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Analysis Of Richard V. Reeves 's Article ' Shame Is Not A Four Letter Word ``

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In Richard V. Reeves 's article “Shame is Not a Four-Letter Word”, published in The New York Times on March 15, 2013, he argues that shaming is a viable tactic to battle teen pregnancy. I strongly disagree with most of the author 's points, including his idea that shame is useful against teens, his claim that access to contraception and competent sex ed isn 't enough and his opinion that the negative effects of shame are not devastating enough to outweigh the positive. Reeves claims “[Shame] acts as a form of moral regulation, or a social “nudge”, encouraging good behavior while guarding individual freedom.” Teenagers have very little shame, and it 's not an insult. Science says that our frontal lobe, the part of our brain that aids in decision-making and understanding consequence is not fully developed until we enter adulthood. As a teenager, you may not be able to make great decisions without someone there to help you weigh the options. Add raging hormones to the mix and you can see how so many teenagers end up in rough situations like pregnancy, drugs and alcohol. We have used shame and scare tactics in programs like DARE before on children and teens, the general reaction to them is indifference. Shame does not stop teens from doing these things, knowledge does. When a teen is told that doing drugs is shameful, they aren 't really gaining knowledge about the subject, you may inadvertently be giving them a challenge instead. However, if you show them the effects of said

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