For years, the question “Should schools teach sex education?” has been asked in American households; and many families have agreed that they would rather not have the schools teach sex education to their children. In each region of the country, there are families that feel the money should not fund sex education, especially funds put into public education, because that is “a duty for the parents.” A question remains, however, why people do not discuss sex with their children, and does this lack of communication between child and parent affect the child’s future. This lack of communication has been proven through studies to be harmful to the lifestyles and well-being of members of society. The importance of family involvement and communication in sex education should be emphasized to reduce the future risks of sexually transmitted infections, prolonged psychological trauma, or confusion in the United States. Studies have shown that sexual education between parents and children does show progress in decreasing premature sexual activity and STI rates. The debate about what should be taught to the children is another issue; as is, how much of that information should be taught. Currently, eighteen states and the District of Columbia require schools to provide sex education and thirty-two do not. In some states, such as Louisiana, students may learn about HIV/AIDS, but not about any other sexually transmitted infections or how to prevent pregnancy. In other states, like Washington, teens receive information on everything from birth control pills to homosexuality. However, this once again raises the question about who should be educateing these children about sex and how to do it. The family unit has been shown to be a determining fa... ... middle of paper ... ...y Adolescents' Sexual Behavior." Journal Of School Health 83.11 (2013): 810-817. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. Haglund, Kristin A. "The Association of Religiosity, Sexual Education, and Parental Factors with Risky Sexual Behaviors Among Adolescents and Young Adults." Journal of Religion and Health. 49.4 (2010): 460-472. Print. McCarty-Caplan, David Milo. "Schools, Sex Education, and Support For Sexual Minorities: Exploring Historic Marginalization And Future Potential." American Journal Of Sexuality Education 8.4 (2013): 246-273. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Winter, Torsten, Sakari Karvonen, and Richard J. Rose. "Associations Between Sexual Abstinence Ideals, Religiosity, and Alcohol Abstinence: A Longitudinal Study of Finnish Twins." Journal of Sex Research 51.2 (2014): 197-207. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
Nineteen-fifty five marked the debut of sex education programs in schools in the United States. Along the years, many have argued whether or not sex education should be taught in schools. Many believe that the education of sex encourages students to engage in sexual activities which lead to a higher number of pregnancies and sexual transmitted diseases (STD’s). As the number of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases climbs higher and higher every day in our country, one can only think that sexual education is a necessity in our school systems. Teens as young as fourteen years old have admitted to already engaging in sexual activities. No teen should be engaging in such acts at that age. Many schools give parents the choice to have their child opt out of the lesson or class. Few states are required to teach sex education to students in secondary schools unless they were withdrawn from the class by their parents.
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).
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). 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.
Chen, Grace. “Schools, Parents, and Communities Should Contribute to Educating Teens About Sex.” Teenage Sexuality. Ed. Aarti D. Stephens. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. From “Public Schools and Sex Education.” Public School Review. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
Every schooling system generally has sexual education programs or speakers that will come to educate the students, but during these programs they are usually pushing abstinence. Statistics state that “Since 1997 the federal government has invested more than $1.5 billion dollars in abstinence-only programs—proven ineffective programs which censor or exclude important information that could help young people protect their health.” Most young people will not choose abstinence just because they are told to; they are adventurous and need to know all the real details of what is in store for them no matter how uncomfortable it may be. If a person is hired to inform students on sexual education they should include every detail of things that could happen to them. Informers may feel as if they are looking out for the better interest of the child by holding back some information about sex but that is not the case at all, the more information provided the more helpful it will be.
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. .
A report published by the U.S Department of Health and Human Accommodations “suggests that as many as 50% of all adolescents are sexually active” (White, 2008, p. 349). A portion of those are puerile women who will become pregnant, adolescent men who will contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and teenagers who will suffer from emotional distress and regret. Albeit the majority concurs inculcation is the solution to this dilemma, one q...
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.
Many individuals of a different culture, race, and religion trust that, keeping in mind the end goal to give a chance to wholeness, we should likewise give data that will empower all individuals to settle on life insisting choices—and this incorporates giving far reaching data about sexuality (Hanson). Accoding to Newsweek (1991), starting 1991, 1600 school areas across the country has been utilizing sex instruction educational modules called Sex Respect. Sex Respect adopts a significantly unique strategy from the other instructive projects. Sex Respect is a political preservationist's approach for sex training where the main goal of this educational program is to teach and that abstinence is the only approach that is moral and safe. The educational module shows that condoms can be the street to destroy in light of the fact that many fall flat and pregnancy comes
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.
Sexuality Information and Education Conflict of the United States. (n.d.). An Explanation of Federal Funding for More Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Education.
Sex education in public schools has been a controversial issue in the United States for over a decade. With the HIV and teen pregnancy crises growing, sex education is needed.
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...
Sexual education has been a heated topic for years. The topic started in 1912 when the National Education Association wanted teachers to begin lecturing in sex ed programs.(Pardini, Priscilla) In 1940 the U.S. Public Health Service labeled sexual education an “urgent need” and strongly advocated it in schools.(Pardini, Priscilla) Though sexual education had support from health officials and educators, there were many opponents.(Pardini, Priscilla) Conservatives and health advisors battled over how sex ed benefits and how it should be taught in schools.(Pardini, Priscilla)
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...