America 's Sex Education System

There is a strong need for greater access to current and evidence-based sex education in American public schools. Concurrent with access to information and education about human sexuality, schools should also be offering students safe, anonymous ways of receiving condoms. Condoms are crucial for preventing unwanted pregnancy: and it can easily be said that all teen pregnancies in the United States will be classified as unwanted. Moreover, condoms will prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. When they are used properly, condoms can become lifesavers. However, adolescents are often woefully ignorant about when and how to use condoms. Few adolescents in the United States have ready access to condoms, either at home or in schools. Because of the general prudishness embedded in Bible Belt America, states like Georgia must take a strong stance on the issue. Georgia should follow suit with states like Massachusetts, who have implemented successful condom distribution programs in their schools.

According to a study in 2010, 75 of the 1,000 girls aged from 15-19 became pregnant and 45% of all girls in Texas become pregnant one or more times before they reach 20 years of age. These females are all less likely to complete high school, less likely to attend college, have lower cognitive development, and are more likely to end up as single parents. These high numbers reflect the fact that sexual education is not available in all states. Not all students have the privilege to learn about sex appropriately or correctly. Instead, they are taught that abstinence, or refraining from sex until marriage, is the correct path to take. The reality is that of the 12th grade students in Texas, 63% of them reported having sexual intercourse at least once. Texas has had problems with

The fact that the United States does not actually require mandatory sex education is of utmost concern, seeing that places where sex education is not taught at all also experience the highest birthrates. In addition to places where sex education is not taught at all, areas in which abstinence-only education were taught also faced higher birthrates (Stanger-Hall and Hall 6). While abstinence only programs have shown no real statistical evidence of success, comprehensive sex education programs have, by combining the positives of both abstinence and information on how to engage in safe sex (Starkman and Rajani 314). In comprehensive sex education, students are taught not only how to use contraceptives properly, but also how to obtain them, as well as other aspects of practicing safe sex. Encouragingly, comprehensive sex education has shown a forty percent success rate in all of the following, “delaying the initiation of sex, reducing the number of sexual partners, and increasing contraceptive use.” Even more impressively, there was sixty-seven percent rate in these areas individually (Malone and Rodriguez 1). Teaching that abstinence is the only option, and providing no alternatives, leaves many teens vulnerable to engaging in unsafe sex out of pure incompetence (Starkman and Rajani 314). Despite many concerns, comprehensive sex education does not make a teenager more likely to be sexually active, and is surprisingly supported by the majority

The issue of comprehensive sex education has sparked debates among parents, teachers and even lawmakers. Children have the right to knowledge and this right to knowledge should not be limited to what is taught in abstinence only sex education, and this is why comprehensive sex education should be taught in schools. Some parents believe that if they do not teach their children about sex, their children will not have sex, but this is not true. Comprehensive sex education better equips young adults to protect themselves, but it also respects their right to be given accurate information that will be used for their entire lives.

Considering the fact that many students are failing to acquire any factual information on sex takes a toll on the state of Texas costing taxpayers big money. In the state of Texas, abstinence is currently being taught without the emphasis of the greater risk involved. Although, it's great to educate them to

Sex education has always been a controversial topic, especially to the extent that it is taught to. Under the early years of the Reagan administration, the Adolescent Family Life Act was passed for abstinence-only education based on the presumption that talking about sex in school would promote sexual activities among teenagers. The two-point act was quietly passed in 1981, as it was not voted on by the House and was coded under Title XX of the Public Service Health Act. The first point was to provide at least two-thirds of funds to support pregnant teenagers, while the second point’s purpose was to use the remaining one-third or less to discourage sexual acts until marriage. Lawrence (2007) asserted that teenage pregnancy rates at the time of passing were rising, so the government wanted to stop everything all together. Since then, billions of dollars have been spent and more laws have been passed to promote abstinence-only education. Pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the U.S. actually continued to rise, despite what was believed that the acts and funding could accomplish (p. 2). Though scientists and accredited researchers saw this coming, they continued with research to finalize conclusions with the majority hypothesis that comprehensive sex education would show the greatest improvement among teenage pregnancy. Comprehensive sex education

curriculum brought to schools in ontario. Students need to learn Sex Ed in school and can do

The United States has some of the highest teen pregnancy rates among developed countries (Stanger-Hall, 2011). In states where abstinence-only sexuality education is very strict, there is no data to support decreasing incidences of teen pregnancies. In fact, teen pregnancies rates are almost twenty percent higher in states where abstinence-only education is heavily stressed compared to states with no mention of abstinence at all. Because teen pregnancy rates and stricter abstinence-only curriculums are directly proportional, this would indicate abstinence-only education is not having the desired effect on students that educators are hoping to have. Comprehensive sexuality education could possibly result in a decline in teen pregnancy rates by providing factual information about pregnancy and

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

Current programs have been successful in lowering the teenage birth rates from their 1991 rates to their current rates, a difference of more than 50 percent. While the STD rates in the United States have not improved, they have ceased to increase in recent years (Satcher, Carmona & Elders, 2015). Sexual education programs differ in what information the program covers, who teaches the class, and how relevant the material is to a diverse student body. In order for a sexual education program to be successful in reducing teenage pregnancy and STD rates, the United States needs to ensure that schools are offering comprehensive sexual education classes that incorporate information on contraceptives and condom usage, are facilitated by both trained and qualified teachers and health professionals, and are tailored to a diverse student

A seventeen year old girl wakes up in the night to comfort her baby. She lives a life of exhaustion, but she still wakes up early to attend her minimum wage job. There is not a good chance of her attending college, because she did not finish high school and must support herself and her child. This is due to the fact that this seventeen year old had no knowledge of contraceptives or birth control, and she lost her partner because she had not experienced the teachings of how to handle a mature, responsible relationship. Residing in Texas, her school has taught her that sex is wrong, for abstinence is her only option. As a result, this seventeen year old missed out on comprehensive

One of the taboos in the United States is the lack of dialogue surrounding controversial issues, specifically sex education. Unfortunately, the absence of serious and constructive discourse is a major difficulty that adversely affects the teenagers of the nation. The problem is that most programs tasked with teaching American youth the proper way to approach topics regarding sex do not provide effective advice or knowledge to handle such situations. Furthermore, the negligence of the country’s sexual health services have served to exaggerate the adverse and preventable results of sexual activity, like pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. That being said, the way the United States treats the subject of sex and the medical services associated with reproductive health should be reformed to supply the country’s youth with better knowledge so that they may handle sexual situations safely.

Picture a young couple being on the verge of exploring their sexual desires for the first time. The question is does this young couple have the proper education to make this life changing decision? They most likely were given their education from the school they attend. Hopefully the school taught them what they needed to know to make such a decision. Should sex education be taught at school by teachers or by the parents?

home rather than school, students are spending the majority of their day in classrooms with peers

Coinciding with the onslaught of the new millennium, schools are beginning to realize that the parents are not doing their job when it comes to sexual education. The school system already has classes on sexual education; these classes are based mainly on human anatomy. Most schools do not teach their students about relationships, morals, respect, self-discipline, self-respect, and most importantly contraceptives. Everyday students engage in sexual activity, many of them with out condoms. This simple act jeopardizes these students' futures and possibly their lives. An increasing amount of school systems are starting to combine messages involving abstinence from sexual activity,