Sex Education And Sexual Education

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

Sexual Education in Schools By Katelin Garchow Professor Delong English 111 October 10, 2015 Sexual Education in Schools Sexual intercourse is considered to be between two people that love each other very much. It is romanticized in movies and books, and is alluded to everywhere. As the age for sexual experimentation grow lower many question whether or not have sexual education in our school systems. Many argue that by educating the children at younger ages about sex, it promote the early experimentation. Also that it is not the school 's job to teach about sexualatity and that what they would teach would be against their religion, beliefs, or values, but should promote abstinence. Others argue that the experimental rate is grong and if teens will have sex it is better to educate them on how to be safe. They also arguer that sex is everywhere and children will learn about sex in some way shape or form, whether it be from friends, family, or the media.

Throughout recent years, addressing the subject of sexual and reproductive health among Australians has become paramount due to continuously emerging health concerns, particularly among adolescents and younger people. Sexual health is defined by the World Health Organisation as

Sex Education in Schools Nineteen-fifty five marked the debut of sex education programs in schools in the United States. Along the years, many have argued whether or not sex education should be taught in schools. Many believe that the education of sex encourages students to engage in sexual activities which lead to a higher number of pregnancies and sexual transmitted diseases (STD’s).The U.S. is the leading country in teen pregnancies and STD’s As the number of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases climbs higher and higher every day in our country, one can only think that sexual education is a necessity in our school systems. Young people, teens, account for 25% of our country’s sexually active population and contract half of said population’s STD’s. Teens as young as fourteen years old have admitted to already engaging in sexual activities. No teen should be engaging in such acts at that age. Many schools give parents the choice to have their child opt out of the lesson or class. Few states are required to teach sex education to students in secondary schools unless they were withdrawn from the class by their parents.

The debate over whether comprehensive sexual education should be taught in has been a controversial issue in the United States for over a decade. The United States has more than double the teenage pregnancy rate of any western industrialized country. Recent statistics has shown that more than a million teenagers become pregnant annually. In addition, teenagers have the highest rates of sexually transmitted disease of any age group. In fact, one in four young people contract a sexually transmitted disease by the age of twenty-one. Comprehensive sexual education in educational institutions is crucial as a means of combating the alarming rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies amongst teenagers.

In the early 1960’s the controversial issue of sex education started to become a more prevalent conversation among educators and parents alike when the Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of oral contraceptives(Szustek, 2009). Though the topic was previously being discussed as early as mid to late 19th century, it was not deemed completely necessary or an appropriate topic for school aged children prior to this point. In the United States more than 750,000 girls between the ages of 15-19 experience unexpected pregnancies annually and another 19 million of all newly reported Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) cases are young adults between the ages of 15-25(Boonstra, 2013). The argument of whether or not sex education should be taught to students is moot since according to a recent survey by National Public Radio about 93% of adults believe sex education is needed (Anonymous, 2004). The more pressing issue is the content in which is to be presented to students. There are conflicting groups that argue the validity of the methods used to convey the importance of the apparently sensitive subject; one side of the divide are the supporters of abstinence only education which presents a very singular approach and on the other is those that believe in the importance of comprehensive sex education which explores a variety methods of sexual safety.

Author Bob Smith once said, “In America, when we decide to ignore a subject, our favorite form of denial is to teach it incompetently. Familiarity without true understanding is not only the basis of our families but of our educational system as well.” Smith refers to the inadequate sexual education of teenagers in the United States. Sexual education is the instruction on issues about bodily development, sex, sexuality, and relationships. Comprehensive sex education teaches about abstinence, condoms, and contraceptives to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies. As well as, the skills needed to help young people explore their own values and options. Comprehensive sexual education should be taught in the United

Comprehensive sexuality education has always been a focal point of the debate across the United States. Any topics related to sexuality education would make tremendous amount of people feel embarrassed and uncomfortable because sex education is fallaciously perceived as a stigma of the society on an increase rate of unintended pregnancy, the outbreak of sexual transmitted diseases, and other social ethical issues. From a U.S. review, however, “the overwhelming weight of evidence shows that sex education that discusses contraception does not increase sexual activity.” The understanding of sex education not only covers simply a part in reproduction, or how babies are conceived and born but also helps the teenager to have some basis understanding of virtually every aspect of sex by the time he or she reaches full maturity, and more importantly, it encourages confidence and improves communication skills, the social issues surrounding sexuality and reproduction as well as cultural norms, family

AUTHOR BOB SMITH ONCE SAID, “IN AMERICA, WHEN WE DECIDE TO IGNORE A SUBJECT, OUR FAVORITE FORM OF DENIAL IS TO TEACH IT INCOMPETENTLY. FAMILIARITY WITHOUT TRUE UNDERSTANDING IS NOT ONLY THE BASIS OF OUR FAMILIES BUT OF OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AS WELL.” SMITH REFERS TO THE INADEQUATE SEXUAL EDUCATION OF TEENAGERS IN AMERICA. Sexual education is the instruction on issues about bodily development, sex, sexuality, and relationships. Comprehensive sex education teaches about abstinence, condoms, and contraceptives to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies. As well as, the skills needed to help young people explore their own values and options. Comprehensive sexual education should be taught in public schools in the United States to provide teenagers with an evidence-based approach to healthy decision making in their sexual lives.

