Program Schedule

The Project Taking Charge curriculum included three main sections: “Who Am I?” “Where Am I Going?” and “How Do I Get There?” The curriculum was further di- vided into ﬁ ve units (with 27 lessons, total) and three parent–youth sessions. Each lesson could be completed in approximately 45 minutes, with individual activities requiring about 15 to 30 minutes. The curriculum was ﬂ exible enough to be completed in a 6- to 9-week time frame.

Unit 1: Who Am I? Making Healthy Choices

Four lessons were included in this unit:

1.1 Setting the Stage for Taking Charge of My Life

1.2 What’s Really Important to Me?

1.3 Gender Roles and Stereotypes: Understanding My Choices

1.4 Diversity: Expanding Horizons This unit introduced students to the idea that healthy choices were based on

values, sound decision-making skills, and positive goal setting. After discussing the

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goals and expectations of the program, teens “took charge” of their development and futures at an exciting and important stage of their lives.

During the second half of the unit, students prepared a “Values Chart.” They also investigated gender roles and stereotypes by videotaping 15 minutes of chil- dren’s television, including commercials. The ﬁ nal lesson explored diversity as a way to expand one’s horizons.

Unit 2: Where Am I Going? Taking Charge of My Life

Seven lessons were included in this unit:

2.1 Plan for the Future: A Time to Dream

2.2 Changes and Challenges

2.3 Human Sexuality

2.4 Human Reproduction

2.5 Dealing With Things We Can and Cannot Change

2.6 Setting Goals

2.7 Making Decisions The goals of this unit were, ﬁ rst, to help students understand the experiences

and challenges of early adolescence, including human reproductive development, and then, to begin to “take charge” of their futures. In a class activity, students videotaped a short segment of a current television program and interpreted the media’s portrayal of teens. Next, the physical and emotional aspects of puberty were explored, and students sorted the myths from the facts about this stage of life. The last few lessons in the unit were devoted to setting goals and making decisions. These tasks were personalized in an exercise in which students developed individual plans for realizing a goal they had set for their futures.

Unit 3: How Do I Get There? Making the Most of Relationships

Six lessons were included in this unit:

3.1 A Closer Look at Relationships

3.2 Understanding Different Perspectives

3.3 Future Dating Relationships

3.4 The Basics of Communication

3.5 Practicing Communication Techniques

3.6 Sexual Abuse: Your Body Is Your Own This unit covered family relationships, future dating relationships, and voca-

tional planning. Students learned how families and friends served as support sys- tems and provided assistance with decision making and developmental tasks. To help students achieve fulﬁ lling relationships, both within and outside the family, successful communication techniques were explained and practiced. In one of the optional activities, the class videotaped several brief interactions between family members on television programs. In another activity, students interviewed several teachers about parenting or caregiving. Understanding sexual abuse was the focus of the last lesson in the unit.

Unit 4: How Do I Get There? Taking Charge of My Choices and Behaviors

Five lessons were included in this unit:

4.1 Risky Business: Knowing When to Say No

4.2 Abstinence: Saying No

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4.3 Alcohol, Other Drugs & You: Resisting Peer Pressure

4.4 Sex Can Be Dangerous: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and Ac- quired Immune Deﬁ ciency Syndrome (AIDS)

4.5 Abstinence and the Costs of Early Parenthood In this unit, students learn about risky behaviors, reasons why adolescents en-

gage in them, and how to say “no.” The benefi ts of abstinence are again affi rmed in relation to avoiding STIs and early parenthood. One group activity, for example, used popcorn as a symbol for illustrating peer pressure to use drugs. Within each group of fi ve to eight students, one member was instructed not to eat any popcorn, while the others were told both to eat and to encourage others to do so. The class observed how group members pressured the “abstinent” student to conform. Other activities in this unit encouraged students to contact community resources for information about STIs and to research laws regarding teenage fatherhood and welfare at Social Services and the Human Resources Department.

