h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

well, i can only talk for the UK, but over here most stuff they teach is just for an end of school exam, rather than teaching us any life skills.

Basically my opinions on this whole subject are as follows
1. If you don't want to have sex or aren't sure -don't!
on the other hand sex can be lovely even if your'e young -I speak as a former highschool 'slut'.
I'm 21 now. With the people I had sex with as experimentation - it just wasn't as good.It made me feel cheap
if i didn't develop an attachment & when I did develop attachments because of sex it also was bad. I also had sex
with a few different friends whom I cared for alot (not really loved in the romantic sense but definitely in the platonic)
& it was good. I also had sex with someone I love & while physically ,at first,it wasn't all fire works -it was even better than with my good friends.

Also no matter what anyone says it WILL change you relationship with that other person-maybe foster some compatibility
or possibly destroy it. I'm not saying you have to wait for marriage -really I don't know if I'll ever get married. I wish I had waited two more years maybe three because if I had highschool would have been alot simpler. Besides, the sexiest part of the body really is the brain.
2.the problem with education is that it is still based on 19 th century society-It prepares us to be hard laborers,factory workers not jobs with a whole lot of necessary creativity or autonomy ( These jobs CAN be done with creativity & autonomy but generally aren't)
& uses fewer technologies.
A. basic problems & remedies for educational system
1.Does not take into account psychological growth patterns such as piaget's
a. do maintenance education & apprenticeship during jr. high school age
b. do not force career choices before age 18
c.music, math,literature,basic pre-physics focus in primary grades -also introduction of language classes before age 5 is most efficient useful & when children are most likely to have fun
d.quantitative history & critical reason skills beginning at around 10 so they will sink in at jr highschool age
e. actually use the data done by educational psych researchers to do better class plans that are more hands on,more
fun
f.don't make children sit in a desk all day when you can teach by doing as well.
g. wholistic lessons -show how this does relate to life -for instance a unit for seventh graders on pyramids could cover all these things: geometry,how architecture affects culture,how religion devolped,the development of early civilizations,irrigation, agriculture,mythology (for literature),etc.....
h.do not label as child as having a problem in an overall area -it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy & also prevents solving difficulties by making this an esteem issue as well
There are alot more but I'm not thinking of all of them right now
B. current public education teaches us to be uncritical
a. learn by doing,questioning,thinking,observing & arguing logically not by simply accepting that what your teacher says is fact
all the time.
b.have students research & defend their opions -foster a place for discussion
c.If a student disagrees provided they do it in an appropriate manner this should be respected & worked through not ignored& disciplined
d.rather than testing which is subjective have students do a final authentic assessment style project to be put in their portfolio
which would form their permenant file-Upon graduation or termination of their studies they could pick and choose parts as a sample for future employers&/or universities,etc...

As a matter of fact, we have discussed it, which is partly why we don't...

BTW, I thought this conversation was about teenage sex, not about the revolution and who will be first against the wall. I respect your opinion, but get your own forum, 'k?

I disagree with the researcher. Being nearly 18, maturity is a big issue, or at least in Chicago. I think that Moonjack is doing what he feels is right, something that folks don't always think about. Being a teenager does not mean rush into things without thinking, it means that we are allowed to make mistakes so that me way learn. While I think that sex is something enjoyable and fun, provided proper protection is used, there are definitely moral and emotional considerations that go into having sex. Moonjack, I applaud you for your decisions.

Update:

We broke up in late August. She'd been drifting away for a while and I could tell she really didn't feel anything anymore. Yes, she did break up with me, not the other way around. I guess I'm over it, but I won't really be until I meet someone else.

Anyway. because of my prudence of action, I don't regret a minute of it. Goes to show you one of my reason not to have sex, real or otherwise.

Education:
A)What kind of knowledge is useless?
B)I go to a private school (website- http://www.catholichigh.org ), so I don't know how accurate my opinions on the matter are, but, frankly the fact that anyone sees any knowledge as useless disgusts me. All knowledge is useful and I'm curious as to how any other view was imprinted upon you.
C)I feel very little is wrong with schools in America, or to my knowledge, virtually anywhere in the world. Anyone who wants to can get a marvelous education from almost any public educational institution. (You don't even pay nearly the cost in the U.S. (For those of you who might miss it, you pay for it in taxes, which are shared with attendees of private schools and the childless.))
Teenagers:
A)I'm thoroughly offended by the repeated implications that all teenagers lack maturity. Being 15, it comes close to a personal insult.
B) /Most/ teenagers are immature, and this is unfortunate.
C)The attitude that any useless knowledge exists still disturbs me, so I'll type that once more.
Sex: (Oooooohh...oh sorry, what were you saying?)
A)I don't have anything to say about this either, my hormones told me to mention it.

Yeah well, maturity comes in all shapes and sizes, you know? Your body can give bad advice.

In moonjack's defence, I would say that these same things have entered my head of late. I'm 15, and yet i think of being true to myself, &c.

QFET

I think as long as it's not rushed into...and you're careful...it doesn't matter that much what age you are. If you're 15, in love, and have been for a while, then why is it wrong?
It's only wrong if one of the people doesn't want to..or someone ends up getting hurt...STD or whatever...otherwise, I wouldn't think it's such a big deal.
And I'm one of teenagers who searches the 'Life' then notices 'sex' and cliks on it...

-That Still Brings the Point of the 1000 mile Gap Between them

I'm a 17 year-old senior at a public high school in California, and from what I can tell at least, teenage sex within my group of peers is caused by two things:
1. Senior year is embarrassingly easy- I'm taking three AP Classes, plus I'm doing multiple extra-curriculars, and I still have loads of free time. Many of my classmates seem to be drinking, getting in trouble, and hooking up in their free time, for lack of anything better to do. (I spend all of my free time on the computer, playing games and surfing the web.) Last year (Junior Year) was way harder, with way less free time, so consequently there was less teenage sex (as far as I could tell). To remedy this, I'd suggest nicely asking teachers to give out more homework (that preferably isn't just busywork) that will take longer than 15 minutes to do.
2. At my school, every student is required to take a one-semester (12-week) course called "Health". Out of the 12 weeks, we spent roughly two weeks on sex-related topics: one week on STDs, and another week on everything else (with one day devoted to abstinence, and another that ended up being a debate about the moral side of transexuality). To remedy this, I'd say devote more class time to talking about sex, and have the teacher explain the difference between love and sex.
Just my opinion.