Abstinence Of Sex Education In American Public Schools

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

Not only does abstinence only education exclude adolescents of various sexualities, but it fails to regard the health of teenaged girls as well. The repression of female representation in health courses has contributed to the magnification of the gender stereotypes, where women are ideally portrayed as pure vessels if they remain virgins until marriage. Therefore, young girls should remain chaste and pubescent boys naturally have a rampant sexuality due to their uncontrollable hormones. Traditional gender roles are then reinforced, disregarding female sexuality thus alienating them within their health courses since they are not educationally included. This form of instruction censors out necessary sexual guidance concerning their respective reproductive health. For example, details about contraception, abortion, human sexuality, and sexual assault specifically concerning females are neglected within the classroom. Health courses have long-established condoms as the popularized and primary way of having protective sex. But what school boards don’t incorporate in their curricula is that there are various methods of contraception, precisely for women. For example, there are birth control pills, hormone implants, cervical caps, and vaginal rings. Although these preventative measures do not safeguard for STI and HIV contraction, they can decrease the likelihood of having an unintended pregnancy by ceasing ovulation or preventing sperm flow in the vagina by increasing the hormones

In the United States, 61.6% of high school seniors have had sexual intercourse (Kittleson and Howard-Barr 115) and the rates of teenage pregnancy are the highest among developed nations (Weaver, Smith and Kippax 179). Despite the prevalence of teenage sexual activity, there is still wide support for abstinence only sex education programs, which teach that marriage is the only context within which it is appropriate and acceptable to have sex. These programs began in the late 1970s “as a way for conservative Christians to counter the spread of ‘comprehensive’ sex education” and have since come to receive federal funding, first from the Adolescent Family Life Act in 1981 and later from Title V, Section 510 of the Social Security Act (Greslé-Favier

As a society, we teach our children in school with the best information to benefit them for the rest of their lives, right? Almost. All except for one subject, sexual education. Effective sexual education in an integral part of living a happy, healthy life and can prevent from the spread of numerous sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including chlamydia and even HIV. According to a study by the CDC, in 2014, only 35% of public high schools taught students how to properly use a condom. That number is unacceptable, as we are a leading first world country, yet still fall short in public sexual health. We need to be the change and create a happier, healthier country for us all to be living in.

In 2002, Pamela K. Kohler, R.N. conducted a nationwide study regarding teens aged fifteen-nineteen years old, and the effects of the types of sex education that they received. She published a medical journal that found that those who were in programs that failed to provide accurate information such as abstinence-only programs, or who were not enrolled in a sex education course at all, reported higher teen pregnancy rates than those who had attended comprehensive sex education classes (Kohler 1). Kohler’s 2002 research also showed that teens who had completed a comprehensive sex education course were 60% less likely to be a teen parent (3). After publishing her journal, Kohler stated, "There was no evidence to suggest that abstinence-only education

Sexual activity among young people is a matter of serious concern. Parents around the United States are very worried about their children and their loss of innocence when it comes to this subject. Sexual education is an optional program that is taught in some schools to inform the youth about sexual health. Many people are torn when it comes to this topic and feel that sexual education leads to premature sexual activity; where others believe sexual education is extremely beneficial to all students who are involved. Sexual education was previously taught to delay sexual activity, however recently it has been used as a tool to help educate the youth about medically accurate information in hopes to prepare them for their futures. Sexual education is not a federally mandated program, so across the United States some students are receiving information and some are not. Schools offer a safe learning

Every year in America, one million teen girls become pregnant and at least three million teens become infected with an STD (Donovan, 1). Though these numbers slightly fluctuate, problems facing American adolescents today, like HIV/AIDS, other STD’s, and teen pregnancy. This means that some needs to change. These problems will decline when sex education is revamped everywhere in America, by making the curriculum completely comprehensive in addressing problems facing adolescents today such as teen pregnancy, STD’s, rape, pressures and emotions dealing with sex, and give teens good communication skills. Right now teachers approach these subjects on their tip toes, dance around the issue, and not fully give out all the information.

At the expense of leaving students entirely sexually uninformed, public schools efforts or absence of sexual education leaves today’s youth misinformed and at risk to find themselves facing the real harsh realities of STDS and unexpected pregnancies, which could have simply been prevented if they were only given simple protective methods, instructions and guidance. In this day in age where sex sells, teenagers need to be properly educated so they can make correct decisions.

