Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Sexual education in school essay 200
The importance of gender education in school
The basics of sexual education
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Sexual education in school essay 200
Sexual Education
How did you learn about sex? Odds are your parents reluctantly explained “the birds and the bees” to you around the time you learned about it in school. When you were young, you may have heard the Stork story, in which a huge bird carries children to their parents when the parents are ready for a baby. As you grew older and more inquisitive, they may have given you the classic “When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much….” Then, in your teenage years, you learned about the exact names, places and complications involved with sex. Immature sex jokes are inevitable, and sometimes found as very funny, but with all events that revolve around sex, you have learned more and more. The school, your parents, peers and your religion have played major roles in your current beliefs on sex. Children need to have sexual education in late elementary school or early middle school because more sexual education has contributed to less teen pregnancies and abortions, some parents may neglect to explain some factors to their children, and they may not know very much about the subject themselves, and religion may not offer enough information to be entirely safe.
Teen Pregnancy and abortion rates have been declining during the past few years, although the United States still has the highest rates in the industrialized world. In teenagers, the ones who have received an adequate sexual education have lower pregnancy and abortion rates the in teens with inadequate education or in abstinence-only programs. Sexual education contributes for 50% lower risk for teen pregnancy than abstinence programs (SIECUS, 2008). Did you know most teens that get pregnant in high school don’t finish high school, let alone college? They’re also more li...
... middle of paper ...
...efore they learn about it from other children or the media. This will help them make responsible decisions as a young adult.
Works Cited
Bryner, J. (2009, September 16). Teen Birth Rates Higher in Highly Religious States. Retrieved February 9, 2014, from LiveScience:
Kesterton, D. (2012, May 30). Sex Education: What Role Should Parents Play. Retrieved February 9, 2014, from The Guardian:
SIECUS. (2008, March 8). National Data Shows Comprehensive Sex Education Better at Reducing Teen Pregnancy. (Sexual Information and Education Council of the United States.) Retrieved February 9, 2014, from SIECUS:
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.
Masland, Molly. “The Sex Education Debate: An Overview.” Sex Education. Ed. Kristen Bailey. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. At issue. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
In May 2006 the silence cries of Kaylib Neal began to fill the delivery room as young Kizzy Neal slightly tilts her head with the energy she has left to take a glace at her new son. Although this moment is one of the happiest times of Kizzys life, she still wishes she could have waited to experience this moment at a later time in her life. At the age of only thirteen, Kizzy is one among the thousands of teenage girls who become pregnant each year in the United States. According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 34% percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20. Eight in ten of these teen pregnancies are unintended and 79% are to unmarried teens. There are many preliminary causes for such a high In Kizzy’s case, the blame is put on the lack of sexual education within her school. She claims that because she did not received adequate information on this subject, she was unaware of what she was getting herself into. The question is: will the opportunity to experience sex education classes make a difference in preventing teen pregnancy? Sexual education, in a broad sense, is a series of courses taken by adolescents throughout their school years in order gain a better understanding of aspects that pertain to sexual activity. Beginning as early as third grade, the students learn what sex is, what its consequences are and how to prevent those consequences. Being of the main consequences of engaging in sexual activity, Teen Pregnancy is commonly spoken about within these classes. Given that teens are being informed of this consequences within accurate sex ed. Classes, providing comprehensive classes in a school environment does not cause an increase in teen pregnancy.
The birth rate among teens in the United States has declined 9% from 2009 to 2010, a historic low among all racial and ethnic groups, with the least being born in 2010; and in 2011 the number of babies born to adolescents aged 15-19 years of age was 329,797 (“Birth Rates for U.S.”, 2012). Although the decline in unwanted and unplanned teen births is on the rise the United States continues to be among the highest of industrialized countries facing this problem. This is a prevailing social concern because of the health risks to these young mothers as well as their babies. Teens at higher risk of becoming pregnant are raised at or below the poverty level by single parents; live in environments that cause high levels of stress (i.e., divorce, sexual psychological and physical abuse); are influenced by peers or family members that are sexually active; and lack parental guidance that would direct them to be responsible and self-controlled.
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...
However, for some time now, sex education has been a hot button issue in the United States. The debate is over which form of sex education is best for students. In recent years there has been much debate about which form of sex education is most effective: Abstinence, Abstinence-Plus, or Comprehensive. Abstinence sex education does not acknowledge that teenagers will become sexually active, thus, students do not learn about the different forms of contraception, and students do not learn about abortion. Also, students are taught that the risks of contracting an STD or HIV are prime reasons to remain abstinent. Abstinence-plus sex education explores the context and significance of sex. Although abstinence-plus education still promotes abstinence, it is acknowledged that many teenagers will become sexually active. Students are taught about contraception, abortion, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. Comprehensive sex education does not focus on teaching young people that they should remain abstinent until marriage, though it does teach it. Although students learn the benefits of abstinence, students learn how to themselves when they do decide to have sex.
Reiss, P. M. (2005, September 27). A Brief History of Sex Education - OpenLearn - Open University. Retrieved from The Open University: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/body-mind/health/health-studies/brief-history-sex-education
teens in their sex education classrooms, and that they focus on "sex can and should be fun" and
Stanger-Hall, K. & Hall, D. (2011). Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S. PLoS ONE 6(10).
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.
Sexual education has been a heated topic for years. The topic started in 1912 when the National Education Association wanted teachers to begin lecturing in sex ed programs.(Pardini, Priscilla) In 1940 the U.S. Public Health Service labeled sexual education an “urgent need” and strongly advocated it in schools.(Pardini, Priscilla) Though sexual education had support from health officials and educators, there were many opponents.(Pardini, Priscilla) Conservatives and health advisors battled over how sex ed benefits and how it should be taught in schools.(Pardini, Priscilla)
Three million teenagers will contract a sexually transmitted disease and one in three women will become pregnant before they are twenty years old. Teens are contracting sexually transmitted diseases and getting pregnant at an alarming rate causing the government, schools, and parents to scratch their heads. America is the country with the highest teen pregnancy rate in the world. Many are wondering what can be done to stop this. A debate has been going on about whether abstinence only education is doing any good for high school students in America. Abstinence only education teaches teenagers to abstain from all sexual acts until they are married. It does not teach about pregnancy or the different types of contraceptives that are available to prevent pregnancy. On the other hand, there is safe sex education. Safe sex education teaches teenagers facts about intercourse they need to know, acknowledges the potential consequences or risks of sexual behavior, and helps them make better decisions to protect themselves and their bodies.
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).
The need for sex education is very questionable in today’s society. An article by Pamela DeCarlo, from the Centre for AIDS Prevention Studies, discusses why sex education is needed in schools. She asks why education on this subject is needed and if will help or hurt today’s children. Her view of the issue is that kids do need to have education to help to protect them but that it isn’t enough to prevent them from receiving STD’s and becoming pregnant. “Knowledge alone is not enough to change behaviors.” DeCarlo also says that, “Programs that rely mainly on conveying information about sex or moral precepts-how...
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...