Choosing the Best

Dear Teacher/Facilitator of Choosing the Best PATH,

In December of 2012, there were some slight revisions made to the Choosing the Best PATH Leader Guide. If your Leader Guide was purchased prior to this date, please incorporate these revisions into your teaching.

1) Revised tape activity on pages 6-7. This activity now reads:

ACTIVITY
Illustrate how repeated casual sexual encounters in adolescence could cause difficulties in a future relationship. Ask for a male and a female volunteer. Take a long strip of clear, wide packing tape and place it on the guy’s arm. Place a second strip on a girl’s arm. Suggest that this tape represents a relationship between two teens that are having sex for the first time. Ask the class if they think this relationship will last all the way to marriage. (“Probably no.”) To simulate the couple’s breaking up, quickly pull off the tape from each person’s arm.

Ask the class if they think each person is likely to establish another relationship. (“Probably yes.”) Place the guy’s tape on the arm of another girl’s and the girl’s tape on another guy. Ask the class if they think these relationships will last until marriage. (“Probably not.”) Pull the tape off again.

Repeat the process two more times. After the tape is pulled off the last two couples, ask the class if they notice anything different about the tape. The original clear pieces of tape now contain particles of hair and skin, which can represent the possible negative emotional consequences that have occurred through the process of “casual sex.” Finally, stick the adhesive strips together to represent two people who get married later in life after having casual sexual experiences with others. Pull the tape apart.

ASK: What do you observe about the two pieces of tape? (Get responses.)

ASK: What are some of the possible emotional consequences of teen sex? (Get responses.)

ASK: Do you think repeated casual sexual encounters in adolescence could hurt someone’s future relationship? (Get responses.)

Contrast this with two fresh strips of adhesive tape that you put together. Show how hard it is to separate these strips. This represents a relationship between two people that did not bring in emotional baggage from repeated sexual encounters in adolescence.

SAY: Let’s continue to examine the possible emotional consequences of teen sex in the next exercise.

2) Added renewed virginity reference in two places, on p. 7 (at the end of the first “SAY”) and at the beginning of p. 14. The reference in both places is as follows:

Please remember that even if you’ve already had sex, you can still benefit by making a healthier choice from this day forward, by choosing the stop having sex, or “renewed virginity.” We’ll discuss this further in Chapter Five.

3) Added reference regarding the new contraceptive addendum on page 19; added new contraceptive addendum on page 54. Specifically, on page 19, during the discussion of contraception, the following is stated:

Teacher’s Note: A brief definition of each contraceptive method is provided on page 54 (as an appendix). You may choose to incorporate these definitions as you conduct the activity, or use them as a reference to answer any related questions.

Contraceptive Method	Definition
Spermicidal foam	Spermicides, which can come in a foam, gel, cream, film, suppository, or tablet form, contain a chemical that kills sperm. They are placed inside the vagina before sex.
Rhythm (calendar)	The rhythm method, also called the calendar method or fertility awareness, refers to avoiding sex on days of the month when a female is fertile (i.e., can conceive/become pregnant), based on tracking the female’s menstrual history and other indicators.
Male condom	Worn by the man, a male condom prevents sperm from getting into a woman’s body.
Diaphragm	The diaphragm is shaped like a shallow cup and is placed inside the vagina to cover the cervix to block sperm.
Oral – The pill	The most common type of birth control pill (taken orally) uses the hormones estrogen and progestin to prevent the female from releasing an egg (ovulating). Some birth control pills use only progestin, and are sometimes called “mini-pills.”
Depo-Provera (Long-acting Progestin)	A hormonal (progestin) injection that helps prevent the female from releasing an egg (ovulating). Lasts approximately 3 months.
IUD	An IUD is a small device that is shaped in the form of a “T”. A doctor places it inside the female’s uterus to inhibit the fertilization of the egg.

4) Removed Peppermint Patty exercise on pages 24-25.

5) Added child abuse section on page 25. At the bottom of this page, the following text has been added:

SAY: In addition to the risks of alcohol, another significant problem is child sexual abuse. In most states, the legal definition of child sexual abuse is an act of a person—adult or child—who forces, coerces, or threatens a child to have any form of sexual contact or to engage in any type of sexual activity at the perpetrator’s direction.

There are several ways to get help:

1. Tell your parent(s) or guardian.
2. Tell your teacher or school counselor.
3. Tell a friend who will go with you to an adult you trust.

Remember: It’s NEVER your fault.

NOTE TO LEADER: Learn the signs and symptoms of abuse. Find out what crisis counseling services are offered by your school or county.

6) Added renewed virginity reference on page 29 as follows:

Please remember that even if you’ve already had sex, you can still benefit by making a healthier choice from this day forward, by choosing the stop having sex, or “renewed virginity.”