Attention Getter: “Don’t have sex, because you will get pregnant, and Die”
Motivation for Listening: While this line from the movie Mean Girls, was exaggerative, it is not far off from the sexual and reproductive health method of an abstinence-only form of education. Not only, is this method ineffective, it is also stigmatizing, making those who pledge abstinence, less likely to purchase or use contraception. In fact pledging abstinence until marriage does not reduce the risk of STDs or teenage pregnancy (Bearman 2005).
Thesis Statement: With our growing digital age, youth are exposed to sex on a daily basis. Should we not properly equip this new generation of teenagers with the proper medical and science based information they need to make healthier choices and properly protect themselves.
Preview of Speech: The information given to youths on sex is often times outdated and medically incorrect. Comprehensive sex education helps teens stay healthy and lead to less negative sexual health outcomes (Alford 2007). We need to remove the social stigma surrounding pre-marital sex and instead become informed enough to make better and healthier decisions.
Transition to first key point: First let me tell you what abstinence only education is and what it definitely is not.
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Abstinence is the only proven form of prevention of contracting STDs and preventing pregnancy, hands down. But those who are abstinent are more likely to participate in unprotected oral sex, which still puts them at risk for STDs. I believe teenagers are being taught to be scared of sex, to be scared of the possible outcomes. Statistics like, “Over 50% of homosexual male teenagers have tested positive for HIV,” or “Condoms fail to prevent HIV transmission as often as 31% of the time in heterosexual intercourse,” (Alford 2007) are being taught to in some high schools across the country. That last statistic alone should encourage educators to teach teenagers how to properly use a condom in a class
For the last twenty eight years, China has been quickly growing into one of the largest economies in the world. China has accomplished this feat, in part, by radically changing their policies on trade and free market interactions with other countries. During this process, China has bought approximately one hundred trillion dollars of United States debt in the form of Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and Inflation Protected Securities (Amadeo). This debt has given China leverage against the United States which has enabled China to keep the value of the United States dollar high, while keeping the value of the Chinese yuan low. As the inflation of the dollar continues to negatively affect the
Studies have also shown that abstinence-focused programs have failed to reduce STI rates. The American Sexual Health Association states, “More than half of all people will have an STD/STI at some point in their lifetime,” (“Statistics”). Comprehensive sex education would teach teenagers how to improve their sexual health, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and prevent sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Providing students with this information does not encourage them to participate in sexual activity sooner. Several findings show that, “[Comprehensive sex education] effectively promotes abstinence and may delay sexual debut, reduce sexual frequency, reduce the number of sexual partners, reduce STI risk, and increase the likelihood of consistent contraceptive use,” (Jeffries 173). Comprehensive sex education will be beneficial to students by teaching them how to have sexual intercourse safely, if they choose to not remain abstinent.
Abstinence teaching only is not effective when trying to prevent STIs in teenagers. According to "Life123" (2012), ”While abstinence-only education programs have the support of many major national religious groups, a comprehensive sex education program in schools has the backing of a wide range of educational and medical organizations. Most proponents of comprehensive sex education argue that teens should be encouraged to abstain, but should also get information about contraceptives, sexually transmitted diseases, and how to prevent HIV” (Family).
The philosophy behind abstinence-only policy implies that the greatest risk of informing students about their options for contraception would be that educators are condoning premarital sex. The risks that our students are already taking, however, are greater then policymakers are considering. It is generally accepted that the majority of sexual intercourse among young people remains unprotected (Westwood, 2006). Abstinence-only curriculum is not preventing adolescents from having sex; it is just making them naïve to the risks they are taking with their lifestyle choices.
