when they did, they consumed mostly sodas, sweets, and chocolate.

The study, from the National Center for Social Research, collected data from more 1,000 people who kept food diaries.

Labels: nutrition, teenagers

Some teenagers deliberately hurt themselves by cutting or burning their skin, dangerous behaviors that are often associated with teen girls -- and which are becoming more common.

• In 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available, about 400,000 teenagers required medical treatment for self inflicted injuries.
  
• One study found a 27 percent increase in such injuries between 1997 and 2007.
  
• Estimates are that 20 percent of teenagers have tried self injury at least once, and 10 percent have repeatedly engaged in this behavior.

When asked why they injure themselves, many teens answer that the behavior is a way to keep anger, sadness, rejection, and other negative emotions from overwhelming them. One theory is that self injury produces a release of natural painkillers called endogenous opioids that are calming and addictive.

According to Dr. Theodore Beauchaine, professor of psychology at the University of Washington and director of the Child and Adolescent Adjustment Project, self injuring behavior can be "contagious," in that one teen teaches another. He noted that there are Internet websites where teenagers share information about self injuring behaviors.

The reason that parents should be concerned if their child is participating in self injuring behaviors is that such individuals have a significantly increased risk of committing suicide.

Labels: cutting, self-injury