Attitudes Toward Sex Education

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Sex is huge, sex is important; everyone cares and has something to say about sex. Sex sells. Sex is an immense part of life for almost everyone in the nation and the world, including youth. Teens hear about sex from their friends, from the shows they watch on television, from the music they listen to, and sometimes, once in a while, they hear about it as discussed by their parents and teachers in an educational context. In a Center For Disease Control (CDC) report from the year 2000, about 65% of 19 year-old teens were currently sexually active, with another 20% unsure if they would chose to be active or not in the near future, and only the remaining 15% choosing to be abstinent from sex at this age. Obviously the majority of teens are engaging in some nature of sexual activity at a relatively early age, and therefore it is important that they learn about the consequences associated with sex and about safe sexual practices, like using protection and being informed about sexual transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy. It was reported by the Alan Guttmacher Institute that approximately 4 in 10 young women in the U.S. become pregnant at least once before turning 20 years old. It was also reported that in the U.S., one in four sexually active teens become infected with an STD every year. With alarming statistics such as these, it is a given that these teens must be well informed before making a decision that could very well alter their lives. The overwhelming majority of parents and other adults surveyed believe that some form of sex education should be taught in schools today. When asked "Would you be for or against sex education in the public schools?" in 2004 by the General Social Survey (GSS) over 90% o... ... middle of paper ... ...rds to the research question. Overall however, I believe this was a good start to performing a study on this interesting and important topic. Sources Boseley, Sarah. Europeans reject abstinence message in split with US on Aids. The Guardian. December 1, 2005. Colby, Edward B. Schooled. Columbia Journalism Review. September 1, 2005, Vol. 44 Issue 3. Feldman, Sally. Why I'm Glad My Daughter Had Underage Sex. Humanist. Nov/Dec 2004, Vol. 64 Issue 6. Jayson, Sharon. Teens Define Sex in New Ways. USA TODAY. October 19, 2005. Ubell, E. Sex-education programs that work-and some that don't. Parade Magazine. February 12, 1995. Walter, HJ & Vaugh RD. AIDS risk reduction among a multi-ethnic sample of urban high school students. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1993. New England Primer Website http://neprimer.com NPR website www.npr.org

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