A Final Explanation

Final Explanation
Message 1 is about classical conditioning and I used a good looking teacher to represent this. If one stays away from teen pregnancy, then they could end up like this. Having an education is important and realistically, finishing school is so much harder with a child at your side. I used this picture specifically because it is an accurate representation of a very good looking teacher. One would not just aspire to finish their education, but they associate the good looks with being able to finish school if they do not get pregnant.

Message 2 is also classical conditioning about birth control. I used this because I felt that contraceptives including abstinence is a very powerful way of preventing teen pregnancy. The first picture is of a women who obviously promotes birth control and she is a depicted as a strong, fierce looking women who could stand up to anything, or anyone, giving women (and men) the confidence they are looking for. The second picture is of all the types of contraceptives and I put that just so one would know about ALL the types that exist and how easy it is to use just one of them. The third picture is a cartoon of an attractive woman "just saying no". This would essentially condition women to feel confident and attractive by saying no, when in reality they feel scared and timid. It also subliminally could give confidence to women to feel secure when pressured by a man.

Message 3 is another classical conditioning of repetition of the behavior I am trying to get teens to use. If they take their birth control, which is the first picture, then they can end up with a successful career, which is the second picture. That is supposed to represent a successful women lawyer type coming in contact with someone famous (Morgan Freeman) who also plays Nelson Mandela in the movie Invictus. Then the last picture is of a graduating girl who looks attractive and would want to inspire young women to look like that just by taking birth control and being informed.

Message 4 is a subliminal message. I thought it was hard to find a picture of a representation of a positive message that would want to keep teens from getting pregnant. The first picture I found is of a egg with a graduation cap and sperm coming at it from all directions. I thought that this was a realistic, kind of down to earth picture that could send the direct message of what teen pregnancy can result in. It literally shows the things that are involved in pregnancy and also the graduation cap and what one could have. This subliminally could send the message that abstaining equals graduation and education, which is what I mentioned before in the classical conditioning parts. The second picture is a more negative type of subliminal message because all teens want to see themselves as "cool" and able to go to the party, and if they are pregnant they cannot go anywhere. It almost scares them into not wanting to get pregnant.

Credible source 1 is an educator. I choose this because I think they are the most aware of teen pregnancy and see it the most. They can make an impact on a teens life hopefully for the best to make the right decisions. I also wrote about a personal story because it effected me and made me reevaluate my surroundings about teen pregnancy. An educator can teach about prevention and also give advice to young teens who might not have that in their lives from their parents.

Credible source 2 is a victim of teen pregnancy. I choose this because a victim is a perfect example of someone who has been directly effected by this subject matter. I told a story about their life and how they have been effected in a negative way by teen pregnancy, even though they did have a good life.

Credible Source- A Victim of Teen Pregnancy

Another great, yet unfortunate example of a credible source is a victim of a teen pregnancy. The child. No matter how much love they receive, or even if they have the lucky chance that the father stays with the mother as a prominent figure in their lives, the child still suffers. Take this scenario for example, a mother who had a child at 16 and the child is now 20 themselves. They are just about in their middle years of college and have a prospective job career ahead. They broke the cycle and do not have any children of their own and are pretty much productive citizens fulfilling their civic duty. Say this hypothetical child's name is Sara. Sara says that she loves her mother and wishes she had a father in her life as a real role model. She loves her mother unconditionally, but a father is just something that a mothers role cannot fill. Also, she wishes that her mother was home more often because she works two jobs to support her little family (since she never had time to get the education she wanted), and she wishes that she did not have to work so much in college to support herself, and have time to just focus on her studies. Of course, life is not perfect, but one who is not a victim of teen pregnancy and has two loving parents, is much more at risk for success.

Credible Source-An Educator

An educator of any kind, whether they are a health teacher, or a Professor at a University, or a teachers aid see first hand the damages and repercussions of teen pregnancy. My own personal story happened when I was in high school; it was senior year and I was the only girl who was not pregnant, or expecting out of 14 girls in my health class. We had discussions mostly about teen pregnancy and how to care for children since most of us were around the age of 18 and already HAD children. What was the point of learning about contraceptives so intensely anymore? Anyways, one day after the class was over, the teacher called me aside to her desk and told me that she was very proud of me for abstaining in my own life and that I should advocate for young women some day to prevent pregnancy. I told her that that was just the way I viewed life, and that was normal for me. She told me that I was a very lucky girl to have parents that taught me those values because I can take them for granted and that I never saw the damages of teen pregnancy in my own life. After that I really evaluated my life and the girls around me and became thankful that I had such a caring family to put me first always in their lives, and work hard to support me so someday I could have an education. I realized that a teacher, someone who sees and works with students everyday of their career, sees so many unfortunate cases, and of smart girls who make the wrong decisions. They see first hand how teen pregnancy can ruin their lives and how their peers treat them because of it. I think that teachers have the ability to help and take it on as a personal responsibility to teach their students to be safe and support them. You never know who you might effect and how much the words might influence someone. Just one student who listens is success.

