Sex Education
Sexual Education has created controversy in high school classrooms for decades.
It used to be a question of whether it was appropriate to talk about such a crude subject
with adolescents, especially at school, a place where kids were supposed to focus on
learning. Now it is accepted as a normal class in high school, and most agree is should be
taught, the question is how? As times change, should the way schools teach change as
well? For years schools have taught abstinence-only sex education, which emphasizes
abstinence from sex, and often avoids discussion of use of contraceptives but is this the
most productive way to teach teens about sex, or should young teens be leaning more
The reason abstinence has been
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“Nearly one million young women under age 20 become pregnant each
year, meaning approximately 4 in 10 young women in the U.S. become pregnant at least
once before turning 20 years old” (Statistics on Teens). This shows there is an obvious
need for sex education. Abstinence classes focus on the negative results of their actions
and use an emotional approach, explaining the toll an unwanted pregnancy can take on a
Kids are exposed to sexual content almost every day be it through TV, magazines
or friends. Children mock what they see which is why schools feel it is necessary to teach
our youth that not everything they hear is correct. Sex education classes are aimed to help
the kids understand what sex is in a proper, educational way instead of learning from
outside sources. There are many positives to teaching children at a young age, yet there is
still controversy as to what age is suitable. Our society has created sex into a loose,
carefree subject that is thrown around in all forms of media. This is a big reason why
children need to be taught right from wrong early on, bow how early should these classes
start? There has been much discussion as to what age is too young to be taught
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It 's the
responsibility of parents and educators to set high behavioral standards.” This is not
uncommon thinking, especially when it comes to religious beliefs. It clearly states in the
Ten Commandments that sex before marriage is a sin. This makes teaching young adults
about how to have sage sex difficult because it goes against the beliefs of many people.
Becky Miller states in her very biased article, Sexual Education Verses Safe Sex Ed, that
“sex education encourages promiscuous sexual activity as a natural part of life and
teaches (explicitly) about contraceptive devices, how to use them, and where to get them.
As a Christian, I believe that fornication is sin.”
But what about the fact that there are many teenagers, and even adults that are
having unsafe sex resulting in either pregnancy or and sexually transmitted disease. Does
something need to be done about this? If there is any way of preventing someone from
Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the U.S. in the early 1980s the issue of sex education for American youth has had the attention of the nation. There are about 400,000 teen births every year in the U.S, with about 9 billion in associated public costs. STI contraction in general, as well as teen pregnancy, have put the subject even more so on the forefront of the nation’s leading issues. The approach and method for proper and effective sex education has been hotly debated. Some believe that teaching abstinence-only until marriage is the best method while others believe that a more comprehensive approach, which includes abstinence promotion as well as contraceptive information, is necessary. Abstinence-only program curriculums disregard medical ethics and scientific accuracy, and have been empirically proven to be ineffective; therefore, comprehensive sex education programs which are medically accurate, science-based and empirically proven should be the standard method of sex education for students/children in the U.S.
Everyone has an opinion about sexuality education. From vocal parents at PTA meetings to state governors who must decide whether to apply for federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs or more comprehensive sexuality programs, or both, or neither. From school pri...
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...
Natbony, Jessica. "Sex Education in Schools." Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law. 11. (2010): 273-296. Print.
Sex is a natural, healthy part of our lives and we have the right to a proper sex education in schools. Sex education in schools have been a controversial topic since 1912, which is when teachers began to be trained on how to teach sex education. The main debate today is whether the sex education should focus on abstinence-only programs or comprehensive programs. Abstinence-only programs focus on teaching students that the only socially acceptable time to have sex is during marriage and abstinence is the only way to protect yourself from contracting STD’s and from becoming pregnant. Comprehensive sex education focuses on reducing the spread of STD’s and teen pregnancies by giving you the facts and information of the different forms of contraceptives that are available. Although America’s various cultures have different views of sex education, it’s important to teach students proper sex education in schools because there is hardly any
Sex education in public schools is the first of the four topics I will be discussing. This topic was a no brainer for me to choose, due to the fact that I grew up in the public and private school systems, and am able to connect my personal experiences with the opinions I hold today. Although sex education was not very prominent throughout my educational experience, I believe all students would greatly benefit from the knowledge one can acquire through a diverse sexual education experience. My first experience with sex education came in sixth grade (I’m 22), and unfortunately is the only experience I’ve had, while in the public school system. Although I cannot recall this event in its entirety, I can still remember the minor details.
