Persuasive Essay On Sexual Education

While sexual education is mandatory in almost all secondary schools across Australia, the level of depth at which it is taught varies throughout every school. Many highly important areas of sex ed, such as learning about consent, contraceptive options and violence in relationships, are less commonly taught in high school, with puberty typically being the prime topic taught in PDHPE lessons instead. But when we look at the increase in things such as sexual assault, sexual violence, Sexually Transmitted Infections and teenage pregnancy among today’s youth, we must wonder why such imperative subjects to educate teenagers on are discussed so minimally.

Sex education for American youth has been a topic of discussion across the nation since the early 1980s. Teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted disease are two major problems throughout the U.S.. Sexually transmitted infections have been an ongoing problem for American people since World War I. To combat the growing teen pregnancy and STI rates, the U.S. established organized sex education. Since sex education has been integrated in schools across the nation, it has been heavily influenced by religion. The federal government has funded abstinence-only education programs for over a quarter century. Abstinence-only

Sexuality is one of the most powerful and universal forces for human-kind. Whether before or after marriage, everyone engages in it at one point in their lives. Unlike calculus, sex education is something you are going to use in the future. When I took a class survey, most of you either agreed or strongly agreed that sex education was important for teens to learn about. However, many people in America, specifically parents, believe that sex education should not be taught in schools and boycott any measures to educate teens. These people have led me to create this speech. I am up here today to persuade the audience that a fundamental lack of comprehensive sex education can lead misinformation, teen pregnancies, and negative views about sex.

Often, sexual education can go against an individual's moral or religious beliefs. Many schools do not teach abstinence only but teach safe sex, whereas many religious groups and families do not value intercourse before marriage. Teachers may input their own beliefs or morals into the subject matter rather than stick with the facts if they are not properly trained on how to conduct a sex education course. Sex education classes are briefly focused on during a health class or physical education. This is not a long enough period to educate students on such serious material. These arguments does not take into account the fact that students will be taught on subjects such as, sexually transmitted diseases, the reproductive system, sexually and birthing issues rather than the stuff they learn through peers, television or the internet. Many of the myths learned by students about sex swill also are discussed, such as not being able to get pregnant the first time. Classes for those of a younger group are separated by gender, saving embarrassment amongst students and teachers. Teaching sex education can have a major impact on preventing unplanned pregnancy and other sexual problems in adulthood.

Sex education provides the youth with the skills and knowledge needed to practice safer sex behavior, refuse sex, and engage in positive youth development programs. The positive youth development programs provide the youth with motivation and confidence to gain and utilize the skills listed above. The federal government invests $1.5 billion dollars in abstinence-only programs, which have been proven ineffective among the adolescent population (Advocates for Youth, 2009). Nevertheless, there has been proposed budgets to create funding for programs that have been proven effective in reducing teen pregnancy, delaying sexual activity, or increasing contraceptive use (Advocates for Youth, 2009). limit the youth with information that is contradicted through the media everyday.

Secondly, when sexual education is taught in schools there are fewer health consequences. Teenagers are curious and thus, will not understand the effects that sex can have emotionally, physically and psychologically. Teen pregnancy is a disquieting reality for many teens. Not surprisingly, as pregnancy has a large impact on adults, but how much more so for naive teenagers? Sexual education empowers teens by providing them with solutions to epidemics such as teen pregnancy. In fact, pregnancy rates decrease when teenagers are being taught comprehensive sexual education. According to SIECUS.org, “comprehensive sex education [is] associated with a 50% lower risk of teen pregnancy”. This is because sexual education programs teach about contraceptives and birth controls. Some parents do not teach their children about

The question of sexuality education is never whether or not it should be taught. If schools and parents don’t teach young people about sex, the hypersexualized modern media will. Research shows that the younger a child is exposed to sexual media, the younger they will become sexually active and the more reckless they will be when they do (Ross), and that children are indeed being exposed to sexual messages at younger and younger ages. The Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health organization, reports that forty-four percent of teen girls and forty-nine percent of boys report having had sex (“American”), but other studies and estimates run as high as seventy percent. Moreover, while American culture becomes increasingly aware and accepting of the “sex positivity” movement, which seeks to promote and embrace healthy sexuality with few constraints beyond consent and safety, it also struggles to address issues like LGBTQ rights and deeply-embedded rape culture. Sex, while a very private act, is a very public issue. These conflicting conversations very much affect American teenagers. A close look at sex education programs is now more prudent than ever. A 1996 federal act allocated $50 million for programs that promote abstinence until marriage as the only way to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STDs. Programs outside federal funding teach abstinence as one option among many. Abstinence-only education has been shown largely ineffective in reducing teen sexual activity,

Teenage pregnancy rates are higher in American than they are in most other industrialized countries. This is a direct cause of the prominence of abstinence-only-before-marriage (commonly known as abstinence-only) education in United States schools. Besides teen pregnancy, abstinence-only education does a lot more harm to America’s youth. Even though abstinence-only-before-marriage education in schools promotes abstinence, a comprehensive sex education gives teenagers accurate information, has community support, and is empowering to youth.

