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The positive impacts/benefits of “Sex Education”
The positive impacts/benefits of “Sex Education”
Debate over sex education
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A controversy is rising in America about the nature of sex education in the nation's high schools. Studies show that 81 percent of American adults support a joint program teaching abstinence and contraception as opposed to an abstinence-only program (Roper 0316946), and 79 percent support contraception education regardless of the level of sexual activity in teenagers (Roper 0340807). The sad fact is, contraception is society's attempt at a "quick fix" for a problem that runs far deeper than the issue of teen sex. In the debate over the "best safe sex," educators and parents must consider not only the health issues, but must also reevaluate the morality of the nation's young people.
Leafing through Planned Parenthood's literature on abortion, contraception, and teen sex, it becomes obvious that Planned Parenthood promotes contraception education, and opposes abstinence education: "These 'abstinence-until-marriage' programs are an unrealistic attempt to reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy by using a 'just say no' approach" ("Reducing Teenage Pregnancy"). A good portion of American teenagers agree, illustrated by the fact that 77 percent of women and 85 percent of men will have sexual intercourse before the age of twenty ("Teen Sex and Pregnancy"). They are encouraged to use contraception. Interestingly, though, teenagers aren't given all the facts about contraception, as is illustrated by Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler:
Not too long ago, I attended a talk during "Safe Sex Week" at the school. The speaker opened with a statement that sent a rumble of discomfort through the crowd: "You've been brainwashed!" When the students settled down, he continued. "You've had an entire week of 'safe sex' indoctr...
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...ssroom." Time 18 Oct. 2013: n. pag. Online. Internet. URL (4 Nov. 2014).
"Normandy Junior Preaches Abstinence, Has High Hopes." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 11 Oct. 2011: North Post 5.
Okite, Odhiambo. "Fidelity Urged to Fight AIDS." Christianity Today 12 July 2012: 22.
"Reducing Teenage Pregnancy." Planned Parenthood.URL (21 Oct. 2014)
Roper Center at University of Connecticut. Poll. Accession number 0316946. Question number 031. 10 May 2014.
Roper Center at University of Connecticut. Poll. Accession number 0340807. Question number 087. 19 July 2014.
Sommers, Christina Hoff. "Are We Living in a Moral Stone Age?" Imprimis Mar. 2010: 1-4.
"Teen Sex and Pregnancy." Sept. 2013. The Alan Guttmacher Institute. URL (22 Nov. 2014).
Zulu, Mabvuto. "Give Abstinence a Chance." Times of Zambia 10 Aug. 2013: n. pag.
Ed. Ed. Judith A. Stanford, Ph.D. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1996. 1212-1213. The.
Swarthmoor Hall and the Lifestyle of a Wealthy Country Gentry Family in the Early 17th Century
01 Dec. 2005: 16. eLibrary. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. O'Neill, Laurie A..
all day long. When walking up to the house you would have to pass the
...g. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. 549-51. Print.
William E. Cain, Alice McDermott, Lance Newman, and Hilary E. Wyss. New York: New York, 2013. 48-53. Print.
It has been almost thirty three years since the first federal funding was put to use in “. . . sex education programs that promote abstinence-only-until-marriage to the exclusion of all other approaches . . .” according to the article “Sex education” (2010) published by “Opposing Viewpoints in Context;” a website that specializes in covering social issues. Since then a muddy controversy has arisen over whether that is the best approach. On one hand is the traditional approach of abstinence (not having sex before marriage), and on the other is the idea that what is being done is not enough, and that there needs to be a more comprehensive approach. This entails not only warning against sex, but also teaching teens about how to have “Safe Sex” (“Sex Education,” 2010).
of slur; it was a label to abuse those who were into the repression of
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).
Siegel, L. J., & Bartollas, C. (2011). Corrections today (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
New York: Pearson; Longman Publishing, 2007. 1212-1280. Print. The. Gioia, Dana, and X.J. Kennedy.
“Persons intentionally choose to become nurses to help patients meet their health needs,” even when the patient is actively dying. (Wu & Volker, 2012) Hospice nursing and palliative care nursing are both considered end of life care. However, hospice nursing is typically given to patients with a terminal illness and who have less than six months to live. Palliative care is typically given to patients with a life threatening illness, and is used to increase the patient’s quality of life. Choosing a nursing career in either hospice or palliative care can be extremely difficult, but will provide an opportunity for great personal growth. At times, an end-of-life caregiver may feel responsible for their patient’s death, or they may feel isolated due to a lack of support. Nurses new to this field should “feel that their unit acknowledges death as a difficult event and that discussion of death is acceptable in the workplace.” (Lewis, 2013) The most rewarding, and also most difficult, part of being a hospice or palliative care nurse is the ability to be a part of your patient and their family’s life, including their loss, grief, and death. (Wu & Volker, 2012)
Kelly, William E., Kathryn E. Kelly, Robert C. Clanton. College Student Journal. Mar. 2008: 84-86.
In my medical career, I have been privileged to work alongside some of the most professional, dedicated, knowledgeable and compassionate nurses. I have seen first-hand the difference that they can make in a patient’s life and their family, during those unfortunate times when sickness and injury can be so overwhelming. The appreciation and respect that I have for nurses, as well as their indispensable contribution to the health care system, is what encourage me to pursue nursing as a profession.