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The importance of gender education in school
A paper on Comprehensive Sexual Education
Should sexual education be taught in schools
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Recommended: The importance of gender education in school
Should sex education be taught in elementary, middle and/or high school? If so what should you cover at each level?
In this day children are learning more and more at such a young age, some children even sound like adults when they speak because they are so advanced. I’m also seeing a trend with young ladies getting pregnant in high school and even middle school. With that said I think that sex education should begin to be taught at a younger age. Young minds are very curious. I have had conversations with daycare providers about incidences where a child was questioning the difference between and male and female private parts and I believe if they’re already questioning we need to have answers so as they become more curious as the get older they will have the proper tools to aid in their curiosity. Many people think that the best way to cover sex education at all levels is to teach abstinence, in fact 37 states require that abstinence be taught when sex education covered (Sonfield, 2012). But sex education can be covered appropriately at level by increasing students’ knowledge of the subject as they progress from elementary to high school./
According to a report containing what is now appropriate for elementary schools to teach regarding sex education, “by the time they leave elementary school, children should be able to define sexual orientation” (Harrington, 2012). Some may say to teach sex education to early elementary student is a little too early which is a valid point. But sometimes I think parents forget today is completely different from yesterday. What went on while our parents were in grade school is completely different from what’s going on now and I would like for the youth to be prepared rather than caught in a stic...
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Florsheim, L. (2013, November 7). If College Students Can't Say What 'Consent' Is, Then We Should Teach It Sooner. Retrieved from New Republic: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115506/consent-high-school-sex-education-why-we-should-teach-it
Gresle-Favier, C. (2010). The legacy of abstinence-only discourses and the place of pleasure in US discourses on teenage sexuality. Sex Education, 413-422.
Harrington, E. (2012, January 17). Begin Sex Ed in Kindergarten, Says New ‘National Standards’ Report. Retrieved from CNS News: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/begin-sex-ed-kindergarten-says-new-national-standards-report
Lamb, S. (2013). Just The Facts? The Separation Of Sex Education From Moral Education. Educational Theory, 443-460.
Sonfield, A. (2012). Sex education remains active battleground. Washington Watch, 34-36.
How many girls have you see around school who are pregnant? Do you ever come to think that they may not have had the “sex talk” with their parents or any sort of sex education at school? “The United Stated still has the highest teen pregnancy rate of any industrialized country. About 40 percent of American women become pregnant before the age of 20. The result is about 1 million pregnancies each year among women ages 15 to 19.” (The Annie E. Casey Foundation) At the age 15-20 most teen males and females don’t have a stable job and are still going to school. There is much at risk when a male and female decide to have sexual intercourse. Having a sex education class would help decrease the teen pregnancy rate. Learning what one can do to prevent a teen pregnancy and the consequences that can lead up to it, will help reduce the amount of sexual activity among teens. Having a sex education class that is required will benefit the upcoming teens of the next generation. Some parents don’t want their teens to have premarital sex and some parents don’t want the schools to be the ones responsible to teach their kids about sex education because they feel like it’s their job. There has been much controversy on sex education being taught at school.
Many different elements contribute to the controversy of abstinence vs. comprehensive, including the recent gay and lesbian equal rights controversy (in which the gay and lesbian community are fighting for and sometimes denied the right to marry), contradictory studies, and the religious beliefs of those involved. So what is the right way to teach teens about sex? As a huge factor in how teens see themselves, those around them, and intimate relationships, that is a question in need of an answer. Patrick Malone, director of communications for Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), and Monica Rodriguez, president and CEO of SIECUS, (2013) state that:
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).
“Throughout the 1980’s these arguments began to lose legitimacy as the American republic reiterated its support (Fose)”. “Although this topic is highly debated, 93 percent of Americans support “sex or sexuallity” courses being taught in high school and 84 percent supports teachings in junior high (Fose)”. More people requested sex education because of the AIDs epidemic. The AIDs epidemic cau...
...pe of sex education have the highest birth rates among teens. . Also indisputable is the increase economic drain in treating teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease in a country already overwhelmed by debt. In my opinion I firmly believe preventative education is a must, the statistics speak for themselves school age teenagers are sexually active. Which makes it a social responsibility to assist them in understanding the means to minimize the risk that entails. "sticking our head in the sand" and saying it does not exists is simply socially irresponsible.
“Sex Education Is The Key To Curbing Teen Sex.” Teen Sex. Olivia Ferguson. Michigan: Greenhaven Press, 2011. 29-39.
This education should start early for children before they reach puberty age, and before they make wrong actions. Giving education about this subject to students at a young age will give them more knowledge about it. “Providing basic information provides the foundation on which more complex knowledge is built up over time.” (http://www.avert.org/sex-education-works.htm#sthash.o4PTFWFA.dpuf)
Currently, sex education in schools is primarily centered on the distribution of information without elaborating about the moral implications dealing with sex. Teenagers are well versed on things such as how long sperm lives inside the body and can identify all of the workings of the female reproductive system. However, they are still getting pregnant and still contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Anna Quindlen examines this trend in her essay, “Sex Ed”. Quindlen points out that it is the moral implications of sex that have been left out of the curriculum and it is the responsibility of parents to make those moral connections with their children (277). Understanding the morality of sex, she argues, may help teenagers to make more informed decisions on taking the next step towards sexual activity. They must understand that “…when you sleep with someone you take off a lot more than your clothes” (Quindlen 277). Sex is not simply a...
Wen, S.H., J.D. Zeng, and M.L. Ng. 1990. Sex and Moral Education. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing.
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.
Martinez, Gladys, Joyce Abma, and Casey Copen. “Educating Teenagers About Sex In The United States”. CDC.GOV. Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Feb.2014
First of all, the main reason children have sex prematurely is because they are curious. Students lack knowledge about sex because they haven’t been taught about it, however, when children know the consequences behind their actions and the risks they are taking they less likely to want to have sex. If we take the time to show kids what it is like to take care of a child as a teenager or show them AIDS victims; they may be much less likely to want to indulge in sexual activities. Sex education probably can’t prevent teenage sex, but it can ensure students have the knowledge they need so they’ll be aware of what they are getting themselves into.
I believe that schools should teach sexual education. I think this because kids that are in school during this age do know or respect the dangers of being sexual active. They don 't know what it means to be protected, They will know about their own bodies and that of other genders. I believe they will have a new found respect for themselves and others. Teaching about it encourages students to develop themselves into better people. Anyone who values themselves and others are better equipped to develop great relationships with others. Pupils are able to take great positive approaches to managing their lives and develop skills that are needed to prepare them for the challenges that lay ahead. Not all parents inform their children about sexual
Rates of sexually transmitted disease and teen pregnancy are higher in the United States than in any other domesticated country. Not surprising since American culture has brought sex to the forefront over the last few decades. The need for comprehensive sex education in schools can teach children that the romanticized relationships and sexual interactions in the media aren’t showing the whole story. For children with ...
Before moving on, one must know that sex education is about, but not limited to the discussion of sexual intercourse. As a Buzzle article states, it involves a multitude of topics that introduce human sexual behaviors such as puberty, sexual health, sexual reproduction, sexuality, and more (Iyer). If formally received in school, these topics are brought up and discussed at age-appropriate times over the course of children’s junior high and high school education. Moreover, as I have introduced earlier, the way sex education should be taught is divided into two approaches. It is between taking either a conservative, abstinence-only approach or a more liberal, comprehensive approach. Abstinence-only education, approaches students by stressing the importance of “no sex before marriage” as be...