In life, high school especially, sexual education is very important and can truly impact a person’s life. Improper education on sex can lead to many life-changing mistakes. These blunders can be avoided with proper knowledge. Although students should be encouraged to remain abstinent, they should still be taught about contraception and practicing safe sex. With proper sexual education, abstinence rates will increase and the numbers of teenage parents will decrease.

People look at this type of teaching as planting a “seed” for sex in their minds. This is very untrue. Teenagers do not need help to think about sex, teenagers already think about sex. With the influx of hormones during puberty primary and secondary sex characteristics become more noticeable and desirable to teenagers. Sexual education does more good than harm and actually helps adolescents development. Studies conducted by the World Heath Organizations has established that sexual education programs both abstinence and comprehensive based programs help delay and reduce sexual encounters. Teaching adolescents sexual education improves knowledge and understanding. This can intern result in the building of autonomy and confidence. Adolescents are faced with what Erik Erikson’s describes as identity versus role confusion (Berger, 2014). In this crisis adolescents must discover who they are so they can plan for the future. Sexual education programs in school can help adolescents plan for the future. By giving them information about sex it can help to avoid unwanted pregnancies along with transmissions of diseases. Because after all education will not plant any seeds, just help plants grow successfully.

Sex education in school’s have divided the nation, with conservatives pushing to have abstinent only programs, while liberals insist on comprehensive programs, that promote the choice of remaining abstinent while still providing information on how to stay safe if a student chooses to participate in sexual behavior. There has been studies to show how an effective sex education program can help someone socially.

Many people believe that sex education is a taboo topic but it is far from that it is a topic that is very important and impactful to one's life and it plays a huge step in how children will grow up. A child is an adult when they can understand about sexual education and how they can fully protect themselves against it. I believe that an adult that understand this are prepare to protect them and their love ones. Because sometimes parents underestimate the importance of it, and because religion makes teaching it inaccurately. Signs such as a child having the knowledge of contraceptives and how sex is an act of love is signs of a child blossoming to a young adult with far more knowledge in sexual education than their previous self. I believe that is something as important as this should be taught in school.

Meet Ashlynn. She is my cousin’s daughter who is now 7 years old. 8 years ago, my cousin, Eric, was a second-year at Pacific Lutheran University in Washington and had been dating his girlfriend, Abby. A few months into the relationship, Abby found out she was pregnant and decided to keep the child. Today, they share joint custody of their adorable daughter, but it certainly has not been an easy journey. Once Eric and Abby chose to keep the baby, both dropped out of college and continued to live with college debt. In addition, both work full-time, minimally paying jobs and remain disputing custody issues, taking a large emotional toll on the parents, child, and families. While Ashlynn is fully loved and wanted, she came from a pregnancy that was unintended. Eric and Abby had not planned to raise a child in the middle of their college career, and their story is simply one of many. Secretary DeVos, although all unintended pregnancies cannot be avoided, there are certainly measures individuals can take that reduce the chance of pregnancy. One critically important measure includes receiving a sex education, a topic that is in dire need to be reformed in the United States.

Criminal, rapist, and animal are a few words that are often associated with sex offenders. The survivors of these horrendous attacks aren’t characters on TV, often they can be the students in your local college. College students are more likely to be sexually assaulted than any other age group. In fact, 1 in 5 women will be sexually assaulted while attending college. Colleges should be battling to reduce these attacks by implementing a new sex education, teaching prevention, and spreading awareness. Civil rights leader, Mahatma Gandhi, believed that “you must be the change you wish to see in the world”. I agree with Gandhi, these attacks leave permanent physical and mental scarring on their victims and I believe it’s our duty to look out for the safety of others to help prevent these attacks.

(8) Secretary DeVos, the last lesson a teenage girl needs is that sex will make her untouchable and disgusting. The message that groups, such as Best Choice, sends is damaging to a young teen’s mental health and provides no accurate and useful information to an individual’s growth and development. Especially for any students who have experienced sexual assault, this demeaning message will only worsen any psychological damage that likely already existed. No human should ever be taught that he or she is used up and worthless, and no program that does so should ever be federally funded. Secretary DeVos, you can make a difference in these girls’ lives and stop funding abstinent-only programs, like Best Choice, that provide a demeaning and inaccurate sex education.