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 and abstinence needs to be taken more seriously in the educational system and in the homes of young adolescents. This subject is extremely important to me and is prevalent today because sex ed is an issue that many men and women fail to comprehend, whether it is sex education or abstinence. Throughout many middle schools , high schools and adulthood sex education is “sugar-coated.” When you don’t call it what it is, it seems unimportant an example is “The birds and the bees” when the bee’s get the pollen and puts it in flowers and how birds lay eggs which is pretty explanatory but not enough seriousness is being put into account. An issue that still prevails is that the school system wants students to know about it in as early as the sixth grade for preventative measures; avoidance of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In my experience the sixth grade is a bit too young. I was only twelve years old learning about sex education and I had no idea what was happening since they just “dropped” the subject on us all at once and did not really ease it on too us bit by bit.

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.

Teenage pregnancy and disease have not only created a problem for the US in the past, but have also created a problem that the US still struggles with today. For example as early as 1988, “50% of female adolescents and 60% of male adolescents 15 to 19 years of age had engaged in sexual intercourse, more than 1 in 10 teenage girls was pregnant, and 1 in 6 sexually experienced teens had a sexually transmitted

While the rate of pregnancy in 15-19 year olds has been declining (59.9 births per 1000 women in 1990 to 24.2 births per 1000 women in 2014 (Office of Adolescent Health)), it is still quite high when compared to other developed areas of the world such as Europe. The reasons for rates of teen pregnancy is a complex issue with many causes, however, the leading causes for high rates for teen pregnancy are a lack of contraception availability and lack of knowledge (such as from fact based, comprehensive sexual education). The US is lacking in both (Berk). While nearly all US states teach about the benefits of abstinence, many states do not teach about other effective means

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 is a new form of epidemic that is sweeping across the nation worldwide. No one can actually point fingers on who is to blame or why this situation has increased in numbers over the past years. As years progress and society changes, people have been adjusting to the fact that teenagers are getting pregnant, and that there is nothing we can do to change it. Although many think that teenagers make mistakes and that pregnancy is an automatic consequence, there is a way to prevent this outcome from happening. By introducing different kinds of sex education programs at an earlier age, the teenage pregnancy rate will decrease. Even though we cannot eliminate the problem, we can educate our teenagers so that this issue can be

Teen pregnancy has been a serious social issue for quite a while. Often, a teen pregnancy is detrimental for both the teen and the child involved. Both a teen mother and her child are more susceptible to complications during the pregnancy and birth than and adult mother and her child. Unfortunately, a teen mother and her infant are also less likely to pursue and receive healthcare to alleviate these health risks (Teen Pregnancy). Moreover, “teen pregnancy is often cited as a factor that perpetuates the cycle of poverty, since teen mothers are likely to be poor in the first place, and their children are likely to grow up to be poor” (Teen Pregnancy). While there is no argument that teens should be educated to prevent teen pregnancy, there is a debate on how it should be done. Currently, there are two forms of education focused on reducing teen pregnancies: abstinence-only education and comprehensive sex education with birth control. However, sex education and birth control are clearly the superior option, due to its effectiveness and the futility of abstinence-only education.

Teenage boys and girls who barely provide for themselves or try making informed decisions about their future, are choosing a risky path by engaging in sexual activities. Numerous social issues including: poverty, low education levels, lack of awareness about sex and pregnancy prevention; help lead an epidemic of young pregnancies. Close to three million

Many teenagers are now becoming parents these days. In fact, from the ages of 15-19, there were 249,078 babies born in the United States. (1) Many of these unwanted pregnancies can be prevented with the help sexual education. Yes, in some schools there is sexual education. But, if it was in every school many of these could have possibly been prevented. At the school I attend, sexual education is not offered. We are faced with several unwanted pregnancies, and with sexual education, I think these could be prevented.

“Don't have sex, because you will get pregnant and die! Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up, just don't do it, OK, promise? ” (Mean Girls). When thinking about sex-ed this quote is normally what one thinks of. For some teenagers in the American public school system, this lesson from Coach Karr was the gist of their sexual education in high school. Remain abstinent, but if you don’t listen to us, here are some condoms. There will always be those who try to force their ideas down your throat, Mormons, kiosk workers, vegans, Sex Ed enthusiasts; so where do we draw the line on what information should be taught as common knowledge? Making Sexual Education a mandatory standard completely discredits the idea of what public education is about, and therefore, must remain an optional program. The indoctrination of sex to children undermines the rights of parents by forcing a highly personal conversation in the impersonal setting of a classroom. Enforcing mandatory sex education would be no different than the state preventing people from honoring their personal religious obligations.

Do you know where babies come from? Well if we did not have a sex education course how would we find the proper information about anything! When society talks about sex it is almost a taboo subject that just is forbidden. All public schools should teach sex-education because it helps protect teens from sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancy, and promotes healthy relationships. Pregnancy is always such a joyous gift except for if the girl is a teenager. Teen pregnancy is not a sociable acceptance and the girls get criticized for it, when yet it takes two to make one. If teens did not have a sex education class they might not even have a clue on how easy it could be to become pregnant. As of 2015 results teen pregnancy rates are at an overall low for the united states, but still higher than western industrialized nations. (“Reproductive Health: Teen Pregnancy.”) The education course goes over huge risks that teens may not even know are out there. The STD rate is growing rapidly and if it hits a teenage generation things could spiral out of control. In the years 2015- 2016 syphilis rates went up 18 percent overall and 36 percent for just woman. (“CDC Newsroom.”) Health courses even begin to explain how a health relationship should look. Standards have been lowered and it is up to the health education teachers to provide us with good information on what students should expect from their other half. Even having a healthy relationship with yourself

Sexual Education is a topic that people have a hard time talking about. Schools nationwide underestimate the idea that high school students have sex. Having a sexual education course would be able to benefit students, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Students are often left to find themselves having to do research on their own time, due to the fact they may be afraid to talk to parents or family about sex. Classes in high school are taught to educate students for the rest of their lives, this course will teach them the necessary steps to help educate teens on safe sex, preventing teen pregnancy, and diseases.

The use of sex education in our schools continues to be a polarizing question for many Americans. Only 22 states in America require schools to teach their students about sexual safety (Siebold). Without sex education, teenagers are not learning the basics of safe sex and the different types of STD’s. Many people think teaching sex education is promoting sex in our school by addressing the idea of sex. Although many states believe abstinence is the only method to protect from early pregnancies and outbreaks of STD’s, research shows sex education teaches children about the importance of contraceptives, lowers teen pregnancy rates, and reduces the spread of STD’s.

Transitioning from childhood to teenage years is already awkward enough for most girls, but “the talk” is unbearable for some. Little do these young minds know that the scariest part of sex education is the lack of accurate and detailed information. A shortage of information on their own bodies can have grim effects on their sexuality later in life. Inadequate sex education for adolescents has consequently set the foundation for an orgasm inequality, favoring men over women.