A parent does not want to think about their little middle schooler having sex. It is not possible. They are too young at this age. We all want to think this. Are middle schoolers really having sex? If so, what should we (parents, teachers, etc.) do about it?
The media talks about preteens and teens and sex but how close is this to the truth? We have heard about rainbow parties in which girls would wear different colors of lipstick and take turns servicing a boy until they left rainbow rings with their lipstick (Young, 2006). Though this may have happened, it is not a common occurrence. Linda Perlstein, who spent a year attending classes at a middle school in Maryland, says that the media sensationalizes it. She says that while it is likely that your child is not having sex, it is very likely that he or she is hearing a lot of talk about it at lunch and throughout the school day (Shreve, 2005).
That being said, sexual intercourse among youth is being initiated earlier. At this time middle schoolers are starting to become aware of their sexual feelings and some of the students are starting to act on these feelings. From 1960-1991, the fertility rate for girls aged 10-14 rose from 0.8 to 1.4 (Lederman & Mian, 2003). It almost doubled and it was even higher in some places. A more recent national study has shown that twelve to fifteen percent of seventh graders report having sexual experience (De Rosa, et al., 2010). It is believed that poor contraceptive use is the primary reason for both of these problems. A study by the National Center for Health Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control noted that four percent of thirteen and fourteen year olds are having oral sex (Young, 2006).
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Lederman, R. P., & Mian, T. S. (2003). The Parent-Adolescent Relationship Education (PARE) Program: A Curriculum for Prevention of STDs and Pregnancy in Middle School Youth. Behavioral Medicine, 33-41.
Magnusson, B. M., Masho, S. W., & Lapane, K. L. (2012). Early Age at First Intercourse and Subsequent Gaps in Contraceptive Use. Journal of Women's Health, 73-79.
Shreve, J. (2005, January). The Hidden Lives of Middle Schoolers. 37-39.
Sifferlin, A. (2014). Sexting in Middle School Means More Sex for Preteens and Teens. Time.Com.
Urzillo, R. (2007). A School Distric Responds to A Book Challenge. Library Media Connection, 40-41.
Washington Times, O. 2. (2007). D.C. Ponders Comprehensive Sexuality Education. Contemporary Sexuality, 12.
Young, C. (2006). The Great Fellatio Scare: Is Oral Sex Really the Latest Teen Craze? Reason, pp. 18-20.
Chen, Grace. “Schools, Parents, and Communities Should Contribute to Educating Teens About Sex.” Teenage Sexuality. Ed. Aarti D. Stephens. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. From “Public Schools and Sex Education.” Public School Review. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
In 1995 a study was conducted to see how many teenagers were sexually active or had been involved sexually in any way. The study revealed that, by the age of sixteen, 50% of teenagers in the U.S have had been involved in sexual intercourse (Oberman, 1994). There was another study that was conducted statewide surveying young girls from 8th grade to 12th grade. The survey asked about what age was the young girls when they first had sex and the age of their sexual partners. The survey excluded intercourse that was by force. Girls who were between the ages thirteen to eighteen did not have a partner that was much older than them. However younger girls between the ages of eleven to twelve said that their partners were five or more years older (Leitenberg, 2000).
From a young age, children are bombarded by images of the rich and the famous engaging in torrid public affairs or publicly discussing their increasingly active sex lives. No longer is sex education left to teachers and parents to explain, it is constantly in our faces at the forefront of our society. Regardless of sex education curriculums and debates about possible changes, children and teenagers are still learning everything they think there is to know about sex from very early on in their young lives. However, without responsible adults instructing them on the facts about sex, there are more likely to treat sex in a cavalier and offhanded fashion. According to Anna Quindlen’s essay Sex Ed, the responsibility of to education children about sex is evenly distributed between teachers and parents.
