Analysis Of The Movie ' Lean On Me '

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Assume you are a 15 year-old teenage girl, you take school seriously, earn good grades, have a close group of friends that you can count on and want them to be a part of your life forever, and you have recently started dating a boy that you are crazy about. How can your life get any better than it is at this moment? Now, imagine you’re late. Your monthly visitor has not arrived on time this month. Your friend suggests that you take a pregnancy test, so you do. Fear overcomes you as you wait for the answer, then in a second your life has changed forever; You are pregnant! What are you going to do now? Sadly, this scenario is real for many young ladies. Could somebody have said or done something that would have prevented this from happening to you or someone close to you that you know? Your friend, your parents? How about your school? In the movie “Lean on Me”, the character Kaneesha portrays a student that finds herself pregnant. Her high school, Eastside, failed in seizing its opportunity to teach her about “safe” sex, using contraceptives, and to inform her about the realities of being a teenage parent. Now, while many may argue that it is not the school’s responsibility to help students make better decisions, the truth of the matter is that students spend the majority of their time at school leaving a window open for that teacher, administrator, or counselor to get through to them. Mr. Clark, the principal in the movie, sees Kaneesha crying and learns that she is pregnant. He tries to comfort her, but was there something he or anyone else could have done to help prevent her unwanted pregnancy? The answer is yes. Schools can help reduce the number of teenage pregnancies by improving how health classes are taught ...

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...rtant, educated decision on such a big decision as this. They need facts, they need to be aware of the consequences of their actions, and they need direction. Schools can be the resource that these students need. They can enrich their Health classes with realistic projects, provide counseling services, encourage students to form groups to counter peer pressure, and make contraceptives available to students. Instituting these programs and resources will cause many students to consider the consequences they might have to face if they choose to have sex. And because of this, some may decide to wait. Others may decide to use protection. Perhaps if Eastside would have put some of these programs in place, Kaneesha would have made a different decision too. In the end, there will be fewer teenage pregnancies. So, yes, your school can help reduce teenage pregnancies.

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