Abstinence In Schools

Yolanda Ramos-Guistizia

Prof. Ken Knight

ENG-122

September 27th, 2014

Should sexual education be taught in public schools?

Should sexual education be abstinence only?: Sex-Ed In Schools I support sexual education being taught in public school and it should not be limited to abstinence only. A school based program provides accurate information, provides helpful information about protection, and sexually transmitted diseases. Pledging an abstinence only policy means students will not get the most informative education, and will leave them to learn on their own, which may be them experimenting or asking a friend, who provides faulty information. Providing a sexual education program in schools will give children, and teens, valuable

"Students should be taught safe sex in school"). During 2006 through 2008, 46 percent of males and 33 percent of females did not receive information on contraceptives. What is more scary is that of teens between the ages 18-19; 41 percent say they know little or nothing about condoms while 75 percent say they know nothing about the contraceptive pill (Lickona, Thomas. "Where sex education went wrong"). These numbers can drop drastically if we provide our children and teens with an education program to help them gain knowledge about the real statistics of sex.

With a proper program in our public schools, we can clear up myths about intercourse, such as not being able to get pregnant the first time. Our children and teens can also learn that roughly nine million new STI's occur every year.

Providing an abstinence only program will not give students necessary information. Research shows one in four adolescents received an abstinence only education without giving them any information on birth control. These programs do not convey the entire message to

It's been found that few educators are formally trained to use gender-specific teaching techniques (Stanberry, Kristin. "Single sex education: the pros and cons").

Page Break To refute these claims it should be noted that experienced teachers usually understand gender differences and are adept at accommodating a variety of learning styles within their classroom. Students will one day live and work side-by-side with members of the opposite sex, educating students in single-sex schools limits their opportunity to work cooperatively and co-exist with members of the opposite sex.

Sex education for teenagers is essential, and the responsibility of every parent. Allowing these programs into our school system, it would also become the responsibility of the teacher. I believe it's better for the students to gain the knowledge from their peers and not from other sources such as friends, or the web. Schools are a major influence for giving instructions and experiences to students to help them in their roles as productive adults. Schools can play a major role in students' health related