Abstinence Only Education and Sex Education in the U.S.

Abstinence Only Education and Sex Education in the U.S. When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in April 2012 that teen birth rates in the U.S. hit a new low in 2010 and revealed which states had the highest and lowest rates, it prompted a question: Were these outcomes affected by individual states requirements for sex education (sex ed) and/or abstinence-only education? That was soon answered by the Guttmacher Institutes State Policies in Brief paper on Sex and HIV Education in May 2012. The institute has kept the numbers constantly updated since as the trend of lowered teen birth rates has continued to drop nationwide. Required Sex and/or HIV Education Sex ed is mandated in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Of that total, the following 22 states and the District of Columbia mandate both sex ed and HIV education: CaliforniaDelawareGeorgiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMaineMarylandMinnesotaMontanaNevadaNew JerseyNew MexicoNorth CarolinaOhioOregonRhode IslandSouth CarolinaTennesseeUtahVermontWest Virginia Two states mandate sex ed only: MississippiNorth Dakota HIV education is mandated in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Of that total, 12 mandate only HIV education: AlabamaConnecticutIllinoisIndianaMichiganMissouriNew HampshireNew YorkOklahomaPennsylvaniaWashingtonWisconsin Must Include Contraception When sex ed is taught, some states have specific content requirements. In addition to the District of Columbia, 18 states require that information on contraception be provided when sex education is taught: AlabamaCaliforniaColoradoDelawareHawaiiIllinoisMaineMarylandNew JerseyNew MexicoNorth CarolinaOregonRhode IslandSouth CarolinaVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest Virginia One state allows local schools to include contraception with the permission of the State Department of Education: Mississippi Must Include Abstinence When sex ed is taught, 37 states require that information on abstinence is provided. Of those, 26 states require that abstinence be stressed: AlabamaArizonaArkansasDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaKentuckyLouisianaMaineMichiganMississippiMissouriNew JerseyNorth CarolinaOhioOklahomaOregonRhode IslandSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasUtahWashingtonWisconsin These 11 states require only that abstinence is covered during sex education: CaliforniaColoradoHawaiiMarylandMinnesotaMontanaNew MexicoNorth DakotaVermontVirginiaWest Virginia No Mandate There are nine states with no sex education or HIV education mandate: ArizonaArkansasColoradoFloridaIdahoLouisianaMassachusettsTexasVirginia Five of the states listed above also rank among the top 12 states with the highest teenage birth rates, and four rank in the top 6 (ranking indicated in parentheses): Mississippi (1)Arkansas (3)Texas (4)Louisiana (6)Arizona (12) An earlier report issued by the Guttmacher Institute in September 2006 compiled teen pregnancy statistics state by state. Among the top 10 states with the highest rates of teen pregnancy among females age 15-19, five are states without mandated sex education or HIV education (ranking indicated in parentheses): Arizona (2)Mississippi (3)Texas (5)Florida (6)Arkansas (10) That same report ranked the top 10 states with the highest rates of live births among teenage girls age 15-19. Again, five are states that do not require sex ed to be taught in schools. If and when it is taught, these states do not require information on contraception be provided, but they do require that abstinence be stressed (ranking indicated in parentheses): Mississippi (1)Texas (2)Arizona (3)Arkansas (4)Louisiana (7) Only one state that does not mandate sex education or HIV education appears in the listing of states with the lowest teenage birth rates: Massachusetts ranked at number 2. Sources Guttmacher Institute, State Policies in Brief: Sex and HIV Education. Office of Adolescent Health, Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing

Spring Poems (Classic and Contemporary) Collection

Spring Poems (Classic and Contemporary) Collection Our anthology of poems celebrating spring begins with a selection of classics: Tu Fu,â€Å"A Spring View† (c. 750), translated by Witter Bynner Li Po,â€Å"Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day† (c. 750), translated by Arthur Waley William Shakespeare,â€Å"Spring,† song from Love’s Labors Lost (1598) Thomas Nashe,â€Å"Spring, the Sweet Spring,† from Summer’s Last Will and Testament (1600) William Shakespeare,Sonnet 98 - â€Å"From you have I been absent in the spring† (1609) John Webster,â€Å"Vanitas Vanitatum,† from The Devil’s Law Case (1623) Thomas Carew,â€Å"The Spring† (1640) Robert Herrick,â€Å"Corinna’s Going a-Maying† (1648) Matsuo Basho,â€Å"Spring Rain,† â€Å"Spring Air† and Four Haiku (c. 1680) William Blake,â€Å"To Spring† (1783) Robert Burns,â€Å"Composed in Spring† (1786) William Wordsworth,â€Å"Lines Written in Early Spring† (1798) Kobayashi Issa,â€Å"Three Spring Haiku† (1804, 1818) Samuel Taylor Coleridge,à ¢â‚¬Å"Work Without Hope† (1825) Christina Rossetti,â€Å"Spring Quiet† (1847) Walt Whitman,â€Å"These I, Singing in Spring† (1860) Emily Dickinson,â€Å"A Light exists in Spring† (#812) Emily Dickinson,â€Å"A little madness in the Spring† (#1333) A.E. Housman,â€Å"Loveliest of trees, the cherry now† (1896) Robert Frost,â€Å"A Prayer in Spring† (1915) Robert Frost,â€Å"Two Tramps in Mud Time† (1934) D.H.  Lawrence,â€Å"The Enkindled Spring† (1916) Amy Lowell,â€Å"Spring Day† (1916) Robert Louis Stevenson,â€Å"Spring Carol† (1918) Gerard Manley Hopkins,â€Å"Spring† (1918) John Clare,â€Å"Young Lambs† (1920) Carl Sandburg,â€Å"Three Spring Notations on Bipeds† (1920) e.e. cummings,â€Å"in Just-† (1920) William Carlos Williams,â€Å"March† (1921) Edna St. Vincent Millay,â€Å"Spring† (1921) A.E. Housman,â€Å"Spring Morning† (1922) To which we’ve added a selection of the new poems on spring themes we’ve received from contemporary poets around the world: Denis Dunn, â€Å" 6:13 march morning† Michael Graves, â€Å"Poem to Spring in a Time of Global Warming† Dorothea Grossman, â€Å"Spring† Ruth Hill, â€Å"Light Advancing Through Trees† and â€Å"Awe† Doug Holder, â€Å"Spring On School Street. Somerville, Mass.† Margaret James, â€Å"Sunday† and â€Å"March 18† Wayne Jarus, â€Å"The Flower Garden† Guy Kettelhack, â€Å"Dithyramb for Springtime† Christine Klocek-Lim, â€Å"First Crocus† Steve Meador, â€Å"The Morning After† Justine Nicholas, â€Å"Quinquagesima† and â€Å"Magnolia† Jack Peachum, â€Å"Virginia in Spring† and â€Å"Epiphany in Carolina† Don Rehling, â€Å"Mountains Melting† Lisa Shields, â€Å"Calling Card† and â€Å"Pinked† Larissa Shmailo, â€Å"Spring Vow† Ingrid Toth, â€Å"Spring 1946† Melissa Varnavas, â€Å"Ashley’s Garden† Bill Vartnaw, â€Å"Sprin g† Enjoy these poems of the season!