Students scared straight!!!

Today was my dreaded STD Powerpoint. My students just learned the very, very basics in middle school but I wanted to really show them what's out there. They learned about HPV(genital warts), chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, syphillis, scabies/pubic lice and HIV/AIDS. Some of them hid their faces in their shirts, others were staring with their big doe eyes, and others asked a million questions. It was painfully obviously the kids who are already sexually active because they turned this funny shade of green.

Some kids blamed me and said "thanks to your childbirth presentation yesterday and this STD one today, "I will DIE a virgin!!" Others said "you're just doing this to scare us!"

I just pleaded to the kids: "I AM doing this to scare you. This is scary stuff. I know people who have had to deal with this and its awful, stressful and can affect the rest of their lives. All it takes is ONE drunken night with someone you don't know and your life is changed forever. If I can spare even one of you the heartache that comes from this stuff, then I have done my job. I want these images burned into your brains so the next time a situation presents itself, you think with your brain and not your pants."

I really think I did well today with the kids. As soon as the bell rang and they lit out of the classroom, they were spreading the word like wildfire. I had random kids peeking their heads inside my class to ask me a question about something they heard from a kid in my class.

Thats something I love about teaching...till the day they die, they will remember today's presentation. It may change the way they think, or it may not......but at least it made them think. And as any fellow teacher would know, its like pulling teeth the last couple weeks of school!!!!

Here are links to a couple great websites and blogs I have found that deal with STD's:

STD's for Dummies

Afraid to Ask