Sexual Education in Public Schools: A Controversial Debate

When it comes to deciding on whether sexual education should be taught in public schools, there is always a disagreement. The disagreement comes from the students’ parents who have very different opinions which may end up clashing. Should sexual education be taught in public schools, and should sexual education courses taught be abstinence-only? “Despite statistics that demonstrate a high level of sexual activity and risk-taking behavior among U.S. teens, Congress has allocated well over half a billion dollars since 1997 for educational programs that focus on helping young people make responsible, healthy, and safe decisions about sexual activity.” (American Civil Liberties Union). Some feel that it is a good idea, and others feel as though

There was a study called "Emerging Answers 2007: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases," that was conducted by Douglas Kirby, Ph.D. “The study was used to figure out the effectiveness of both abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and comprehensive sexuality education to draw broader conclusions and identify trends. The study did find that two-thirds of the comprehensive programs examined had at least one positive sexual behavioral effect. In fact, 40 percent of the comprehensive programs examined achieved the three important effects of delaying the initiation of sexual intercourse, reducing the number of sexual partners, and increasing condom or contraceptive use.” (Malone, Patrick, and Monica Rodriguez). The principle behind the courses would be to prevent the spread of common diseases among the youth today. Once the students learn about what could happen if they are having sex and aren’t protecting themselves, most of the time it leads to students wanting to make better

My reasoning behind this is just because they are being taught abstinence does not mean that is what they are doing. It is better to teach them how to protect themselves if they are doing it, than to just tell them to not have sex. Without full and accurate information, the sexual active teens cannot protect themselves. “The main difference between abstinence-based and comprehensive approaches to sex education is that comprehensive approaches do not focus either solely or so closely on teaching young people that they should abstain from sex until they are married. Although they do explain to young people the potential benefits of delaying having sex until they are emotionally and physically ready, they also make sure that they are taught how to protect themselves from infections and pregnancy when they do decide to have sex.” (Forrest, Simon). In other words, courses that are not just abstinence-only will not only focus on trying to get students to not have sex. The general sexual education courses will teach the students that waiting will be beneficial, but if they are not waiting the courses will teach them how to stay