Sex education in public schools has been a controversial issue in the United States for over a decade. With the HIV and teen pregnancy crises growing, sex education is needed.
Some of the American public believe that sex education should be taught at home by the children's parents. They feel that sex education programs in schools do not put an emphasis on abstinence and encourages children to have sexual intercourse.
American culture is very sexually oriented. Sex can be seen all over the media. Charles Krauthammer stated, "Sex oozes from every pore of the culture and there's not a kid in the world who can avoid it"(Bender).
After being faced with sex on an everyday basis, the independent teens of today will make their own decisions on whether or not to have sex. The important thing is to make sure that they know all aspects of it. Reality-based sexuality education gives young people an understanding of positive sexuality. I t also provides sexual health information and skills on decision making(What). Subjects include sexual development, reproduction, relationships, affection, intimacy, body image and gender roles(What ).
Successful sex education programs have several high points. The high points include exercises to encourage the appraisals of values, and skills in which students are taught how to negotiate while in sexual situations (" What type" )
The majority of this nation favors sexuality education in public schools. Surveys show that eighty-nine percent of the citizens support it(What). Should the other eleven percent of the country be able to decide upon what the children of the United States learn and not learn in public schools? The eleven percent's only argument against sex education is that they feel that sex education encourages teens to experiment with sex. This reasoning is based on absolutely nothing. There is no evidence that proves that sex education causes anything negative. This country is a democracy.
A study conducted on teens in Sweden and the Netherlands showed that teens in those countries were just as sexually active, but the teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rate was much lower. Researchers say this is due to sex education that begins in elementary school and continues on(Bender p.13). Only ten percent of American school-age youth participate in a comprehensive program lasting at least forty hours(deMauro p.89). Teens in America also score low on questionnaires based on sexual knowledge(Gordon p.
At the start of the play, we are introduced to the Birlings who are no
So we already know that Mr Birling is a man of some meaning who is
One of the ways in which he presents Mr. Birling is by him being guilty by just looking after his business interests. He cares more for success than for others and don’t consider the harm he may cause to people because of his attitudes. Birling fires the character Eva Smith from the play. He says ‘she was one of my employees and I discharged her’. He wanted to make more money and higher profits, but
In Act 1, the Birling’s are celebrating their daughter’s engagement to Gerald Croft, which would merge two business competitors (the Birling’s and the Croft’s), which would result in higher profits - being the most beneficial to Mr Birling. In Act 1, Priestley heavily relies on the audience’s knowledge of past events for dramatic irony - Priestley uses Birling’s optimism as he raves about Titanic: “the Titanic - she sails next week - forty-six thousand eight hundred tons - New York in five days - and every luxury, and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.” which is about go into a world that will avoid conflict. Ironically, Priestley already introduced conflict as Birling’s views conflict with the reality of what is about to cause unease in Britain.
talks with. He is a man who has come to the Birling's house to do his
A ‘sharp ring is heard of the front door bell’ interrupting Mr. Birling’s dialogue that explicates “that a man has to make his own way- has to look after himself” as though the ‘sharpness’ of the ring is opposing Birling’s ‘solemnity’ in his words. The stage direction instantly demonstrates juxtaposition between the Birling and the other anonymous individual; this also generates tension because of the fact that the individual is yet to be introduced. Eric felt very ‘uneasy’ after Edna said to Birling that an Inspector has arrived which gives the audience clues of Eric being involved in a crime, Eric’s uneasiness also makes Birling ‘sharply’ stare at Eric- this creates suspense for the audience.
Provided that when the play was introduced, it can be seen as that Mrs. Birling
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).
simply believes in what he says. He is a limited man, who is shown to
The Importance of Birling's Interaction with the Inspector in Act One of An Inspector Calls
Throughout the opening of the first act, Priestly portrays Birling as a confident and authoritative character, who enjoys being in control. This becomes apparent during his toast to Gerald and Sheila on their engagement when, although he begins talking about how “it's one of the happiest nights of my life” and that the engagement means “a tremendous lot” to him. He soon begins to drift from the subject and returns to talking about business:
Mr Birling is the father, and leader of the Birling family. He is described by Priestly as a ''Portentous'' man. Throughout the first act, we see Arthur Birling being conveyed by the play write as a rather pompous and foolish character. He shows no remorse or concern for his wrongful actions, unless they affect his reputation. Birling is also portrayed as a defiant capitalist and extremely narrow minded.
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.
In act 1, while Arthur Birling was giving advice to Eric and Gerald, an Inspector gives them a visit to investigate a young working-class girl’s suicidal death. This is very important because later on, we find out how J. B. Priestley has linked the girl’s death to all the Birling family members.
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...