In some regions of the world such as China, a one child policy was established due to overpopulation (Jian) . One of the reasons for overpopulation was because of the vast number of births from exceptionally young couples. Locally, in 2009, 1,991 children were born to women between the ages of fifteen and nineteen in Rock Island ("Illinois Teen Births by County") which was a shocking amount due to the dramatic drop in teen pregnancies nationwide (See Figure 1 below). Figure 1 in 2009 the teen birth rate was the lowest it had been in previous decades. However, Rock Island County was rising (“Teen Birthrate Hit Historic Low In 2009”). Based on these statistics, teen pregnancy is obviously a large issue in this county. A possible solution to the issue would be that sex education could to be taught in junior and senior high schools and be taught by parents more often. By the time of sex education, a vast majority of students have already had sex. This may have played a part in Tony, from The Other Wes Moore, being a father at such a young age. The ultimately best solution to help stop teen pregnancy in this county alone is to provide a “sex clinic” to these teenagers. A safe sex clinic is a way of providing teenagers the facts of the real world and even offering various forms of birth control. As other solutions, parents need to have a sex talk with their children, and schools need to provide the option for a sex education more frequently. However, there is no way to mandate what parents teach to students, and it takes far too long to change a state's curriculum. That’s why, through this solution, the rate of teen births would show to decrease for the better. The disadvantages of teenage pregnancy and birth... ... middle of paper ... ...ina’s Brutal One-Child Policy." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 May 2013. Web. 07 May 2014. Kempner, Martha. "Illinois Governor Signs New Sex Education Law" RH Reality Check. N.p., 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. "Knowledge Base: How Do I Start a Nonprofit Organization?" GrantSpace. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014. "New Poll: Parents Are Talking With Their Kids About Sex but Often Not Tackling Harder Issues." Sexual & Reproductive Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. Santos, Fernanda. "Sex Education Again a Must In City Schools." The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Aug. 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. "State Policies in Brief." Guttmacher. Guttmacher Institute, n.d. Web. "Teen Birthrate Hit Historic Low in 2009." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 07 May 2014. "The Reasons Teens Get Pregnant." Teen Help. Teen Help, n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
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).
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.
In the article, “More Schools to Teach Abstinence-Plus,” as seen on page A21A of the September 16, 2011 issue, author Morgan Smith tells her readers about new programs being introduced in West Texas to tech teenagers about not only abstinence, but additional how to practice safe sex. The article explains how teenage pregnancy rates in West Texas continue to spike despite the effort to push abstinence on teens. It explains in detail of a new sexual education program where teens are encouraged to choose abstinence but are educated in effective contraception as well. It covers schools in Midland, Texas and how endeavor to switch policy’s is embraced by the majority of community members as an active approach to decrease teen pregnancy. (Smith 1)
There are many problems facing teenagers these days. None are bigger than the issue of underage sex, and all the issues stemming from it. The number of teenagers becoming sexually active, pregnant, and contracting sexually transmitted diseases are rapidly on the rise. There is no simple fix, or easy solution to this problem. Sex education should begin at home, and extend to include an effective program in schools that reinforce a clear message of abstaining from sexual activity in addition to informing students of the risks posed by engaging in sexual activity. The political, and religious dissension on this issue has resulted in a procedural stalemate preventing schools from effectively addressing the problem, and implement a comprehensive sex-education program that benefits young adults in Texas and the rest of the United States.
Natbony, Jessica. "Sex Education in Schools." Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law. 11. (2010): 273-296. Print.
The overall teen birth rate has declined by 16 percent from 1991 to 1997. “All states are recording a decline and it is the sixth year in a row that the teen birth rate has declined,” stated Donna Shalala, HHS secretary of U. S. Newswire. Although the birthrate among teens is decreasing and the percentage of teenagers who have had sexual intercourse is declining, it is a multi-fauceted problem affecting today’s youth. The government is taking in to consideration all possibilities and conditions with teen births to make an affective way to prevent it.
---Trends in teen pregnancy rates from 1996-2006: A comparison of Canada, Sweden, U.S.A., and England/Wales.
How many girls have you see around school who are pregnant? Do you ever come to think that they may not have had the “sex talk” with their parents or any sort of sex education at school? “The United Stated still has the highest teen pregnancy rate of any industrialized country. About 40 percent of American women become pregnant before the age of 20. The result is about 1 million pregnancies each year among women ages 15 to 19.” (The Annie E. Casey Foundation) At the age 15-20 most teen males and females don’t have a stable job and are still going to school. There is much at risk when a male and female decide to have sexual intercourse. Having a sex education class would help decrease the teen pregnancy rate. Learning what one can do to prevent a teen pregnancy and the consequences that can lead up to it, will help reduce the amount of sexual activity among teens. Having a sex education class that is required will benefit the upcoming teens of the next generation. Some parents don’t want their teens to have premarital sex and some parents don’t want the schools to be the ones responsible to teach their kids about sex education because they feel like it’s their job. There has been much controversy on sex education being taught at school.
Studies show that between 2006 and 2011 there was an average drop of about 30% of teen pregnancies and 50% of teens involved in any kind of sexual activity (not just intercourse) in America. According to a recent study as of 2008, teen birth rates in the U.S., (which have been declining for tw...
Rector, Robert. "The President's New Sex Ed." National Review Vol. 62, No. 6 2010 Apr 05: 24. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal uses information from Mississippi to concur more youth are having sex and having babies in their state. Their solution is to install sex ed in their curriculum to reduce these numbers. Another thing it talks about how they have had abstinence-only sex ed for five years, so obviously that wasn’t working. I will use this study to demonstrate the need of comprehensive sex ed in school’s curriculum, not just prude old people telling teens not to have sex and they will go to Hell if they do. I believe this will show the need for real options in a state with the most sexually active and pregnant teenagers.
Donovan, Patricia. "Falling Teen Pregnancy, Birthrates: What's Behind the Declines?" The Guttmacher Report. 1.5 (Oct. 1998); 31-34.
..., TODAY. "Teen Births at Lowest Rate since 1940." USA Today n.d.: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 20 Jan. 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.
U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics: Overall Trends, Trends by Race and Ethnicity and State-by-State Information. New York, NY: The Alan Guttmacher Institute; January 2010.