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What are the importance of sexual education for adolescents
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Over the course of the last few years, there has been much opposition over how sex education should be taught in school. Abstinence should be taught in sex education classes because abstinence is moral. There wouldn't be as many unwed mothers and babies born out of wedlock. Contraceptives that are taught are not guaranteed to protect teenagers from anything, and many people support the teaching of abstinence. It has been said that teaching abstinence- only lessons are leaving students misinformed and mislead, but the instructors have a reason as to why they don’t teach on the contraceptive options. For a long time, sex education classes have been focused on teaching “safe sex” and birth control methods (At Issue: Abstinence Education). What can be taken from this article is all that the classes are doing is teaching students how to possibly keep from contracting an STI (sexually transmitted infection) or getting pregnant. In spite of the fact that many people believe that contraceptives and comprehensive sex education are the best way to teach teenagers about sex, abstinence-only education lessons should be taught instead because teaching about contraceptives and other things that relate to non-abstinence teaching classes does not lower the teen pregnancy rate or any other statistics that are known to the world. In society today, the moralities that our cities and states used to live by have dwindled down to almost nothing. Fortunately, there are still some people that believe no matter how many times someone has messed up and thrown morality out the window, they can have a second chance. There is a program called MPower. This program aims to postpone a student’s first sexual experience as long as they can. If they come to a st... ... middle of paper ... .... "Uncoupling the Hookup Culture." Los Angeles Times 2013 May 28: A.11. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Mays, Mackenzie. "Abstinence-Only Curriculum Not Supported in W.Va." McClatchy - Tribune Business News 2013 Apr 13: N.p. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Mbanje, Phyllis. "Teenage Sex--Parents Preach Abstinence." AllAfrica.com. N.p., 2013 Oct 13. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. Rector, Robert. "The President's New Sex Ed." National Review Vol. 62, No. 6 2010 Apr 05: 24. Web. 30 Jan. 2014. Sober, Stephanie. "A Lesson in Abstinence." Philadelphia Inquirer 2012 Nov 27: A.15. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. Sondike, Stephen B. "Abstinence Talk Begs Question." Gazette-Mail 2013 Apr 21: C.3. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. Staff, Proquest. At Issue: Abstinence Education. N.p.: ProQuest LLC, 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. Sujata, K. "Getting to Responsible Sexual Health Education." Chicago Tribune 2013 May 17: 19. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
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).
When it comes to monitoring and ensuring the well-being of school-aged children, the agendas of most of our nation’s parents, teachers, and public education policy makers seem to be heavily focused on topics such as bullying, drug awareness, and social development. Although each of these issues is very important and deserving of the attention it receives, there is one topic – sexual education in the public school system – that holds just as much relevance amongst today’s youth, and yet it continues to be denied the same consideration. With underage sex being one of the nation’s long-lasting taboos, one would assume that effective Sex Ed programs in the public school system would be geared towards today’s youth. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case, especially for those residents of the state of Florida. Reflective of the predominantly conservative mindset of the early to mid 1900s, the sex education programs in the Florida education system seem to focus primarily on “abstinence-only-until-marriage” (Support 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.
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).
McFarlan Miller, Emily. "Virgin Territory: How the New Abstinence Movement is Trying To Shape Our Lives." Relevant. 1 11 2013: n. page. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
“Facts on American Teens’ Sexual and Reproductive Health.” Guttmacher Institute. Guttmacher Institute, June 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
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...
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...
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.
Santelli, J., Ott, A., Lyon, M., Rogers, J., Summers, D., &Schelifer, R. (2006). Abstinence and abstinence-only education: A review of U.S. policies and programs. Journal of Adolescent Health 38 p.p.72-81.
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.
"Passes And Plays: The Truth About Safe Sex." The Truth for Youth. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
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
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).
“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.