Why High Schools Need To Provide Sex/Contraceptive Classes

859 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How to prevent teen pregnancy research essay

There has always been a lot of controversy over the education of contraceptives and sex being included in the high school curriculum. However, as parents, mentors, and leaders that these children look up to we have an obligation to these children. Providing a contraceptive/sex education class to high schoo students would be so beneficial. It would ensure that they are being educated correctly and not by other kids their same age.

The United States has one of the highest rates when it comes to teen pregnancy, and one of the highest rates of teen births. It is also a known fact that one in four teenage girls in the U.S. has a sexually transmitted infection (Richards1). In order to lower these pregnancy rates and STD rates, teens need to be better educated on how to take care of themselves and how to prevent pregnancy. This is why it is so important to have our children take a contraceptive/sex education class in high school.

As a teenager, one tends to rely on information they hear from their friends. Most of the time your children’s friends do not know anymore than they do. When it comes to sex and contraceptives as a parent or guardian you want your teenager to have correct information. According to Carrera, Kaye, Philliber, and West data collected has shown that 44% of teenagers interviewed had correct knowledge of contraceptives.

By providing contraceptive/sex education classes in high schools the rate of sexually transmitted diseases would decrease. Did you know that “about 9.1 million teens and young adults (aged 15 – 24) got an STD in 2000” (“Common Sexually Tranmitted Disease”1). Results show that only 53% of teenagers interviewed answered correctly when asked about sexually transmitted infections (...

... middle of paper ...

... not to have sex. This social experiment failed by all measures, and we continue to lead the Western world in teen pregnancy and now have teen birth rates on the rise.” This is why as adults we need to reach out to our teenagers and provide them with a program that will make a difference, which is to have contraceptives/sex education taught in high schools.

Works Cited
Black, Susan. “Children Having Children.” American School Journal 196.5 (2009): 40-41. EBSCOhost. Web. 21 Nov.2009.

Carrera, Michael, Jacqueline Kaye Williams, Susan Philliber, Emily West. “Knowledge About Reproduction, Contraception, and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Young Adolescents in American Cities.” Social Policy 30.3 (2000): 41-50. EBSCOhost. Web. 21.Nov.2009

Richards, Cecile. “The Agenda for Women’s Health Care.” Social Policy 39.1 (2009): 32-33. EBSCOhost. Web. 21 Nov.2009

Show More
Related

  • The Controversy of Sex Education Programs in High School

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Abstinence-Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education

    2387 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sonfield, Adam. "Sex Education Remains Active Battleground." Contraceptive Technology Update 1 Mar. 2012. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.

    Read More

  • Should Public School Students be Given Birth Control Pills?

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    The second reason for contraceptives being given to teenagers, will help them avoid many dangerous Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) associated with unsafe sexual practices. Studies have shown an increase in unprotected sexuality among teenagers can result in a wide-range of social problems, such as STDs. The topic of birth control in public schools has attracted much support from the American public, according to statistics surveyed. For example, a 2006 Associated Press-Ipsos survey discovered that 67% of Americans support the provision of contraceptives to students. This study also determined that, “About as many - 62 percent - said they believe providing birth control reduces the number of teenage pregnancies” (Associated Press).

    Read More

  • High Teen Pregnancy Rate: Comprehensive Sex Education at Fault?

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Birth Control: Available to Teens?

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    Those who disagree think providing birth control promotes promiscuity and premarital sexual activity. In the article “At Issue: Birth Control Availability,” the author argues that access to birth control and other contraceptives for teens would make them think their behavior is acceptable. The author states, “Providing free condoms and other birth control methods sends the message that premarital sexual activity is acceptable” (“ProQuest”). The opposition believes birth control would promote promiscuity and make it seem acceptable. Although some believe that birth control encourages promiscuity, the fact that teens are sexually active has not changed; therefore, access to birth control can only encourage safe sex. Kim Grundy, author of “The Teens and Birth Control Debate,” argues that teaching abstinence wastes time. Wendie Howland, editor of Journal of Nurse Life Care Planning, declares, “Abstinence hasn’t worked for thousands of years as a reliable way to avoid teen pregnancy” (qtd. in Grundy). Howland and Grundy argue that abstinence has not worked in the past, and will continue not to, therefore; birth control should become available to teens.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Sex Education

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    Office of Adolescent Health), there is still plenty to be done about sex education and youth pregnancy prevention in this country. Part of the cause of this is the fact that much of sex education in this country provides little to no information about birth control, condoms, and things of that nature. Because of this, in places like Texas, where 75% of the sex education is abstinence-only (Web. Sex Education in Texas Public Schools), there was a 30-39% teen birth rate (Web. Office of Adolescent Health). This shows that despite the abstinence-only education students are getting in school, they still need to know how to have safe sex, because they are clearly still having

    Read More

  • Sex Education

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Be Informed: Have the Sex Talk with Your Kids

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    Students should be informed about more than just “don’t have sex” because eventually it is going to happen and they need to be educated on the proper way to handle the situations. Because students are mostly taught abstinence it has created the situation to where researchers find” Abstinence-only education, instead of reducing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, has made teenagers and young adults more vulnerable to ST...

    Read More

  • Sex Education in Schools

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    encompasses sexual development, reproductive health, interpersonal relationships, affection, intimacy, body image, and gender roles.” Sex education discusses important aspects of reproduction, sexuality, and just growing up in general in a physical and emotional sense. One would have to wonder though; does sex education actually serve its purpose? Does it enlighten teens enough about sex and the consequences, to the point where you can actually tell the difference between those who are sexually educated and those who are not? According to a study done bye Coyle (1999) sex education no matter where, at home or in school, and no matter the program does indeed help decrease the amount of teens having unsafe sex. Based on information from that same study about 3 million teenagers a year get an STD, and roughly 10% of adolescent females ages 15-19 get pregnant every year unintentionally. In an article from The Alan Guttmacher Institute (1999) there has been a 20% drop in female pregnancies between n 1990 and 1997 and the drop has continued, they have stated that the reason for this i...

    Read More

  • Sex Education For Public Schools

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comprehensive Sex Education In Schools

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    Martinez, Gladys, Joyce Abma, and Casey Copen. “Educating Teenagers About Sex In The United States”. CDC.GOV. Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Feb.2014

    Read More

  • Benefits Of Sex Education In Schools

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Teenagers Need Safe Sex Education

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Lack Of Sex Education

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • The Argument of Sex Education in School

    1223 Words  | 3 Pages

    The issue of sex education in schools is going to be there for many years to come. The problem is that people want answers that can’t be talked about until more research is done on the effects of sex education. Parents, teachers, schools and students all have on common goal and that is to find a way to accurately discuss sex education in schools. There are problems with that because of all of the arguments surrounding the issue and all the problems with trying to come to a conclusion about it. Since the teen pregnancy rates have more than double and STD cases are the highest among teens we obviously see a need for it, but don’t know how to go about it. Once we research the long term effects of sex education and then come to agreement on what should be taught in schools the sex education problem in America will diminish. We need to break down the educational borders and try to look at all the perspectives to reach the common goal.

    Read More

More about Why High Schools Need To Provide Sex/Contraceptive Classes

Open Document