In the past, sex was something that people tried to avoid talking about it, neither less teaching. Sex became a mystery, and a mystery would always trigger people’s nerves, especially teenager’s curious minds. That leads teenager at that time, who had no idea about sex, wanted to have sex to know about it. And when they had sex without any protection, they easily got STDs or HIV or even pregnancy. The case awakens society that sex education must be taught for students at the very first when they enter middle schools. But the way sex was taught those days was very much different from today. In the article “What the sex educators teach” posted on the Opposing View Point in Context website, Dana Mack has written about her experience when taking sex education class when she was a teen: “At the age of ten or eleven, girls and boys were herded into separate rooms - usually in the company of a parent. There, in industrial-gray pictures and solemn monotones, they were introduced to the world of gametes, ovaries, and menstruation. Not exactly titillating material, this reproductive information.” (Mack). Back in those days when sex was a newly revealed topic and sex education program had just been operated, people are still very shy to talk about sex and they often avoid having this kind of
In today’s school systems, students are taught the basics: math, history, language arts, and science. However, what they are also “taught” is sex education. Currently, when people think of how they were taught sex education in high school, most would say something along the lines of that they were taught the anatomy, and they were taught to never actually use it. This approach to sex education has been going on for decades, and despite being proven unsuccessful countless times, continues to be taught in this fashion because this is what makes the people happy. There have been numerous attempts to try and change this system to something that would benefit teenagers, but these attempts never were able to be put into affect due a laundry list
Kayla Bell writes, in the article Abstinence Is Only Sure Way to Prevent Pregnancy, STDs, that Roslyn Murphy, the mother of an 11 year old boy, believes that she and her husband should be the ones to tell their son what is right and wrong. Murphy said "As a parent, I need to teach my children about sex education, and biblically, I believe in what God is saying -- to reiterate the reasoning for not having sex." While many studies prove that this method is ineffective, advocates who are pro-abstinence stand by their decision and have statistics of their own to point out. For example, a study conducted in 2010 found that a third of the six and seventh graders who participated in abstinence-only education reported that they had sex two years later. About half of the other students who did not partake in the course reported having sex in the same time period, but the two groups' reported the use of condoms were the same (Bell).
Comprehensive sex education should be taught in public schools. The youth of today cannot make educated decisions regarding sex if they are not properly educated. Not educating America’s youth in all aspects of sex education is comparable to allowing them to drive without being taught. This choice of not allowing comprehensive sex education is schools is dangerous and can have life long consequences. These consequences will not only affect the individual but can ultimately affect America. It is vital for Americans to begin giving their youth the education that is needed.
Though the teen birth rate has declined to its lowest levels since data collection began, the United States still has the highest teen birth rate in the industrialized world. Roughly, one in four girls will become pregnant at least once by their 20th birthday. In addition, young people ages 15 to 24 represent 25 percent of the sexually active population, but acquire half of all new STIs.
Sex education can help our young people develop positive mindsets and have safe actions that will in the long run keep their bacterial level low and keep them healthy. It will help keep our youth safe. It will help reduce the number of deaths in young lives do to sexual transmitted diseases. It will reduce the number of young pregnancy percentage as well.
First, sex education gives the children general knowledge about the sexual side of life, such as the differences between boys and girls and puberty. Teachers must clearly and intelligibly ...
The abstinence–only program teaches that the best way to prevent pregnancy is to avoid having sexual intercourse. Though true, there is more to sex education then teaching the act of sex itself. Sexuality, contraception, consent, and the dangers of STI’s are important topics that should not be glossed over for
Many schools are now including sexual education in their required curriculum. Sex education can be taught to all grades, senior though preschool although this is more focused on middle to high school ages. Planned parenthood helps push sex education into school and suggests that school teach this to the middle school and high school students. This would help the student in the long run with the many unanswered question that could be to embarrassing to ask the parents. The youth are being more sexualized earlier in life; this could help with all the questions left unanswered that teens have. This subject alone would affect students more then any other subject demanded by the schools system these days. Sex education should be a required for high