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.

I think it is safe to say that no two words elicit more feelings of concern, anxiety, and anger in parents, and stirs up more controversy and debate than the words “sexual education”. This especially true with the implementation of the new, revised sexual education curriculum in Ontario schools. Consequently, this controversy has strongly divided individuals, families, and organizations between those who approved of and those who opposed and protested against school-based programs that providee sexual health education to children. But why so much opposition? This is due to the significant changes made to the sexual education curriculum and the sensitive nature of the topics being taught to children regarding sexuality as a whole, changes which are seen as both radical and “even more explicit and more age-inappropriate than before…” (“Ontario’s Radical,” n.d.).

Currently, there is no national standard regarding sexual education in America. Soaring sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates are occurring at a national level – there are approximately nine million new occurrences of STI's in the United States each year among teenagers and young adults alone (Alan Guttmacher Institute 2011). Consequently, "the United States continues to have one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world—more than twice as in Canada" (Alan Guttmacher Institute 2011). This large number of infected teenagers combined with the startling pregnancy rates has caused a state of panic in many states, provoking discussion on the topic of introducing comprehensive sexual education into the classroom as a

Something in life I never enjoy is role-play. Something about it annoys me which makes it much more difficult to do. Especially when writing out a conversation. Since I'm going at it again I will definitely be putting some thought into this, so here I go.

One in four teens are diagnosed with STDs every year in the united states. There are 41,731,233 teens in the united states, so that is roughly 10,432,808.25 kids receiving STDs in the united states every year. With fewer than half of high schools and only a fifth of middle schools teaching all 26 topics recommended by the Centers for Disease Control Team(2015), these numbers shouldn’t be surprising. The majority of teens in the United States are taught that abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy or STDs, but in today's society temptation is very prevalent. In the United States 46% of high school age kids have had sex Conklin (2014), and represent 50% of all the new STDs dosomething.org(2014). It is

I remember walking into the bathroom on the second floor of my high school. I took a glance at the wall above the hand dryer and there it lay, an apathetic attempt at educating the masses at Neville high school about the ‘dangers’ of sex, a laminated piece of printer paper which obviously indicated the pusillanimous nature of the high school. Twenty or so abstinence-based opinions on sex, unable to elaborate upon the relatively simple claims made on the sheet. Hanging a piece of paper in the bathroom over the sinks do not constitute a proper sex education. Proper sex education is comprehensive and divulges into serious topics, such as relationships, sexual diversity, and sexual assertiveness, and tells adolescence more than just ‘don't do it, you won't get any more popular’. When examining the two main forms of sex education one may ponder how does America compare to other countries, why it fails in comparison, and then wonder why people believe in abstinence program and the effects of doing so.

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.

Sexual education in public schools has been a controversial topic for many years in the United States. Sexual education began in the 1920s, it was inspired by sexual education programs in the military. These programs were mainly based on religion they stressed the usage of abstinence and frowned upon masturbation (Cornblatt). Over the years sexual education has evolved and now covers topics such as contraceptives, sexually transmitted diseases, healthy relationships, and parenthood. While the topics covered may have changed on thing that has remained the same is the opposition to sexual education in schools. Many people believe that sexual education is a personal topic and should be taught by the students guardian at their own discretion. However, sexual education should be taught in schools because it educates teens on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and decreases the amount of sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies.

Three years ago my older brother walked into his school's dance with three girls. All as just friends of course. He was only a freshman and my parents were totally supportive of him going to a dance with three of his girl friends, not only supportive but they were proud. He had his first girlfriend in his sophomore year and has continued to date and have just girl friends since then. My parents have always been comfortable with him having friends of the opposite sex. Now, I am only two years behind him so I am now a sophomore and you would think that my parents would be cool with me being friends with guys, right? Nope. False. Incorrect. Girls and boys can't be just friends. WRONG. If a guy is hanging out with a girl, they must be in a relationship. Wrong.

Thinking about sex education brings up those awkward moments we had as teenagers sitting in a classroom and listening to our health teachers talk about sex that we joked about with friends but never wanted to discuss with an adult. However, a lot has change over the years. Now, there is a lot of LGBT students coming out in high school and we live in a society where we are surrounded by images that encourages conversations about sex.

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.

(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.

Teenagers have sex; it is an uncomfortable, unavoidable fact. What can be changed, however, is how we go about it. In the United States, nearly 50% of high school students report being sexually active, as well as over 60% of high school seniors. (Conklin). Sexual education in the United States is lacking, and it’s taking its toll on teenagers. Teaching adolescents how to be safe and how to take care of themselves is the least we can do.

When it comes to sexual education for children, I think that information should be provided from more than one outlet. I think that sexual knowledge should be gained from both home and school. I do not think that churches should really have any role or part in teaching children sexual education, because most churches would promote only chastity and abstinence only ideas. I think that a mix between learning things at home and at school is what would work best for most children. This being said, I think that when it comes to schools, there must be a better and reformed version of sexual education than what we see today.

In addition, unprotected sex is the result of many STDS and the cause of millions of deaths. 1 in 4 sexually active teens become infected with an STD every year.