1993-1994 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest

Doesn't Anyone Care About The Children?

Teacher: Suzanne Curtis

La Crosse High School, La Crosse, Washington

   1st Kelli Bruce  2nd Brent Wigen 3rd Gina Smith

"I know someone that is getting abused in my family and she has finally left her spouse, because it got to the point that he almost killed her by hanging her from her ankles out a two story building. He abused her so much that their three kids would take it out on each other. One time he came home drunk and started to abuse her again. When he passed out the kids took all the money out of his wallet and took it to school and handed it out. The kids were mad at him because of what he had done to their mother. So they just decided to take the money. Finally, she told him to leave and now everything is much better."
Janine Bailey, LaCrosse High School, LaCrosse, Washington

 "The first study done in 1941 [found] that twenty-three percent of college students cheated. [A 1992] study [found that] sixty percent of college students cheated."
Shane Andrus, LaCrosse High School, LaCrosse, Washington

 "A survey was taken in 1991 of United States high school students and results were very surprising. An admitted twenty-seven percent said that they had 'thought seriously' about suicide at least once in the past year. Also, eight percent revealed that they had actually tried to kill themselves during that period."
Tricia Camp, LaCrosse High School, LaCrosse, Washington

 "About a year ago someone very close to me got pregnant; she was my cousin and she was only fifteen. She was always a very shy person and no one ever thought she would think about being sexually active. No one ever talked to her about using protection. She started going out with an older guy and sneaking out at night to go be with him. When she became pregnant her dad made her get an abortion. When her boyfriend found out he moved and she hasn't seen him since the night she told him that she was pregnant. The abortion was against her will. Her dad kicked her out and now she lives with her grandmother. I can't imagine how she must feel; her boyfriend left her, she wanted a baby but her dad wouldn't let her, and then she was rejected by most of her family."
Michelle Hathaway, LaCrosse High School, LaCrosse, Washington

"I have heard an argument pertaining to this subject that says if there are condom machine in school bathrooms then it will be just like saying that it is all right for kids to have sex. This is simply not true. If a condom machine will influence someone enough to think about having sex, then they must not be very sure about their decision not to do so. The protection that is needed should be there for kids when they need it so that we can help stop the spread of disease and unwanted pregnancies. It's up to [us] the younger generation, because soon we will be the older generation and will need to teach younger people from our experiences."
Michelle Hathaway, LaCrosse High School LaCrosse, Washington

 "Teenagers who have a low self-esteem are more likely to get pregnant because to them, their lives seem pointless or the doors of the future seem closed. These teenage girls think that having a baby will make them feel needed. An example of this occurrence is when a irl that I know in Wyoming was left behind by her mother with her two brothers when they were all really young and then later got separated from her two brothers. A couple of years later, the guy she was engaged to broke up with her and two weeks later she was pregnant by a different guy altogether."
Angela Carmen Pinson, LaCrosse High School, LaCrosse, Washington

"I also think that television shows such as Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place should e taken off of the air, and that programs like them, but without the sex scenes should be put on. I think that more educational shows should be put on the air to try and make teenagers be less willing to have sexual intercourse."
Angella Carmen Pinson, LaCrosse High School, LaCrosse, Washington

 "Lack of responsibility finds its roots in absence of discipline and love from parents. ...My opinion of how to produce responsible children is to have responsible parents who love and discipline them. Responsible parents set expectations and rules for their children, follow through with consequences and give explanations of punishments. Parents need to be involved, especially by taking time to talk with their children to under- stand and sympathize with their feelings. The responsibility of parents is to love and discipline their children so we can have a more responsible nation."
Gina Smith, LaCrosse High School, LaCrosse, Washington

 "I think that we should also try to start more sex education courses in schools that would also inform the students about the problems that can be associated with teen pregnancies such as : parents kicking their child out of the house once they find out that they are pregnant, the lack of money for doctor appointments, hospital bills, and raising the child, their boyfriend breaking up with them and refusing to help with the baby, and any medical problems that may occur during or after the pregnancy. I also think that the school counselor in each school should have group sessions where teenage girls can talk about pressure that they might have from their peers about having sexual intercourse and about the desire they might feel for having a baby so that they would feel needed. Ð I also think that all schools should have condom machines in the boy's and girl's bathrooms so that teenagers can get one whenever they may need one."
Angella Carmen Pinson, LaCrosse High School, LaCrosse, Washington

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