Sexuality is everywhere; it bounces recklessly back and forth between the teenage subconscious sneaking into the little everyday tasks, in a society where sex is becoming more and more common in the media it is still considered a fairly taboo topic. I think it is still interesting trying to decide between abstinence-plus (comprehensive) sex education and abstinence only sex education. Whether we should promote abstinence while teaching about contraceptives, condoms, and STD’s or we should teach only abstinence avoiding the topic of birth control and condoms. I think my parents went through this mental debate themselves when it came to me and my sister. Since society has gone through a social revolution in the past 30-40 years in which the way that people express their sexual identities, my parents realized the importance of educating me about being safe but I don’t think they knew just quite how to do that. My parents are older than most people’s parents my age, my mother had me at 42 years of age. Therefore, when she was young it was frowned upon if a young lady talked about sex or even showed an interest in the topic. Sheltered under my parent’s wing as a girl, I was not given the opportunity to explore my sexuality. My parents did their best to mold me into an image and didn’t allow for much choice or room for growth. My mom being the Christian woman that she is, first gave me a book explaining the similarities and differences between boys and girls and how they are created by God for specific reasons. Soon after I remember having the “where do babies come from” talk with my parents. They helped me understand how a new baby is developed and how it is specially made in God’s image. As I started middle school I remember society allowing it to be acceptable for a young person to be allowed to express themselves through clothes, music, or lifestyle. My body was changing, and I knew I wanted to be different from the image my parents molded for me during my younger years but I didn’t know why. The first week of sixth grade I started my period. This was before a lot of the other girls my age that I was friends with. I was confused and embarrassed but luckily my mom came and picked me up from school. She took me to
Modern era sex education programs in the United States began in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of the AIDS/HIV epidemic. With the introduction of curricula teaching safe sex and the effectiveness of contraception, other curricula refuted these ideas thus creating a conflict about sex education in the U.S. Sex education in the U.S is divided into two categories: abstinence-only and comprehensive, the former being the most implemented among states nationwide. Abstinence-only programs stress the importance of abstaining from sex until marriage, fitting the “traditional” set of American morals. Covering more than just abstinence, comprehensive sex education programs not only teach students about the options they have when it comes
Sexual education is a highly debatable topic, but many believe the information taught to students should be abstinence-only. Abstinence-only education has been put in place in order to educate students about the social, mental, and physical benefits of resisting from all sexual activity. It emphasizes the unsafe impacts of participating in sexual activity before marriage and having casual sex. It also promotes the idea that sexual abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Abstinence education only permits the discussion of contraception and condoms in terms of failure in order to utterly discourage casual sex (Wilgoren, 1). Along with teaching the physical dangers of sex, abstinence education also teaches the mental dangers of sex (Abstinence-Only Education, 1). Sex has many risks and dangers that are not
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
The teenagers and children of today read about, listen to and watch all sorts of information about sex. While most adults have had some form of sex education, we must ask if this new generation is learning anything new or helpful from their sex education classes. The American culture and way of living is so absorbed in sex that children should be taught about it, people just can not agree on how to teach them. In her article New Sex ed Funding Ends Decade of Abstinence-Only, Kelli Kennedy proves that abstinence-only sex education classes and programs are not as good as regular sex education classes better than Shari Roan does in her article Teen pregnancy rates rises. Are abstinent-only programs to blame?
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,
Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the U.S. in the early 1980s the issue of sex education for American youth has had the attention of the nation. There are about 400,000 teen births every year in the U.S, with about 9 billion in associated public costs. STI contraction in general, as well as teen pregnancy, have put the subject even more so on the forefront of the nation’s leading issues. The approach and method for proper and effective sex education has been hotly debated. Some believe that teaching abstinence-only until marriage is the best method while others believe that a more comprehensive approach, which includes abstinence promotion as well as contraceptive information, is necessary. Abstinence-only program curriculums disregard
I believe that all schools should teach an inclusive form of sexual education. I believe that teaching abstinence is not working in the slightest because the rate of teenagers who are sexually active is gradually increasing. Since the fact is that teens are participating in sexual intercourse, we need to teach them how to have sex safely. Schools need to teach a form of sexual education that will fully cover how to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections, because the abstinence-only-until-marriage programs contain inaccuracies and flaws, the popular opinion differs from state policies, and the government and tax payer’s money could be better allocated to a different cause. Ultimately teaching proper sexual education will help to lower the teenage pregnancy
The classes proved information about contraceptives, STDs and HIV prevention. It also is age appropriate and scientifically explained. Collins says it well that “by denying teens the full range of information regarding human sexuality, abstinence-only education fails to provide young people with the information they need to protect their health and well being.” Students when asked survey by the Kasier Family Foundation said that they knew more and felt better prepared to handle different situations. Abstinence only education just chooses to avoid it and does not take into account students who decide a different path. Abstinence only education supports say that by teaching the “abstinence-plus” education that they are sending mixed messages towards students. Current advocates for comprehensive education cite that “providing teens with contraceptive information does not encourage early sexual activity.” The Surgeon General David Satcher had said that based off of the information he had derived from both approaches “evidence gives strong support to the conclusion that providing information about contraception does not increase adolescent sexual activity….[it only] increased condom and contraceptive uses among adolescents who were sexually active.” (Collins 9)Most evaluations of many different types of
Abstinence only education is hindering the lives of teens in today’s world. Schools should stop teaching abstinence only education since, it increases the rate of teens having sexual relations with other people, it does not give students adequate lessons on preventing STDs, and the rate of teen pregnancy is higher for students who receive abstinence only education. As a nation we need to help teens protect themselves with this topic and most importantly approach it with caution. Many schools believe that abstinence only education is the most effective way to instruct students on the topic of sex when it clearly is not.
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
However, controversy arises when the discussion as to what the proper method of teaching sexual education should be. In the school system of the United States sex education is taught in two main forms: abstinence-only sex education, which focuses on abstaining from sexual activity prior to marriage and does not provide contraceptive knowledge, and comprehensive sex education, which focuses on sexual health as a whole including knowledge about contraceptives and how to avoid STDs. Currently the only federally funded programs implemented in public schools are abstinence-only. But does Abstinence-only sex education work? In order to provide an answer this paper will discuss the basic principles and practices which constitute abstinence-only sex education, the proponents argument for abstinence-only sex education and how abstinence-only education affects teen pregnancy and STD
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
According to a poll done in 2006 that recorded the “Adult and teen preferences for type of sex education needed,” 14% percent of the adults interviewed thought that teens should get more information about abstinence, 8% that they should get more information about birth control, 73% that they should get more information about both abstinence and birth control or protection, 4% didn’t know, and 1% refused to answer. For teens (12-19), 7% percent thought that they should learn more about abstinence, 9% that they should learn more about birth control, 56% that they should learn more about both abstinence and birth control or protection, 22% didn’t know, and 7% refused to answer (“Adult and teen preferences,” 2010).
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
Controversy is rampant regarding the sexual education of grade school children. Some insist that it is prudent to educate children on this subject beginning as early as kindergarten. Others strongly disagree that earlier education has any effect at all on teen sex and pregnancy and, therefore, abstinence should be the focus. Lastly, we have those who believe advocating abstinence is appropriate, but agree that a more in depth sexual education is also necessary for those who are going to have sex anyway despite our best efforts to teach them otherwise.