Subliminal Messaging-

If you get yourself an education then teen pregnancy is at a much lower rate for those who do not receive even their basic high school education. Just to learn to say no and wait like these posters or else the consequences follow! Even though the first poster might be a negative type of subliminal message (the one with the mom who cannot go to the party), it gets the attention of teenagers because no one wants to be that person who cannot go out. They struggle to find themselves in this world and with a child at their side, their chances are even less. The other poster is a positive type of message because it shows a graduation cap and that could be yours as long as you stay away from teen pregnancy.

Classical Conditioning 3- Stay informed and knowledgeable and don't forget to take your birth control!

If we educate each other, and our children then there is a less chance of us or them getting pregnant. If we do not get pregnant at a young age, then the there is a world of possibilities, literally. Just imagine all the things there are to do in the world and without someone (a child) holding you down, you could do or go anywhere in the world. Graduation is a very high possibility and with a better education comes the right to be and stay informed about birth control options, and the right to say no.

Classical Conditioning 2-Use Birth Control!

The answer is BIRTH CONTROL! It not only prevents teen pregnancy, but it empowers both women and men! Today we are lucky to live in such an advanced world so of course we should take advantage of that! (Pictured above) Is all the types of contraceptives available out there, like the pill and the shot (depo-provera) for women, and the condom for the male. There are organizations like Planned Parenthood who administer these contraceptives to young people for free, without any parental signatures. Now what could be easier than that? Also, a very important part of birth control that many of us forget is abstinence. Both women and men must feel equally confident to say "no" when they feel pressured. In my previous post about education, if our young teenagers are educated before they act on their sexual urges, they can be thoroughly informed and self-assured to just say no. They will not feel like everyone their age is doing it and that it is the in, or cool thing to do.

The first picture features a woman who has the confidence to stand up and even after taking her regular birth control, also tries a new type of contraceptive that is related to Plan B. Everyone makes mistakes and even if we choose to engage in sexual activity at a young age, there is another type of emergency contraceptive (Plan B). Confident women and men choose to make the right decisions and thus lead a better lifestyle with more opportunities.

Classical Conditioning 1-An education if you don't get pregnant!

Today, the rate of teenagers who become pregnant do not even finish high school. They are more likely to drop out of school, and thus to be on welfare and have low income housing and jobs. The world is an extremely demanding place and a basic education is essential to live. All that is required is that we use protection. To have any high paying job, or respect in the work place today, a high level of education is mandatory to succeed. If teenagers are having children at such a young age, how can they possibly find the time to focus on themselves and advance their own lives? Also, if they have children very young, then what kind of example is that setting for THEIR children some day? Education is the key to success in a formadable world, and having children at such a young age can postpone, or even deplete ones chances of prosperity.

This is a vicious cycle and to stop it education is the answer! Plus, who would not want to end up like this hot teacher that Cameron Diaz plays because with success comes wealth and happiness.

Social Engineering

There of course are many upon many of people who are against contraceptives for women. There are schools that try to prevent it all together like some schools in the south who ban Judy Blume books for talking to children about the subject matter. At abortion clinics, there are people who protest every single day outside and try to get the clinics to close. Just the other day I saw a sign in a persons yard that said close abortion clinics and re-give elders medicare.

In health classes around the country, we try to teach our young children the preventatives to take and to just say no when they are confronted with peer pressures. We must teach our children how to be safe if they are going to engage in these types of behaviors because that personally is the only way we are going to make a difference.

There are clinics like Planned Parenthood where children can go and feel safe to ask for something that they feel like they could not ask their parent. And its also free for the most part. They also offer the morning after pill which is a technological advancement, but its the place they can go that counts.

How Technology has effected the Problem

Technology has greatly effected teen pregnancy. Women have also become empowered because of the technological advancements due to teen pregnancy. There are the contraceptives, like the birth control pill that women can take to prevent pregnancy, which is almost 99% effective. There is a shot, a intrauterine device (which is inserted into the women's arm for a period of years until they decide they want children again), and women's version of the condom called a diaphragm.

When women finally received all their rights by the government this was the final thing that they needed to be independent. They could now do anything a man could do and not have to be attached to anyone. This is why teens probably get pregnant more often because they know that they are not tied to that person forever anymore.

A History of Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy only poses a problem recently. In the past, having children at a young age was productive and women and men were also getting married at much younger ages. Today, the issue is teen mothers and fathers who have no support system and no where to receive help.

Ever so recently there was an epidemic of open and free love in America in the 1960 and 70s and this lead to unprotected sex and changed the idea that women could engage in the same type of behavior that men did.

In the past there was no such thing as pregnancy prevention and even until today our children are not education on the subject matter. Today with the availability of television and the Internet, teens are more susceptible to seeing this type of behavior more frequently and in turn may think it is okay.

There are many reasons that contribute to teen pregnancy in America, there are more and more children coming from broken homes and they do not know how else to live. They see a child as a something or someone that will replace the love they are looking for. Many teens feel peer pressured into doing things they do not want to do to feel accepted by society.

Overall, teen pregnancy is an epidemic and it needs to be treated with informing our kids and how to keep themselves safe.