The controversy surrounding sex education in schools has been talked about for many years. In this day and age, sex education in schools is not as helpful or informative due to the maturation of adolescents. Rather than scaring teenagers with sexually transmitted disease(STD) slideshow presentations, school systems should be teaching teens how to protect themselves from STDs. Health programs all around the country deprive teens of fundamental knowledge when it comes to intercourse. According to Advocates For Youth, “Just as it is important to enhance a child's physical, emotional, and cognitive growth, so it is important to lay foundations for a child's sexual growth”(Advocates For Youth). Adults who teach safe sex education have an important role in helping teens and preteens discover themselves, therefore improving these programs will be improving their growth.

Sex education being taught in public schools is a reoccurring topic in many schools. More recently, it has also caught the attention of the public again due to rising unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted disease among young teenagers in the US over the last decade or so. “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” (McKeon). Sex Education is attempting to educate students about human sexuality, sexual reproduction, sexual activity, reproductive health, emotional relationships, reproductive rights and responsibilities, sexual abstinences, and birth control.

There is a prevalence of unwanted teen pregnancies associated with risky sexual behavior. Gelfond, Dierschke, Lowe, Plastino, 2016 claim, “…The United States has the highest rate of pregnancy among adolescents aged 15-19 years compared with other Western industrialized countries” (p. 97). The pregnancy rate and promiscuous sexual action remains problematic for a variety of reasons. In general; adolescents are undereducated about risky sexual behaviors, which can lead sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. The adolescent who bears a child whether intended, or unintended has a higher chance of dropping out of high school as well as not completing college before the age of 30. If pregnancy occurs, a teen mother and father are still in the process of maturing as young adults, yet alone, they have to raise a child. Not being able to obtain an education can be a barrier for having the best health outcomes for the parents and the child. In order to reduce the risk, primary prevention is essential. More specifically, education and awareness of healthy relationships can help reduce the number of unsafe sexual practices. The underlying question to be discovered is, for adolescents, does the use of additional comprehensive sex education reduce the future risk of unwanted teen pregnancies and risky sexual behavior compared with one general sex education course being taught?

One way sex education is beneficial in schools is it helps in minimizing early teen pregnancy rates. Teenage pregnancy is unbridled in today’s society hence sex education teaches the students the importance use of utilizing different contraceptive techniques. Unfortunately, there are a lot of teenagers who are sexually active and are involved in sexual relationships. Therefore, it is imperative for teens to be equipped with vast information on how to handle their sexual relations responsibly by applying assorted contraceptive techniques. If the students were well conversant on the topic of sex education, they would know the causes of pregnancy and ways to prevent it until the time comes for them to be ready to start a family. Possessing this knowledge does not mean that they would not experiment

Are you afraid of becoming pregnant, catching a sexually transmitted disease (STD), or even both? This is where educators can make a difference and help out not only the community but the younger generations to come. Social trends, public health concerns, politics and various controversies have all, at different times and in different ways, affected the substance and teaching of sex education. Over time, however, one thing has remained consistent: public support for sex education. The most recent national polls show that 93 percent of Americans support “sex or sexuality courses being taught” in high school and 84 percent support such instruction in junior high. (“History of Sex Education”). Sex education should be better funded in schools to reduce teen pregnancy, raise the high school graduate rate, and to help prevent spreading STD’s.

When hearing the term “sex education,” most will immediately think of “the talk” that parents have with children. “The talk,” a phrase widely used through everyday life, movies, television, etc. is intended by parents to inform their children of the consequences of unsafe sex and to explain how babies are made. Despite being a necessary conversation at home, this “talk” is generally vague and uninformative in comparison to classes on the subject. However, this topic causes chaos when dealing with courses in middle and high schools on it. Surprisingly, a substantial amount of adults would argue that the more you say to younger people in regards to sex, the greater the risk of them having unsafe sex at a much younger age than desired, despite proof that states otherwise. That type of mindset is primarily why a vast amount of schools in the United States rely solely on having abstinence-only sex education courses for students. I strongly believe that needs to be modified immediately. In this paper, I will argue why students in the United States need a more comprehensive sex education class in their curriculums in school for the following reasons: higher rates of pregnancy in teenagers, higher rates of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, and the negative aspects of the aftermath of teenage childbirth.

Some of the issues with changing the health behavior is that often there is bias in teaching an ‘abstinence only’ for of sex education. When in reality, in order to change the behavior, health educators need to have a comprehensive form of education. The negative outcomes of teenage pregnancy should also be addressed. The fact that the incidence of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia are extremely high in the US when compared to 16 other developed countries (Kohler, Manhart, & Lafferty, 2008, p. 344) shows the necessity for teaching about safe sex practices. Educating potential teenage mothers of the long term effects of pregnancy and child birth should be the top priority. Low High School completion rates, a lack of job and education opportunities should be the focus for educating the teenage population on what’s at stake. The drive for health education should be the catalyst for a change in the health behavior.