Middle School and Sex Education

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Should sex education be taught in elementary, middle and/or high school? If so what should you cover at each level?

In this day children are learning more and more at such a young age, some children even sound like adults when they speak because they are so advanced. I’m also seeing a trend with young ladies getting pregnant in high school and even middle school. With that said I think that sex education should begin to be taught at a younger age. Young minds are very curious. I have had conversations with daycare providers about incidences where a child was questioning the difference between and male and female private parts and I believe if they’re already questioning we need to have answers so as they become more curious as the get older they will have the proper tools to aid in their curiosity. Many people think that the best way to cover sex education at all levels is to teach abstinence, in fact 37 states require that abstinence be taught when sex education covered (Sonfield, 2012). But sex education can be covered appropriately at level by increasing students’ knowledge of the subject as they progress from elementary to high school./
According to a report containing what is now appropriate for elementary schools to teach regarding sex education, “by the time they leave elementary school, children should be able to define sexual orientation” (Harrington, 2012). Some may say to teach sex education to early elementary student is a little too early which is a valid point. But sometimes I think parents forget today is completely different from yesterday. What went on while our parents were in grade school is completely different from what’s going on now and I would like for the youth to be prepared rather than caught in a stic...

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...g/publications/cq/40/6/sexual-health-education.aspx
Florsheim, L. (2013, November 7). If College Students Can't Say What 'Consent' Is, Then We Should Teach It Sooner. Retrieved from New Republic: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115506/consent-high-school-sex-education-why-we-should-teach-it
Gresle-Favier, C. (2010). The legacy of abstinence-only discourses and the place of pleasure in US discourses on teenage sexuality. Sex Education, 413-422.
Harrington, E. (2012, January 17). Begin Sex Ed in Kindergarten, Says New ‘National Standards’ Report. Retrieved from CNS News: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/begin-sex-ed-kindergarten-says-new-national-standards-report
Lamb, S. (2013). Just The Facts? The Separation Of Sex Education From Moral Education. Educational Theory, 443-460.
Sonfield, A. (2012). Sex education remains active battleground. Washington Watch, 34-36.

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