In 2005, nearly half of all high school students have had sexual intercourse. Plainly stating that abstinence programs do not work (USA Today). Abstinence programs were beneficial many years ago, but since they are ineffective in delaying teen pregnancy, then teen pregnancy rate has increased. Abstinence programs teach the “no sex until marriage” clause, but they don’t teach teens about birth control and the consequences of having sex at before they’ve matured. Although many studies argue that abstinence programs are educational and beneficial, other studies will show that they don’t delay teen sex, they don’t prevent the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and are a waste of taxpayers’
In 1913, sex education became a topic that was found to be an important education tool. Since then, this form of education has been a hot and debatable topic among many Americans. The original reason for sex education classes was to reduce problems such as sexually transmitted illnesses and prostitution. In recent years, abstinence has become the focus of sex education curriculum. Abstinence means refraining from sex completely. Although, it is the only one-hundred percent way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies, abstinence-only instruction should not be the only form of sex education taught. Our youth need to know about all aspects of sex. This intails how to protect them if they choose to become sexually
It’s safe to say that most of our school systems today use the “Abstinence- Only” approach. School systems teach sex education classes in middle school, where most students will not be in a situation where they must use the information used in these courses, such as contraceptives. In middle school, it is best to learn the Abstinence Only approach, while becoming a high schooler, it would be more effective to use the Safe- Sex approach to increase their knowledge on the consequences of sex. While reading an article, a high schooler engaged in a sex education class said,
Opposition of the Abstinence-Plus program centers around the belief that by comprehensively informing students about sex, and responsible practices, in addition to supplying contraceptives, will send a message that not only is it okay to have sex but here have a condom to do it with. In some cases, they actually suggest the importance of telling students that condoms are “ineffective and do not work“ (Teenage Sexuality 205). Over the past few decades, several attempts have been made to “scare” teenagers away from sex. “In the sex-education video No Second Chance, a young man asks the teacher what if he does not to wait until marriage to have sex. She replies, “Well, I guess you’ll just have to be prepared to die” (Talk About Sex 117). The intended message was that condoms do not work in effectively preventing HIV. This is
According to advocatesforyouth.org, “abstinence only education teaches students to abstain from sex prior to marriage.” These program has been proven to be ineffective. Abstinence only education is ineffective because it is not conducive in reducing teen pregnancy rates and sexually transmitted diseases rates. Abstinence only programs are less likely to teach students about birth control and contraception and how to access it. These programs has not been shown to reduce teen sexual activity.
Abstinence is a remarkable topic to be taught, however, should not be the only choice taught, and it’s impractical to expect the youth to hold out until marriage. Abstinence, along with STD and pregnancy prevention is imperative for the youth in the nation. It is factual that accepting promiscuity as part of our culture might cause a rise in STD's, teen pregnancy, and Aid’s. These increases are the reason we must begin early in educating children about the diseases, how to prevent them, and how to practice safe sex. Schools are insane for not lecturing the importance, or proper use of
Should schools only teach abstinence or is comprehensive sex education safer for teens? Many find that teaching abstinence is the only way to ensure students safety when it comes to sexual behavior. But, “A review of 35 school-based sex education programs found that abstinence based programs had no significant effect on delaying sexual debut, while some comprehensive programs were effective in reducing certain sexual risk behaviors” (Kirby and Coyle). Along with research showing the ineffectiveness of abstinence programs, “Critics of abstinence-only education claim that it violates human rights by withholding potentially life-saving information from people about other means to protect themselves from HIV, such as condom use” (Plos one). Comprehensive
In literature it is common for authors to borrow elements of a different story and make it their own. In “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, Tolkein follows the hero’s journey and uses many concepts found in the poem, Beowulf. Beowulf is an ancient English story of the king of the Geats, Beowulf. Beowulf is a superhuman King that’s fights magical creatures in hope of being remembered. In “Lord of the Rings”, A young hobbit, Frodo, is given the great responsibility of protecting an evil ring until it can be destroyed. Because Tolkein was a Beowulf scholar, elements of Beowulf are depicted in “Lord of the Rings”. Both protagonists, Frodo and Beowulf, are similar by how they receive their call to adventure, their strength, and
Teenage sexual activity has sparked an outcry within the nation. With such activity comes a high price. Studies have shown that there has been a significant rise in the number of children with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), emotional and psychological problems, and out-of-wedlock childbearing. Sex has always been discussed publically by the media, television shows, music and occasionally by parents and teachers in educational context. Teens hear them, and as the saying goes, “monkey see, monkey do”, they are tempted to experiment with it. Therefore, it is important for every teenager to be aware of the outcome associated with premature-sex. If students are educated about the impact of
Women have gained respect, worked their way to demolishing patriarchy, and have conquered in achieving a worthy opinion of their genders. In the taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare expresses the Elizabethan views of oppressive gender roles and the expectations of the submissive behavior of women. This play is about a man named Petruchio who is trying to tame a “shrew” Katharina .The play is misogynistic, which is apparent through the constant need for Petruchio to tame the shrew, Katherina, women’s dependence on men, and the ownership of women in the play. The leaps made by women towards equal rights and freedoms currently are evident through how poorly the women are treated in the play the taming of the shrew.
1. In the study conducted by Sedgh and co-researchers (2015) of the Guttmacher Institute in New York, among 21 countries with teen pregnancy estimates for 2008–2011, the pregnancy rate was the highest in the United States with 57 pregnancies per 1,000 adolescents in 2010.