Unit 5: How Do I Get There? Taking Charge of My Vocational Future

Five lessons were included in this unit:

5.1 Getting and Keeping a Job

5.2 Planning for Career Exploration

5.3 The Career Exploration Experience

5.4 Career Exploration: Sharing Experiences

5.5 Taking Charge: Where Do I Go From Here? In the ﬁ nal unit of the program, students began to take stock of themselves as

future jobholders. They assessed their inherent talents and abilities, and they investigated areas providing challenges for growth. The heart of this unit was an intro- duction to the workplace, and the curriculum included three possible strategies. In Option 1, a job-shadowing exercise, students visited community members at work and interviewed them about job requirements, including education and training, as well as their feelings about the position, potential for advancement, and so forth. A similar activity, Option 2, allowed students to interview employees when visiting a work site. In Option 3, the class interviewed a panel of employees who visited the class. To increase the number of positions to which students were exposed, each option allowed for a full class period in which students discussed and compared what they had learned.

Parent–Youth Sessions

Three sessions were designed for students and their parents or guardians:

1. Understanding Adolescence (Unit 1)

2. Communicating Parent–Teen Concerns (Unit 4)

3. Career Planning: A Lifelong Process (Unit 5) These sessions aimed to develop skills in communicating about sexual facts,

personal values, and vocational-planning strategies. They also introduced participants to community agencies that provided information about various occupations, occupational requirements (education and training), and job-seeking strategies. The ﬁ rst parent–youth session, Understanding Adolescence, introduced the basic phi- losophy of Project Taking Charge and invited parents to preview course materials.

The second parent–youth session provided participants with opportunities to practice communicating feelings about sexuality, and the ﬁ nal session featured a

40 Model Programs for Adolescent Sexual Health

job/education fair. The fair was designed to build parental support for and involve- ment in realistic educational and career planning. In the original ﬁ eld study, a video about working was also shown during this session. The video provided a basic overview about applying and interviewing for an entry-level position, and it emphasized the importance of hard work, dedication, and reliability. Although the video is no longer available, you can incorporate this information into your own intervention.

Supplemental Lesson

A supplemental lesson on sexual hygiene emphasized teens’ responsibility to care for their developing bodies, and it covered such topics as daily bathing, masturba- tion, menstruation, STI testing, and regular medical care.

Program Implementation

Organizing the Parent Sessions

Instructors checked with parents to ﬁ nd the most convenient times to schedule the parent–youth sessions. During the ﬁ eld study, it was helpful to send home with students a survey that asked parents to select from a choice of times and probed barriers to their attendance, such as transportation and child care.

Organizing the Job-Shadowing Exercise

Regardless of the option selected, advance preparation was required for the job- shadowing exercise.

Establishing Ground Rules

Because the success of the program depended upon the comfort level of participants, the ﬁ rst program unit aimed to develop group cohesiveness and an open climate for discussion. The rules were based on the assumption that people felt comfortable when others listened, tried to understand what they were saying, and displayed a caring attitude toward them. Nevertheless, it was considered wise not to take big risks (e.g., disclose secrets) if one’s level of trust in the group was not high.

Teachers conveyed the principles listed below and posted them on a bulletin board for the duration of the program.

1. Full participation is expected. The program will be fun and successful if everyone participates in class activities and discussions.

2. Any question is okay—no one should feel afraid to ask a question. It is likely that other students will want to ask the same question. Moreover, in each class period a few questions will be answered from the anonymous question box in the classroom.

3. Everyone has a right to “pass” on a question or activity. Similarly, no one has to share anything he or she does not want others to know. If a participant feels un- comfortable about answering a particular question, he or she can say “I pass.” However, the person will still need to listen to others’ answers and take part in the activity.

4. Respect others’ points of view. It is okay to disagree, but not to put down or tease someone. It is all right to laugh with, but not at, someone. Everyone has the right to his or her ideas and opinions.

5. The sessions will be conﬁ dential. Participants should try not to repeat things said during a lesson outside of the class. Students may talk to each other and to family members or friends about the topics and issues discussed, but they should

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try not to use names (for example, say, “Today in my class, someone said . . .” instead of “Mary said . . .”).

Program Schedule