Madison Becker
6th Hour
Should Birth Control Be Taught in Schools?
Condoms aren’t completely safe. A friend of mine was wearing one and got hit by a bus. (Rubin)
We can joke about birth control, but do people really know how to use it? Teen births are a growing concern throughout America and there are endless statistics to back that up, but are schools doing all that they can to teach teens on precautions of certain things like offering a more indepth class for those who would want to learn more, or even the methods of birth control, or the flip side to this, the reasons why people do not want this taught in public schools.
Teens are going to have sex there is no doubt about it, the only way that they might not is going back to the chastity belt era but even then there is no for sure way to make them stop. In my opinion, I think they should teach information about how to be more safe, how it works and how to use. Or at least offer it as an elective class for people who are interested in and want more knowledge about it. Not everyone might want to take it, like in a few schools around the country students can get out of a sex ed class by parent approval, which is there right as an American due to the 1st amendment of the constitution. However, the course would not be so in-depth to become a how-to course but just by covering the basics, all types of birth control, how to use them, and how to keep yourself safe. Certain schools are implementing some form of sex education as early as kindergarten. In elementary school, children in the lower grades learn the names of their body parts and are taught about inappropriate touching and how to handle potentially dangerous situations, such as being approached by strangers. (Gerard S. Walen...
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OTHER VOICES: PROVIDE ACCESS TO SEX EDUCATION AND BIRTH CONTROL. Rashti, M. (2006, Dec 30). Daily Press. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview
Public favors birth control messages Mall, J. (1985, Nov 17).. Los Angeles Times (Pre-1997 Fulltext). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/
Quotes about birth control http://www.liberalamerica.org/2013/04/13 Bob Rubin
Should sex ed in public schools go beyond abstinence? (2005, Jan 09). Sarasota Herald Tribune. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/
TEENAGERS & SEX SEX EDUCATION DEBATE By Nicholas Goldberg and,Michele Ingrassia. (1987, Jun 23). what should be taught? this third part of a series examines how the AIDS crisis has intruded upon the sometimes bitter controversy over the responsibility of the schools. Newsday. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com
Kasun, Jacqueline R. "Condom nation: government sex education promotes teen pregnancy." Policy Review 68 (1994): 79+. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.
It has been almost thirty three years since the first federal funding was put to use in “. . . sex education programs that promote abstinence-only-until-marriage to the exclusion of all other approaches . . .” according to the article “Sex education” (2010) published by “Opposing Viewpoints in Context;” a website that specializes in covering social issues. Since then a muddy controversy has arisen over whether that is the best approach. On one hand is the traditional approach of abstinence (not having sex before marriage), and on the other is the idea that what is being done is not enough, and that there needs to be a more comprehensive approach. This entails not only warning against sex, but also teaching teens about how to have “Safe Sex” (“Sex Education,” 2010).
The topic of birth control in public schools has attracted much support from the American public from surveyed statistics. For example, a 2006 Associated Press-Ipsos survey discovered that 67% of Americans support the provision of contraceptives to students. This study also determined that, “About as many - 62 percent - said they believe providing birth control reduces the number of teenage pregnancies” (Associated Press). Such a huge percentage suggests that Americans are very concerned about the increasing cases of teen pregnancies and would eagerly adopt any method that has a possibility of reducing this problem. In addition, the subjects in the poll indicated that they believe that contraception usage in schools has the potential of reducing teenage pregnancies. Many American people support the view points, that schools should offer contraceptives to students in schools. This can really help minimize...
Chen, Grace. “Schools, Parents, and Communities Should Contribute to Educating Teens About Sex.” Teenage Sexuality. Ed. Aarti D. Stephens. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. From “Public Schools and Sex Education.” Public School Review. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
From a young age, children are bombarded by images of the rich and the famous engaging in torrid public affairs or publicly discussing their increasingly active sex lives. No longer is sex education left to teachers and parents to explain, it is constantly in our faces at the forefront of our society. Regardless of sex education curriculums and debates about possible changes, children and teenagers are still learning everything they think there is to know about sex from very early on in their young lives. However, without responsible adults instructing them on the facts about sex, there are more likely to treat sex in a cavalier and offhanded fashion. According to Anna Quindlen’s essay Sex Ed, the responsibility of to education children about sex is evenly distributed between teachers and parents.
