More handpicked essays just for you.
Comprehensive sexual education program versus abstinence
Various research statement studies on gender education
Gender education in schools
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In the American school system there two different ways to teach sex education. The first, and unfortunately more common, form of sexual education is known as abstinence-only education. This form of education only teaches children about not having sex. Abstinence-only education leaves out many different things that should be taught to students. It leaves out all of the different forms of STDs, all of the negative consequences of sex, the effects of sex on your self-esteem, and more importantly it leaves out the fact that having sex is acceptable. Abstinence-only education make students feel like if they have sex they are horrible people. Studies have shown that in states that only require abstinence-only education there is a higher rate of STDs and teen pregnancies than states that require comprehensive sexual education. The reason these states have higher rate of STDs and teen pregnancies is because the teenagers are too afraid to talk to their parents about forms of contraception because they feel as though if they tell their parents they're having sex in their parents will think of them as …show more content…
In fact, of six evaluations that assessed short-term changes in behavior, three found no changes, two found increased sexual activity from pre- to posttest, and one showed mixed results. Five evaluations looked for but found no long-term impact in reducing teens’ sexual activity.
Analysis of federally funded abstinence-only curricula found that over 80 percent of curricula supported by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services contained false, misleading, or distorted information about reproductive health (“Effective Sex Education” 1).
In another recent survey, 94 percent of adults and 93 percent of parents said that sex education should cover contraception. Only 15 percent of Americans wanted abstinence-only education taught in the
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, that schools should offer contraceptives to students in schools. This can really help minimize teenage pregnancies.... ... middle of paper ...
"US Government Should Stop Funding Abstinence-Only Education: Virginity Pledge Ineffective." Reproductive Health Matters Nov. 2009: 223. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.
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).
Today’s young Americans face strong peer pressure to be sexually active and engage themselves in risky behaviors (Merino 100-109). Anyone deciding to have sex must first think about all the risks involved. Kekla Magoon, author of Sex Education in Schools, says that “half of all teens aged 15 to 19 years old in the United States have had sex” (Magoon 64-65). It is currently not required by federal law for schools to teach Sex education and those few schools that do teach Sex education have the decision to determine how much information is allowed. Advocates from both sides of the Sex education debate agree that teens need positive influences in order to make practical decisions (Magoon 88-89). Opponents of Abstinence-only education believe it fails because it does not prepare teens for all the risks of sex (Magoon 64-65).
Teenage sexual activity is a major problem confronting the nation and has led to a rising incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and teenage pregnancy. The existence of HIV/AIDS has given a sense of urgency to the topic of sex education. The issue of sex education in schools especially in the formative years has been a subject of intense debate among parents, school officials, health scientists and religious authorities worldwide for a considerable period of time. The debate centers on comprehensive sex education versus abstinence-only sex education in school. Abstinence only sex education is a sex education model that focuses on the virtue of abstinence from sexual activities; therefore, encouraging sexual abstinence until marriage. This form of sexual education completely ignores all other elements of comprehensive sexual education like safe sex and reproductive health education issues like the use of contraceptives and birth control methods. Comprehensive sex teaching encourages promiscuous sexual activity as “a natural part of life.” Proponents of abstinence only education activists cite several reasons why this type of education is the best. It focuses on the upholding of moral virtues. They also claim that sex outside marriage hat is “encouraged” by the comprehensive sex education which as a result, has some emotional and physical downfall especially when done at a very young age. They blame the comprehensive sex education for failing to discourage premarital sex especially at this time when the HIV pandemic is busy devouring young people in various parts of the world (Deborah 2). In fairness, both programs were designed to decrease the incidence of STDs...
How does sex education affect teen pregnancy and the AIDs epidemic, and how is it tolerated in schools? For many years sex education in schools has been a controversial topic in the United States. Sex education in schools is highly debated because some think it encourages students to engage in sexual behaviors that can lead to a STD or teen pregnancy.The AIDs epidemic was one reason sex education became mandatory in many states. The younger the students receiving sex education the more effective it seemed to be. The deliberation about sex education in schools explains why it is still a controversial topic in America.
