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Sex Education Should be taught in Schools
Sex is a natural act that most people do at some time in their life. A lot of people become sexually active in their teenage years. How are they supposed to learn about the precautions of sex? Sex education in schools has been debated for years in congress. Also, many parents have an opinion on whether or not they want their kids to learn about sex in a school setting. I, on the other hand, believe that sex education should be taught to teenagers in schools. Teenagers should learn the correct ways to use contraceptives; they should learn about sexually transmitted diseases; they should learn the risks and precautions of pregnancy. Practicing safe sex is extremely important and teenagers should
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There are a few different levels of seriousness of sexually transmitted diseases. Some sexually transmitted diseases are curable, others stay with someone the rest of their lives, and finally, several can be life threatening. Molly Masland states that, “…teens are paying the price by contracting dangerous — and sometimes deadly — sexually transmitted diseases.” Teens are not learning about the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and do not know how to prevent them because they are not mandated to learn about them. Since teens are not being taught about sexually transmitted diseases, they are coming into contact with them. I believe that teens should be taught about the different kinds of sexually transmitted diseases and the symptoms of each so they have some knowledge about them. Also, they should be able to know about which diseases are life-threatening and which ones will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Learning about sexually transmitted diseases is important to anyone who is going to become sexually active in the future. Students must learn about these infections in order to prevent them as well as determine the differences between all of …show more content…
Teenagers need to learn about birth control, sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy. Without learning about these risks, teenagers could change the outlook of the rest of their lives. Sex is a serious matter and is not to be taken lightly, which is why teenagers should go through a comprehensive sex education
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.
Two drastic Emergency Room cases were handled in 1998 at Mary Washington Hospital. Concerned mothers brought their 12 year old daughters into the hospital thinking they were suffering from severe stomach pain or even appendicitis…both girls were actually in labor (Abstinence, 2002). The United States has the highest teen pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates in the Western world (Planned Parenthood, 2003). Are teens getting enough knowledge on sex and how to prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancies? Another heartbreaking statistic is that teenagers have the highest rate of STDs of any age group, with one in four young people contracting an STD by the age of 21 (Sex-Ed Work, 2003). Is sex education really working in school? Or do we need to change the type of curricula that is taught? There is no question that sex education should be taught in schools, but the question is how? The purpose of this paper is to determine which curricula of sex education should be taught in schools to be most effective in lowering STD and pregnancy rates among teenagers.
The controversy of whether sex education should be taught in schools has been a lingering argument for years. Opposing sides are so firm on their position that they will not consider those whose opinions counter their own, making it difficult to come up with a solution. Those who are against the teaching of sex education in school feel that they should be the ones educating their children about sex and that sex should be abstained from until marriage. On the other hand, people who support sexual education programs believe their children will learn the importance of contraception, learn how to have sex through the teachings of a professional, and how they can help open up better relationships with their parents.
There has been a heated debate over the years on whether sex education should be taught at schools instead of abstinence-only. Many believe that talking about sex in the classroom raises the initiation of such behavior, and by stressing discipline, self-control, and self-respect, advocates argue, abstinence-only programs build character in students. Others believe that ignoring the subject keeps teens in the dark which leads them to make unsafe decisions when they become sexually active. In order to fix this problem schools should teach Sex Education, but emphasize that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.
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.
Why should comprehensive sex education be allowed in schools? Should teens be exposed to comprehensive sex education? Sex education should be taught in school because it give children stable and accurate information , it informs them of the danger and diseases associated with sex, and it teaches them about safe sex options.
Starting at an earlier period of time increases the chance of healthy life choices to become a lifestyle, and allow the students to become accustom to healthy sex lifestyles. Sex education classes provide knowledge about various sexually transmitted diseases and how they are transmitted, safe sex, different contraceptives, and consequences of choosing not to practice safe sex. Providing adolescence with this type of knowledge would decrease STD rates. For example, many adolescent do not know that STDs can be transmitted while performing oral sex or they do not know that they can become pregnant their first time having sex. The awareness of different contraceptives that are offered would help decrease the rate of unwanted teen pregnancies. Most adolescent drop out of high school in order to work jobs or to stay home and care for their children. Changing the trend of unwanted teen pregnancies would result in more high school graduates, which would set the foundation for successful, responsible adults.
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.
Overall, my point of view is that sexual education should be taught in school. It’s a subject that should not be looked over and should be taught before you go to high school when those things come into play. This is my point of view because boys and girls need to know about their bodies, know about STD’s, and know the different types of methods to prevent pregnancy. Sexual education should be taught regardless. Another important thing that everyone needs to learn are the different ways to stay protected so that you do not end up getting pregnant, or getting a girl pregnant. Instead of having unprotected intercourse they need to either use a condom, or be on some sort of birth control. There are many ways to be able to prevent pregnancy but they also need to know that you are never fully guaranteed that pregnancy won’t occur. They need to be informed
For that reason, teen should be fully educated on the dos and don’ts when it comes to sex. Telling a youth that they should simply wait till marriage would intensify their curiosity about sex and push them to try it. Sex education is necessary for public schools; however, it should not be abstinence-only.
Sex education in our schools has been a hot topic of debate for decades. The main point in question has been whether to utilize comprehensive sex education or abstinence-only curriculum to educate our youth. The popularity of abstinence-only curriculum over the last couple of decades has grown largely due to the United States government passing a law to give funding to states that teach the abstinence-only approach to sex education. But not teaching our children about sex and sexuality is not giving them the information they need to make well educated decisions. Sex education in our schools should teach more than just abstinence-only because these programs are not proven to prevent teens from having sex. Children need to be educated on how to prevent contracting sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies and be given the knowledge to understand the changes to their bodies during puberty. According to the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten-12th Grade from the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), comprehensive sex education “should be appropriate to age, developmental level, and cultural background of students and respect the diversity of values and beliefs represented in the community” (SIECUS).
Nineteen-fifty five marked the debut of sex education programs in schools in the United States. Along the years, many have argued whether or not sex education should be taught in schools. Many believe that the education of sex encourages students to engage in sexual activities which lead to a higher number of pregnancies and sexual transmitted diseases (STD’s). As the number of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases climbs higher and higher every day in our country, one can only think that sexual education is a necessity in our school systems. Teens as young as fourteen years old have admitted to already engaging in sexual activities. No teen should be engaging in such acts at that age. Many schools give parents the choice to have their child opt out of the lesson or class. Few states are required to teach sex education to students in secondary schools unless they were withdrawn from the class by their parents.
“Forty-one percent of teens ages 18-19 said they know nothing about condoms, and seventy-five percent said they know nothing about the contraceptive pill” (Facts on American Teens). Even if schools taught just abstinence it still would not be enough. “In 2007, a study showed that abstinence only programs have no beneficial impact on the sexual behavior of young people” (Facts on American Teens). Sex education is not taken as seriously as it should be in schools, it is treated like it is not a big deal. Schools should require a sex education class that specifically teaches students about sex and goes into depth of all the possible consequences because of the high pregnancy, abortion, and virus rates.
Overall, sex is supposed to be responsible, which means that it must be safe for the person as well as his or her partner, and it assumes knowledge. Society has to provide classes in sexual education in order to not force adolescents to gain this knowledge on their own experience. Schools, where children spend much of their time, are the most appropriate place for children to receive information about sex, relationships, and sexually transmitted infections. Consequently, children and adolescents who have sex education classes know more about sexuality, and their knowledge is more reliable.
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...