Actually, it did have an impact.Abstinence-only sex education programs, a major plank in President Bush's education plan, have had no impact on teenagers' behavior in his home state of Texas, according to a new study.
Yahoo News article
No matter.Despite taking courses emphasizing abstinence-only themes, teenagers in 29 high schools became increasingly sexually active, mirroring the overall state trends, according to the study conducted by researchers at Texas A&M University.[...]
The study showed about 23 percent of ninth-grade girls, typically 13 to 14 years old, had sex before receiving abstinence education. After taking the course, 29 percent of the girls in the same group said they had had sex.
Boys in the tenth grade, about 14 to 15 years old, showed a more marked increase, from 24 percent to 39 percent, after receiving abstinence education.
The federal government is expected to spend about $130 million to fund programs advocating abstinence in 2005, despite a lack of evidence that they work, Pruitt said.
Duh. Where do they get these ideas? Teens have sex because that is when human biology prompts us to. And if we're going to be pushing abstinence-only sex education, which apparently increases the desire (or maybe this is unique to Texas), we're probably going to need some more birth control classes. And maybe some condoms in school restrooms.One program technique has been to try to bolster students' self-esteem, based on the theory that self-confident teenagers would not have sex. Those programs, which sometimes do not even mention sex, have shown no effect, Pruitt said.
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway...
The older we grow the greater becomes our wonder at how much ignorance one can contain without bursting one's clothes. --Mark Twain
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