Arielle Massiah SW 7300 Sunday, March 29, 2015 Article Critique Teenage Sexuality and Media Practice: Factoring in the Influences of Family, Friends, and School Jeanne Rogge Steele Literature Review and Theoretical/ Conceptual Framework The social problem that the research addresses is the outrageously high rate of unprotected teenage sexual engagement and encounters. The problem was made apparent due to a survey that disclosed that not only had “three quarters of the 2,439 participants engage in sexual intercourse by their senior year, half of the participants reported that they did not use condoms and one third of the population failed to allocate the use of birth control at all; drastically increasing their exposure to HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy”. Steele, 1999, p. 339.
(1985) Sexual education and sexual experience among adolescents. American Journal of Public Health: Vol. 78, No. 1, pp. 113-117. 75, No. 58, No.
Due to children developing early in their middle school stage between 9 and 12 years of age in life, middle school is the best time to start talking to students about sex and how to be safe about it. Middle school is the time puberty starts for most children, and hormones start to influence the way children are changing, so that most teenagers are concerned to have sex because of c...
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
The government likes to pretend that if high school students get taught the “abstinence-only” method they would never think of taking part in sexual activities. Statistically this is incorrect. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “56 percent of high school students are virgins”(Martin). For the 56 percent abstinence only is doing them well, but there are still 44 percent of high school students engaging in sex without knowing the precau...
Adolescence is the longest period of development that is characterized by rapid physical growth, reproductive maturity and psychosocial advancement (Fantasia, 2008). This developmental phase brings sexual intercourse in to consideration for the adolescent. Adolescent sex is the popular thing to do. In the 1980s and 1990s, adolescents were being taught that sex was a taboo and when married. Since puberty is occurring at a younger age, marriage is delayed until later in life. A growing number of sexually transmitted diseases occur more frequently in adolescents (Fantasia, 2008). In society today, sex among adolescents is on the rise due to lack of education, lack of parental influence, and peer pressure.
Research has shown that teenagers are listening to messages that is not realistic from the media about sex (Bersamin et al., 2010). Adolescents are getting this false idea about sex that is just fun, most likely can end in a great committed loving relationship, and it has no consequences along with
In America, a significant problem we should look at is regarding sexually active young teens. It seems that almost every teen is sexually active. They are having sex at such a early age. A question that rings in our minds, is do they truly even know what sex is? Growing up, Catholic teachings instructed myself to wait until marriage. They say premarital sex is a sin. Now, not only are churches teaching abstinence, but, schools as well. Premarital sex is a important growing problem: that usually results in a unwanted pregnancy, in some cases; forced abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, ultimate emotions of remorse. Sexual relations among teens is a problem not only for them, but possibly their children and America as a whole.
Introduction to the Topic This paper reflects how the education of sexual activity is taught in public school systems. The paper will focus on the changes that sex education has undergone the past few years throughout schools. It also examines the different tactics that have been used in the past to eliminate teen pregnancy and unhealthy sexual practices. Sex education is the result of an epidemic in the 1800’s fueled by syphilis and cholera.
When surveyed randomly, 89% of parents stated that they prefer a comprehensive sex education program for their children, citing the importance of learning the consequences of their [the children’s’] actions, the importance of providing complete information, and the inevitability of adolescent sex regardless of accurate or incomplete information (California Department of Education, Frequently Asked Questions, 2016). While it may seem cynical to think that “kids will have sex anyway,” this thought process provides for an appropriate amount of planning for the sex education courses that will educate and prepare the teens/adolescents for any surprise situations. By conducting this survey and gathering this data, we recognize that opinions are changing, so should our sex education curriculum. According to a study conducted by C. Collins, M.P.P, parents typically believe that their children need “basic information about sex and sexual self protection “ (Collins, 2002). By providing these classes in grade school and upward, we are empowering children to make safe choices for
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
Adolescence is a time during which societal and family values, attitudes, and behaviors are learned. This period in a person’s life is marked by challenges and difficulties in self-exploration and identification. Sexual relationships are especially challenging and difficult for adolescent women and men. Teenage fertility is a reality for most countries that needs to be dealt with effectively. It is necessary that young people are educated about STDs, health risks, and contraception and that societies on the whole are made more aware of teenage sexuality.