Sex education should be implemented into the U.S. public school system. A study done in 2011 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifies that over forty-seven percent of all high school students say they have had sex, and fifteen percent of high school students have had sex with four or more partners throughout their lifetime. Amid students who had sex in the three months preceding the survey, 60 percent conveyed condom use and 23 percent conveyed birth control pill use during their last sexual encounter. Sexual activity in teens does carry some very harsh consequences. Though the teen birth rate has deteriorated to its lowest levels since information gathering began, the United States still has the highest teen birth rate
Imagine stumbling through a very dark room, unsure of what is in there, but about to make a decision that could potentially change your life forever. This dark room and decision represent someone about to have sex for the first time, after having little knowledge on what sex truly is and the consequences that often times accompany it. Sexual education has been a very big issue for debate in schools all across America. Abstinence-only sex education is a type of instruction where students are taught solely to remain abstinent, which means waiting to have sex until marriage. In these programs, they learn very little information on any type of contraception or sexually transmitted diseases. On the other hand,
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.
Additionally, Dr. S. Paige Hertweck, a doctor who contributed to an American Academy of Pediatrics report on teen sexual activity, states that “teaching abstinence, but not birth control makes it more likely that once teenagers initiate sexual activity they will have unsafe sex and contract sexually transmitted diseases” (“Doctors Denounce Abstinence-only Education”). In South Carolina, state law severely restricts sex education. There can be no discussion of contraception except with reference to marriage, no discussion of abortion, and nothing said about homosexuality except reference to preventing sexually transmitted disease (Caplan). Instead of aiding students, in order to prevent harmful diseases or pregnancy, Abstinence sex education promotes ‘waiting’, which does not prevent teen sexual activity. Saying the only way to avoid pregnancy and STDs is by avoiding sex altogether is like saying that to avoid a skiing injury; do not ski. Now don’t get me wrong, I think abstinence and virginity is a beautiful thing. But virginity is not an inanimate object. You are a human being, not a flower or a unicorn or any other kind of weird analogy. But being touched by other people doesn't make you worthless. Having sex doesn't make you unworthy of love. Being a virgin is not your lone function in this world.
Three million teenagers will contract a sexually transmitted disease and one in three women will become pregnant before they are twenty years old. Teens are contracting sexually transmitted diseases and getting pregnant at an alarming rate causing the government, schools, and parents to scratch their heads. America is the country with the highest teen pregnancy rate in the world. Many are wondering what can be done to stop this. A debate has been going on about whether abstinence only education is doing any good for high school students in America. Abstinence only education teaches teenagers to abstain from all sexual acts until they are married. It does not teach about pregnancy or the different types of contraceptives that are available to prevent pregnancy. On the other hand, there is safe sex education. Safe sex education teaches teenagers facts about intercourse they need to know, acknowledges the potential consequences or risks of sexual behavior, and helps them make better decisions to protect themselves and their bodies.
A 2013 a survey found that roughly 47% of high school students have reported to having sexual intercourse (ReCapp). I conducted a survey among my peers asking them what they recall from sex education class and the followed was said:” I went a catholic school , we were taught only about chastity and abstinence” , “Use condoms, and don’t have sex with a lot of people because you might get an STD”, “How boys and girls go through puberty”, and “My school never taught anything about
After briefly discussing the possible issues to cover in our class discussion, the topic of virginity seemed the most interesting to present to the class. The members of my group had a great discussion earlier in the semester when we briefly covered virginity and all of us were excited to lead the class discussion on the subject. I began to prepare for the project by reviewing the documents multiple times. Each time I read the documents, I would write down my thoughts and use those to formulate discussion questions. In the following paragraphs, I will explore some of my group’s self-generated discussion questions.
“Forty-one percent of teens ages 18-19 said they know nothing about condoms, and seventy-five percent said they know nothing about the contraceptive pill” (Facts on American Teens). Even if schools taught just abstinence it still would not be enough. “In 2007, a study showed that abstinence only programs have no beneficial impact on the sexual behavior of young people” (Facts on American Teens). Sex education is not taken as seriously as it should be in schools, it is treated like it is not a big deal. Schools should require a sex education class that specifically teaches students about sex and goes into depth of all the possible consequences because of the high pregnancy, abortion, and virus rates.
Sex education in our schools has been a hot topic of debate for decades. The main point in question has been whether to utilize comprehensive sex education or abstinence-only curriculum to educate our youth. The popularity of abstinence-only curriculum over the last couple of decades has grown largely due to the United States government passing a law to give funding to states that teach the abstinence-only approach to sex education. But not teaching our children about sex and sexuality is not giving them the information they need to make well educated decisions. Sex education in our schools should teach more than just abstinence-only because these programs are not proven to prevent teens from having sex. Children need to be educated on how to prevent contracting sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies and be given the knowledge to understand the changes to their bodies during puberty. According to the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten-12th Grade from the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), comprehensive sex education “should be appropriate to age, developmental level, and cultural background of students and respect the diversity of values and beliefs represented in the community” (SIECUS).