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Comprehensive sexual education program versus abstinence
Importance of gender education in school
Importance of gender education in school
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High school years are generally the years people talk about when reminiscing. Many things happen in high school that are a milestone in a teenager’s life. Their first varsity basketball game, getting a class ring, and even maybe their first love. Along with their first love comes the topic, pressure, and even attraction, to sexual behavior. It is an inevitable feeling that all teenagers will feel at one point in time. With media today forcing sex in almost everything, adolescent sex is becoming a bigger problem. How it is handled on the other hand is a completely different topic. Parents are not educating their teens on sexual behavior and the consequences are not to be preferred. On the other hand, schools do not want the responsibility but are forced to take matters into their own hands by teaching abstinence only so that they are not blamed for risks of premarital sex such as AIDS, pregnancy, or STDs. Comprehension teaches kids about safe sex and the proper safety and precautions to take if sex is desired, whereas “abstinence-only programs are inaccurate, ineffective, and may even cause harm” (Advocates for Youth). Ones who believe abstinence only is the route to take must consider the ramifications of teenagers being poorly informed about sexual education.
The long debated issue of teaching abstinence or contraception awareness is an inevitable topic that has and will continue to linger in school board meeting rooms for years and years to come. Parents are not talking to their children about sex because some deem it as awkward or uncalled for, leaving it to the schools to teach the little education they have. “This take on sex education is known among educators as the "abstinence-only approach," in which totally refraining fr...
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...sex education in the massive welfare overhaul in 1996, abstinence became the mandatory national sex education policy in America for more than a decade” (Wess p4). Parents should, even with in school sexual education, talk to their teenagers not only about no sex but about safe sex. The time will come along when temptation will strike and knowing proper safety measures could, in extreme cases, save a life.
Works Cited
"Abstinence V Sex Ed." WebMD. N.p., 14 Aug. 2010. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/abstinence-vs-sex-ed?page=2
"Advocates for Youth." Abstinence v Comprehensive Edu.. N.p., 9 Sept. 2009. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Hess, Amie. "The Politics of Virginity: Abstinence in Sex Education." MuseJHUEdu. N.p., Mar. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2013
Maynard, Missi. "Religious Beliefs on Abstinence ." Demand Media. N.p., 5 July 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 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).
In other words, these programs preach that completely abstaining from any sexual activity is the only way to avoid potentially devastating consequences, such as teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Although this idea may be true, it is based on the faulty premise that all teens will adhere to such a policy, therefore, eliminating the need to educate them on other precautionary measures, such as contraceptives. Unfortunately, such hopes have proven to be unrealistic, resulting in the need for these programs to be readdressed. As with all issues, there are many evident stakeholders who are continuously affected by Florida’s lack of an effective and standardized sexual education program within its public school system.... ...
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).
In the article, “More Schools to Teach Abstinence-Plus,” as seen on page A21A of the September 16, 2011 issue, author Morgan Smith tells her readers about new programs being introduced in West Texas to tech teenagers about not only abstinence, but additional how to practice safe sex. The article explains how teenage pregnancy rates in West Texas continue to spike despite the effort to push abstinence on teens. It explains in detail of a new sexual education program where teens are encouraged to choose abstinence but are educated in effective contraception as well. It covers schools in Midland, Texas and how endeavor to switch policy’s is embraced by the majority of community members as an active approach to decrease teen pregnancy. (Smith 1)
National Abstinence Education Association. “Comprehensive Sex Education Is Inappropriate And Harmful.” Do Abstinence Programs Work?. Christina Fisanick. Michigan. Greenhaven Press, 2010. 33-42. Print.
One of the most popular views comes from a moral standpoint, from this stance it is suggested that abstinence only programs are the best and most morally correct way of educating students about sex. In the early eighties the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) was put into the action, it was also known as “The Chastity Act.” “AFLA focuses on developing programs that promote abstinence as the only option to help young people avoid sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy.” (Perrin and DeJoy 446-47). AFLA caused a lot of controversy over whether this was the best way to educate children about sex. Those opposed to AFLA argue that this method of sex education offers no safe alternative to having sex and is not actually educating students on sex. It is only focused on encouraging students to refrain from sexual activity.
Malone, Patrick, and Monica Rodriguez. "Comprehensive Sex Education vs. Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs." Human Rights Magazine 38 (2011). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. .
Collins, Chris, Priya Alagiri, and Todd Summers. "Abstinence Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education: What Are the Arguments? What Is the Evidence?" AIDS Research Institute. University of California, San Francisco, Mar. 2002. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. .
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...
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.
The government likes to pretend that if high school students get taught the “abstinence-only” method they would never think of taking part in sexual activities. Statistically this is incorrect. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “56 percent of high school students are virgins”(Martin). For the 56 percent abstinence only is doing them well, but there are still 44 percent of high school students engaging in sex without knowing the precau...
Shrestha, Rachana Manandhar, et al. "Better Learning In Schools To Improve Attitudes Toward Abstinence And Intentions For Safer Sex Among Adolescents In Urban Nepal." BMC Public Health 13.1 (2013): 1-10. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 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).
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...