Those who disagree think providing birth control promotes promiscuity and premarital sexual activity. In the article “At Issue: Birth Control Availability,” the author argues that access to birth control and other contraceptives for teens would make them think their behavior is acceptable. The author states, “Providing free condoms and other birth control methods sends the message that premarital sexual activity is acceptable” (“ProQuest”). The opposition believes birth control would promote promiscuity and make it seem acceptable. Although some believe that birth control encourages promiscuity, the fact that teens are sexually active has not changed; therefore, access to birth control can only encourage safe sex. Kim Grundy, author of “The Teens and Birth Control Debate,” argues that teaching abstinence wastes time. Wendie Howland, editor of Journal of Nurse Life Care Planning, declares, “Abstinence hasn’t worked for thousands of years as a reliable way to avoid teen pregnancy” (qtd. in Grundy). Howland and Grundy argue that abstinence has not worked in the past, and will continue not to, therefore; birth control should become available to teens.
Sonfield, Adam. "Sex Education Remains Active Battleground." Contraceptive Technology Update 1 Mar. 2012. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.
encompasses sexual development, reproductive health, interpersonal relationships, affection, intimacy, body image, and gender roles.” Sex education discusses important aspects of reproduction, sexuality, and just growing up in general in a physical and emotional sense. One would have to wonder though; does sex education actually serve its purpose? Does it enlighten teens enough about sex and the consequences, to the point where you can actually tell the difference between those who are sexually educated and those who are not? According to a study done bye Coyle (1999) sex education no matter where, at home or in school, and no matter the program does indeed help decrease the amount of teens having unsafe sex. Based on information from that same study about 3 million teenagers a year get an STD, and roughly 10% of adolescent females ages 15-19 get pregnant every year unintentionally. In an article from The Alan Guttmacher Institute (1999) there has been a 20% drop in female pregnancies between n 1990 and 1997 and the drop has continued, they have stated that the reason for this i...
Sedgwick, Jacqueline. "American Adolescents and Emergency Contraceptive Pill Access." Age of Consent. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "American Adolescents and Emergency Contraceptive Pill Access: Moving Beyond Politics." http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/719371. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Sex education in public schools has been a controversial issue in the United States for over a decade. With the HIV and teen pregnancy crises growing, sex education is needed.
In the United States, there is a rising problem that is not going anywhere anytime soon, that is if we, as citizens, don 't change it. This problem is causing billions of dollars and people 's futures all because schools would rather teach ignorance than the truth. What’s the problem? Sex education. Although sex education may not seem like a rising conflict, it is actually one of the top controversial topics in our country regarding education. According to Brigid McKeon, “Each year, U.S. teens experience as many as 850,000 pregnancies, and youth under age 25 experience about 9.1 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs)” (McKeon). This number is so unbelievable to any sane person, but somehow schools still won 't take the initiative to teach realistic sex education. Sex education can be taught in two different procedures- comprehensive or abstinence only. The difference between the two methods is that comprehensive sex education teaches abstinence as a secondary choice, so that teens who decide not to wait are well educated on how to keep themselves protected. Comprehensive sex education should be required in every single public school because it is the most effective method on how to keep teenagers well informed and prepared.
There has been a heated debate over the years on whether sex education should be taught at schools instead of abstinence-only. Many believe that talking about sex in the classroom raises the initiation of such behavior, and by stressing discipline, self-control, and self-respect, advocates argue, abstinence-only programs build character in students. Others believe that ignoring the subject keeps teens in the dark which leads them to make unsafe decisions when they become sexually active. In order to fix this problem schools should teach Sex Education, but emphasize that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.
Sexual education has been a heated topic for years. The topic started in 1912 when the National Education Association wanted teachers to begin lecturing in sex ed programs.(Pardini, Priscilla) In 1940 the U.S. Public Health Service labeled sexual education an “urgent need” and strongly advocated it in schools.(Pardini, Priscilla) Though sexual education had support from health officials and educators, there were many opponents.(Pardini, Priscilla) Conservatives and health advisors battled over how sex ed benefits and how it should be taught in schools.(Pardini, Priscilla)
Martinez, Gladys, Joyce Abma, and Casey Copen. “Educating Teenagers About Sex In The United States”. CDC.GOV. Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Feb.2014
Before moving on, one must know that sex education is about, but not limited to the discussion of sexual intercourse. As a Buzzle article states, it involves a multitude of topics that introduce human sexual behaviors such as puberty, sexual health, sexual reproduction, sexuality, and more (Iyer). If formally received in school, these topics are brought up and discussed at age-appropriate times over the course of children’s junior high and high school education. Moreover, as I have introduced earlier, the way sex education should be taught is divided into two approaches. It is between taking either a conservative, abstinence-only approach or a more liberal, comprehensive approach. Abstinence-only education, approaches students by stressing the importance of “no sex before marriage” as be...