Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (152168)	12/13/2010 2:55:11 PM
From: Sam	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 542095

Thought you might be interested in this. I've never heard of these guys before, but then I don't live in CA. In many places in the US, there would be a lot of screaming about it. Kaiser Permanente gives frank sex education to Sweetwater High students By Ashly McGlone Friday, December 10, 2010 at 9:29 p.m. signonsandiego.com NATIONAL CITY — Sex education is not quite what it used to be. Gone are the days of vague information and convoluted answers in a textbook. Sweetwater High School students got a frank lesson in sex education Friday through a theatrical program sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. Some 700 ninth- through twelfth-graders watched a live hourlong Kaiser Permanente Educational Theater performance titled “What Goes Around,” aimed at debunking myths about sexual behavior. Safe sex and abstinence, as well as the repercussions of unsafe sexual practices, were presented during the program. Composed of professionally trained actors, the five-person drama team alternated between satire, musical numbers explaining proper condom and lubrication use, and insightful monologues. The audience followed the tale of Eli and Alicia, who by the end of the show, had each contracted a sexually transmitted disease and realized that they were susceptible to the sexual pasts of their partners. Interwoven with radio hits, statistics and video, the program — which left no taboo subjects untouched — was received at times with giggles and laughs, hollers and applause, and at other times, gasps of disbelief when sexual misperceptions were clarified, such as sex during a woman’s menstrual period and the “pulling-out” method as means for pregnancy prevention. “The health class teaches us a lot of things but seeing it visually, there is more understanding,” said senior Melody Torres. Gabriel Segura, 17, said that the style and music in the presentation caught their attention in ways that information booths don’t. On their way out, students received wallets with information on how to contact a clinic and receive additional resources. “We hope to empower them,” said lead actress Nikki Mckenzie. “We are not here with an agenda, so we are not here to tell them how to live their lives. We are just here to give them some medical information so they can make educated choices.” For people who think the presentation is inappropriate or too edgy, lead actor Ray Auxais said his group isn't trying to be moralistic role models. “The truth of the matter is 48 percent of high schoolers are having sex,” he said. “We are not promoting sex. We are giving health information to the 48 percent that do, and the fact of the matter is that if you are having sex in high school before you graduate, one in four will get an STD, and so if we can lower that, if we can make that one in 10, then we’ve served our purpose.” Michelle Bell, district coordinator of health services, also sees the benefit of the presentation. “What I hope they walk away with is that they need to take control of themselves and be responsible for what they do, and if that means they are going to have sex, then they need to make good choices about that and there’s plenty of places in the county to get protection,” Bell said. “Ultimately, the kids that I talk to, I tell them that they need to be talking to their parents about this issue, but for those kids that can’t, they need to find these local agencies that are willing to have these conversations, and the school nurses are the appropriate places ... if you can’t talk to your parents.” Each school site in the Sweetwater Union High School District is staffed with a school nurse; district protocol does not allow for condom distribution on campus, but referrals can be written for outside resources. The district-approved presentation — provided free of cost — was one of 49 Kaiser Permanente Educational Theater performances at county schools this week, including middle school shows focused on topics such as bullying and self-image. The Los Angeles-based team, which tours Southern California, is scheduled to return to San Diego County at the end of February. Sweetwater High School serves nearly 2,900 students.