Sex Ed Taught in Public Schools Today in modern society, sexual situations and the exposure of the human body are advertised all throughout the media and in everyday life. Though some parents do not want their children to know learn about sex in school, society has made it to where they'll more than likely learn about it through the media or through friends. There are many people who argue that they do not want their children taking sex ed in school for all their own reasons. On the other hand, there are also people who agree with sex ed being taught in schools. Naturally, the issue of sexual education in schools is “extremely controversial” and has a wide range of opinions covering this topic (Chaloner 30). One of the reasons that parents …show more content…
Which means they argue about what they believe to be right and wrong. Parents believe that what a sex ed teacher is teaching their kid could be wrong, depending on the parents beliefs on the topic. In contrast, the parent may not always be well educated on the anatomical side, therefore, it would be more reasonable for the child to be taught by someone who has gone to school and has studies in sexual education. People, most definitely, parents, may argue against sexual education all for their own reasons. Some studies have shown that “parental attitudes towards sexual health education depends on the school their child attends” (McKay 160). If a child attends a school with a high teen pregnancy rate, than the parent would not feel comfortable with their child learning about sex due to the environment they are in. Parents also believe that the sex ed teacher may also have a bias on whether or not they encourage their students to retain from sex or just have it …show more content…
Sex ed in public schools is only logical due to how our society is now shaped and inevitable because of it. Parents who argue for sex ed in schools know how important it is for their children to understand all of the possibilities that having sex can come with. Some parents also know that they can’t teach their child all the proper knowledge they need to know about the male and female body and every STD and STI out there. Sexual education is also necessary in schools because some kids don’t feel comfortable talking to their parents about sex. Parents argue towards sex ed in school because sexual temptation on social media, the tv, ads, school, and in the streets has made the idea of sex impossible to hide. Not only are teens very much exposed to sexual situations, they maybe end up in one and will need the proper knowledge before making any further decisions that they might regret. With so much sexual exposure, it is only safe for a teen to have the proper sex ed knowledge and let themselves decide what it is they do with
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.
Those in support of Comprehensive Sex education believe that if teens get complete and accurate information about sex, then they will be able to make better decisions (Magoon 57). Even those who remain abstinent until marriage need to be able to recognize an STD because their partner could have made a different decision and not remained abstinent (Magoon 57). There are many groups and organizations that promote Abstinence-only education or Comprehensive Sex education (Magoon 80-81). The debate over Sex education is almost solely a discussion of what is moral and what is practical, says Kekla Magoon (6-95). Abstinence-only advocates main issue with Comprehensive Sex education is the debate of whether or not giving teens more information actually leads them to being sexually active (Magoon 73).
However even though sex education was still heavily debated and opposed by many, public health concern made it inevitable that it would be taught. This was mainly due to the increased cases of STI and the spread of HIV during the 1980s. Sex education was no longer just a matter for the home, but a public safety concern. Once it was determine that sex education was going to be taught in school, the argument went from if to how it was to taught. There were several aspects commonly debated. The debate on the structure of sex education included, should information be shared from a moral, amoral, religious or medical standpoint At this time due to external...
In conclusion, the two sides of the argument seem valid. Every side has a point. However, the plain truth is that sex education is needed and irrespective of who gives it should not be a point of discussion. Raising a child is a collective responsibility that includes the entire community. This means that both teachers in school and parents back at home need to cooperate to make this happen. The only point of correction should be on the flaws that exist on both sides. Everybody should play his role and when that has been done sex education will be effective both in school and at home.
In the 1980s the majority of Americans believed sex education should be taught in public schools. 85% of people who voted were for this. That included 68% of all “born-again Christians”, 80% of Republicans, and 77% of “rural people”. One reason that people wanted sex education in schools was that Aids was causing a sense of panic among the general public. Also they felt that if sex education were not available there would be even more unwanted teenage pregnancies.
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.
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.
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)
If comprehensive sex education is offered at schools to children, it will allow them access to more information that if the parent tried to educate them. The reasons for this are that the teachers are specially trained to teach the children this information in a way that they can understand. Having this class at schools also provides the children with textbooks which offer even more things like drawings, diagrams and accurate information about sex education. Making sure teen have accurate information about sex important making sure that they are ready for sex instead of leaving them guessing or worst using inaccurate information.
Children is an early age needs to be informed of the dangers that come with life in regards to sexuality. Some students have never learned about the diseases that are possible by not being safe about sexual activity. That’s why it is important that they find out about it at an early age. It is important to know about the consequences of not being safe. Another reason, what if a teen has a disease? Sexual education will hopefully help the individual with seeking treatment.
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).
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...