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Sex Education Advantages
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In today’s society, sexual education must be a staple subject in the high school, and maybe even the junior high school, curriculum. Many young teenagers are learning about sex from the wrong outlets, such as television, which makes them unable to make informed, educated decisions about their sex lives. A study published last month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that abstinence education deters sexual activity in young teens. The same study also showed that students who receive formal sexual education classes wait longer to have sex and are more likely to use contraceptives (Pappas). The decision whether or not to allow sex education classes to be taught in school system is a continuing dilemma. I believe that with appropriate sex education classes, students can make more informed decisions about sex, hinder their sexual activity until a mature age, and, ultimately, reduce the growing number of teen pregnancies across the United States.
Sexual education, also referred to as sexuality education, is “a type of education that imparts knowledge and helps to form beliefs and attitudes about sex, sexual relationships, sexual intimacy and sexual identity” (Homemorals). Over the years, many schools have started some type of sexual education curriculum. Typically, there are two types of sex education courses, abstinence-only and comprehensive. State education departments determine which methods to teach in their particular state. There are many pros and cons to sexual education in public schools, but according to a 2010 study, more parents are in favor of sex education than parents who are against it (Essortment). According to that poll, parents say they would rather have their children learn proper terms ...
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2. Chen, Grace. Public Schools and Sex Education. 20 Sept 2008. 24 Mar 2012. < http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/46>
3. Essortment. Pros and Cons of Sex Education.
4. Homemorals.com. Sex Education and the Media. 2011. 24 Mar 2012. < http://www.homemorals.com/adolescence/sex education/Sex-Education-And-The-Media.html>
5. Kohler PK. Abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education and the initiation of sexual activity and teen pregnancy. Journal of Adolescent Health 42(4), 2008.
6. Pappas, Stephanie. Comprehensive Sex Education Might Reduce Teen Pregnancies, Study Suggests. Science Daily. 19 Mar 2008. 24 Mar 2012.
7. Witmer, Denise. Sex Education in Schools. 2012 about.com. 23 Mar 2012.
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.
Sex Education. (2010). In Current Issues: Macmillan social science library. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?query=&prodId=OVIC&contentModules=&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=2&catId=GALE%7C00000000LVZ0&activityType=&documentId=GALE%7CPC3021900154&source=Bookmark&u=byuidaho&jsid=97f094e06dbbf5f2bcaec07adbde8e61
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.
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).
The “talk” about sexuality has never been a topic many like to discuss with tweens or teens, but it has to be addressed sometime during their lifetimes. Sex is a natural experience that is used for reproduction and the building of an emotional connection. However, many teens engage in pre-marital sex and have no knowledge about protecting themselves. Sexual education teaches about human sexuality and how abstinence should be practiced to prevent sexual transmitted diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies. Yet, sexual education classes are mostly for those in college.
Collins, Chris, Priya Alagiri, and Todd Summers. "Abstinence Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education: What Are the Arguments? What Is the Evidence?" AIDS Research Institute. University of California, San Francisco, Mar. 2002. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. .
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.
In today’s society, there is a terrifying growing phenomenon happening amongst all ages, genders and races. Suicide has increased in the past averaging around 117 suicides a day in the United States alone. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition of suicide is ‘the act or an instance of taking one 's own life voluntarily and intentionally, especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind.’ Suicide is an increasing tragedy and there are many ways that can prevent this horrifying action from happening to a close loved one, a classmate, or anyone.
Kohler et al. (2008)“Abstinence-only and Comprehensive Sex Education and the Initiation of Sexual Activity and Teen Pregnancy.” Journal of Adolescent Health, 42(4): 344-351.
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).
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...
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.
Sex education should be increased in schools. Nearly one million women under the age of 20 get pregnant each year. That means 2800 women get pregnant each day. If students are educated about the effects sex has on their lives, it lessens their chance of having children at an early age. Knowledge about sex can also lessen the chance of kids receiving STDS.
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).
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...