Homeschooling

Hey Guys...i was just thinking about when i was little and being home schooled myself. My mom pulled me out of elementary School in 5th grade because the teacher was going to fast for me and i couldn't understand the material he was presenting in the math lessons. Being home schooled for a year was a great experience for me. A lot of people think that when kids are home schooled they just watch t.v. all day and that can be true in some families i was taught all the subjects taught in a public school but it was done so at my individual pace and my mom included a morning devotional where we would read scriptures and sing a song to start the day before we started studying. Some of the things i learned a lot of people our age still haven't learned. If it wasn't for my mom pulling me out to mainly teach me math i would've HATED math at a very young age.

So my question to all of you is what your opinion of Homeschooling is? Have you been home schooled before? what was your experience like? do you know someone who was home schooled? Did it work for them? I just wanted to see what your thoughts were on this topic.

Credit Cards

I work at a place that often calls people up without notice and asks them to purchase something over the phone. I have been surprised to see that many people actually go through with giving there credit card information right over the phone. I have asked myself if I would give some random person my credit card over the phone even if what they were selling was a good deal, or a great product. I want to know if you think there should any type of laws or circumstances about calling people up and asking for their credit card number or other personal info over the phone. I know I never would.

Revised Class/Assignment Schedule on Blackboard

Hi all.

There is now a revised schedule up on Blackboard. This new schedule takes us up through the end of the semester. There are a lot of changes, so you will want to take a look. We will be discussing this on Monday and signing up for small groups, so don't miss, and make sure to bring any questions with you.

Have a nice rest of your weekend.
-D

Relevance of Nick's Post on Oral Sex

Nick's post on oral sex is actually a relevant question because it applies to a lot of current issues. (That being said, Nick, you may want to make more of an effort to demonstrably tie your question to a relevant issue or two; what we define as sex is ultimately only important because of the implications of that definition.)

One issue relevant to this question is that teens, in particular religious teens who do not believe in sex before marriage, or who have taken virginity pledges, etc., are defining sex only as intercourse, so everything else does not technically violate their pledge or religious values (at least in their minds). They believe that they can engage in oral sex and remain virgins. I'm guessing that, based on his posting, Nick would agree with this, but it is the subject of controversy in religious communities. Another reason oral sex is increasing among teens is that they (correctly) believe they can't get pregnant while engaging in it and (incorrectly) believe they cannot get STDs from the act. As a result, teen pregnancies are down in our country, but more young people are engaging in oral sex than ever before.

Here is some logos for you: more than half of American teenagers ages 15-19 have engaged in oral sex. 70 percent of 18-and-19-year-olds have. This is not a small number we are talking about.

If you want to know more about why the question is relevant, you can read some of the following articles:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/21945.php
http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/guide/20061101/oral-sex-may-spread-common-std
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/15/AR2005091500915.html
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/21606.php
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11819-oral-sex-can-cause-throat-cancer.html

And for the record, I did not find Nick's post offensive at all. I just wanted the question to be tied to the potential consequences of its answers because how we define sex does matter.

There is another issue that Nick's post raises, and that is how religious teens view sex and what they perceive as "crossing the line" when it comes to intimacy. I also grew up in a religious environment, and no one ever told me, "This is how far you can go with a girl without offending God" or "This is dirty, but this isn't," etc. It was all pretty vague, and I can see how that can be confusing to young people. Nick's post brings up this issue, and any of you who want to respond to it, or anything else he has said, please do.
-D

Letting Go

Tomorrow at 12 o'clock my sister Kendall will be getting married. I'm happy that she's found someone that she wants to spend the rest of her life with but at the same time I feel like I'm losing something. I had the same feeling with my other two sisters when they got married as well.
When you get married things change: people move away, you're "we" instead of "I", all of a sudden you have to check with your "better half" to see if something is ok, etc. Of course there are many upsides to marriage, they're all so obvious I really don't even have to list them.
I just don't want to let my sister go, she's my friend and I'll miss her. I know I have to let her go but it'll take some time to adjust to things like not being able to run downstairs and ask her which outfit looks better on me or not being able to sit on her bed and talk about our favorite movies that we saw that month.
In the meantime I've got to learn to let go.
What are your guys' thoughts on this. I'm sure that many of you have had a friend/family member get married. Did you have such a hard time? Did you feel like even though they're the same person as before they were married maybe something was lost between the two of you?

NO MORE FILTH!!

HEY! DON'T GO ASKING MORALLY DEGRADING QUESTIONS ON THE BLOG!!

It disgust me that you would ever ask a question like that on the blog! I only read the title and it cause me to retch. If you are feeling guilty about some thing or are curious to know go tell/ask some one you know that won't mind listening.

I would like to never have to see another thing like this: ever! on the blog. So please don't.

IS ORAL SEX REALLY SEX?

I fell that this subject is perfect for this area of the country to get some good thoughts on this subject for me. Now lets get a few things straight, im not some pervert, i just think this is very interesting. Also im not using this to prove my girlfriend wrong so i can get some action. It is a subject that is debated alot in our country. Ecspecially with christian americans. In this part of the country many people are trying to follow their christian beliefs, and i dont care if anyone wants to admit it but alot of people around here follow by not having sex but sometimes do everything but. Growing up i was always told in church and school that oral sex was sex. but is it really? i went to the dictionary and looked up sex. and oral sex to see what the words meant.

Sex means:sexually motivated phenomena or behavior ( or Sexual Intercourse:heterosexual intercourse involving penetration of the vagina by the penis)

Oral Sex means : oral stimulation of the genitals

im just wondering what everyones thoughts on this subject are. I know many people have the same religious backgrounds and i think i might have a idea on what you think. but you must also look at the facts. Sex is sex, or penitration. You cant get pregnate from oral sex, but you can from sex. i think that oral sex is not sex, like many adults would clame, i know the word sex is in the name, but the act of sex is just on another level. Please let me know what you think on the subject. i know that some may find this riskee(or however its spelled(not risky)) but i dont write this to offend. but just to stimulate some answers, because this is a question that must be answer for the american people.

My plan to phase myself out is almost complete...

So it's a small thing, an almost immature issue. But yet, I'm sure that many of you have experienced the sadness of "losing" a best or close friend to the dating world. I know, I know, it sounds so dramatic. But it feels that way sometimes. It's always the same. You guys hang out all the time, you can talk to them, they understand you, they are there for you. And then comes that special someone. And it's not a bad thing, but all of the sudden they have someone who is in first place. And you get bumped down a small notch at first. But it's the feeling that there is someone else more important that really gets to you. And as they get closer together they call you less and less. You are now on the back burner my friend.

I talk about it like I'm an outsider, as if I were talking about it from a third person point of view. I wish it were so. It is happening to me. And I am happy for my friend, because it's a good thing. She is happy. He treats her well. And it's gotta happen eventually. So I think that's the hardest part. Knowing that I am so immature, so selfish. I only think of myself and the effects that it will have on me and my personal life. I wonder if any of you have been able to cope with a similar situation with a greater level of maturity.

I'm left wondering what is to be done? What can one do to remedy the situation? I feel so helpless. I feel that anything that i say would be purely selfish and inconsiderate. Dear classmates, you must be wiser than I. I am confident that one of you can help me to better cope with the current dilemma, as I feel so childish for my worry and frustration. When faced with the same situation, what have you done? What approach have you taken? Can it really be solved? Anyway, thanks for reading my pathetic little post. I know it's not about politics or current events or anything of any relevance in your lives, and if this were graded I'd probably get an F, but I guess I just need a little bit of advice, and our wonderful english class blog was the first place that came to mind. Comments will be greatly appreciated.