Who would have guessed?

This morning, the Washington Post reported a recent study suggesting that "Sexually Charged TV Might Raise Risk of Teen Pregnancy." Now, you and I both know that TV is not responsible for people's bad decisions. Clearly, teens repeatedly exposing themselves to sitcom sex does not make them repeatedly expose themselves in the backseats of cars or at band camp.

However, duh. I'm certain that my having watched Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds, Top Gun, Risky Business, Friends, and all manner of lousy movies with boobs in them definitely affected my decisions and desires. And now, I can't even watched Saved by the Bell or Full House - it's all tainted.

An interesting note about the article: the writer claims that the CDC says that 1 in 3 girls will get pregnant by age 20. I find that incredibly hard to believe. So I looked it up: the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics article on Teen Pregnancy says that there are 40.5 live births per 1000 women between age 15 and 19. That's slightly more than 4%. Even over the 5 years given, that's still only 20%, which means that there would have to be another 26 abortions per 1000 girls 15-19 PER YEAR.

I suppose that's not terribly unlikely, and perhaps I'm simply insulated by the posh school district I teach in where I can think of only a handful of pregnancies at my 1500+ student school in the last 9 years I've taught here.

Interesting.

It's about time, isn't it?

All of the sleepless nights have paid off.

5A Region 5 Regional Championship Results
1. Coronado 65
2. Palmer 69
3. Rampart 70
4. Durango 107
5. Pine Creek 144
6. Liberty 164
7-12. Other teams I wasn't worried about.

We made it in! Last year, we ran a team total time of 90:38 - an average of 18:08 (rounding up) - for the 5 scoring runners and missed by a mere 2 points. The year before that, we missed by 4 points.

This year, we ran 88:11, an average of 17:38 - and still got 5th. My team really pulled through and ran fantastic just at the right time. I was anxious, to be certain, but the boys ran smart, and it paid off.

To be certain, "Run Smart" doesn't sound as cool or aggressive at the line as many of the other cheers teams shout just before the race (my favorite to laugh at: "S-C-X-C-S-C Sex it Up!" from the other ____ Creek team in our region).

Anyway, I'm elated. It's the first boys' team appearance at the State meet in school history, and I feel pretty good about the work they've put in and how it's paying off. Now, if we can just keep it up.