In the United States, there is a large debate It also teaches interpersonal and communication skills and helps young people explore their own values, goals, and options (Advocates for Youth, 2001). This method shows various ways to prevent unplanned pregnancies and ways to avoid STD’s unlike the abstinence-only education programs. Abstinence-only method finds faults within the contraceptives, which then pushes those faults into the children. This approach instills fear into children so they see all of the bad that comes with sex before marriage. Now comprehensive sex education provides values-based education and offers students the opportunity to explore and define their individual values as well as the values of their families and communities, and includes a wide variety of sexuality related topics, such as human development, relationships, interpersonal skills, sexual expression, sexual health, and society and culture (Advocates for Youth, 2001). In addition, it includes accurate, factual information on abortion, masturbation, and sexual orientation, provides positive messages about sexuality and sexual expression, including the benefits of abstinence and teaches that proper use of latex condoms, along with water-based lubricants, can greatly reduce, but not eliminate, the

Sex Education in America Of the fifty states and the District of Columbia, only twenty-four states require sex education, thirteen states require that any information given must be medically accurate. (“Sex and HIV Education”). Sex education in America is abysmal and horrific compared to other first-world countries. Many states do not give comprehensive sex-education, typically resulting in less use of safe behaviors during sex and a lack of awareness of STD and/or pregnancy prevention. Furthermore, sex-education is not held to the same high standards as math, english, or science, resulting in medically inaccuracies and biases to be slipped into the curriculum. Therefore, I believe it is in the best interest of America’s youth to require medically accurate information, give them a comprehensive education, and require higher standards of education.

Young people around the United States would extremely benefit if they were educated about sexual health. Sexual education offers accurate information on medical terminology and biology; by the youth obtaining this information, they can help themselves as well as others. Mandatory sexual education also limits the spread of sexually transmitted diseases by teaching about the signs and symptoms and proper condom usage. The loss of innocence is a huge concern when considering mandatory sexual education; however educational lessons are based around the age of the student and are not meant to be too mature for their age group, as well as there being no scientific evidence that proves sexual education leads the youth to partake in sexual activity. A further prediction is that eventually sexual education will become a federally mandated program throughout the United States, and the rate of sexually transmitted diseases will decrease because of the information being taught to these young people in

To further understand sex issues facing adolescents today; let’s take a general look on what issues are being taught in schools. 69% of schools say there is a policy on sex education. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, which is a nonprofit organization that is focused on sexual reproductive health research, policy and analysis on public education, studied sex education today and compared it to a decade ago. 23% of schools in 2000 taught abstinence-only education, which was up 2% from 1988. The study also found that classes today are less likely to talk about birth control, abortion, obtaining and using contraception, ad sexual orientation, compared to the late 1980’s (The Alan Guttmacher Institute). The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation put together a survey asking students what was being taught in their sex education class. The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation is a major philanthropy foundation that focuses mainly on major health care issues facing the nation. The survey questioned 1,501 students nationwide and asked them questions concerning several topics. First, they asked what is considered to be “core elements” of sex

Firstly, what is Sex education? It is an explanation about bodily development, sexuality and relationships. Also, it teaches young people how to make good decisions when engaged in sexual intercourse. This is extremely important, as it can help prevent issues such as teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases from spreading. Some might argue that sex education shouldn’t even be discussed on whether it should be in schools or not, but that it is a right for students to know. There are numerous benefits to a person’s education as a result of sexual education. Some include: Communicating about sexuality and sexual health, autonomy of one’s body, and even as much as protecting a student's’ academic success. The CDC reports that people who engaged in health-risking activities were more likely to score lower on examinations than those who did not. Teenage pregnancies can lead as far as absenteeism or even dropping out.

In the Gazette’s article on sex education in schools, the writer explains how schools should go in depth to explain sex education and not just talk about one thing but about everything. Many schools just teach the basics of sex education and some of the cautions and then never speak of it again. Schools should inform the students more facts or how having a child at a young age will affect their entire life even if they decide to keep the baby or abort it. Sex should be an important topic to discuss in schools because the students are young and want to experiment to be “cool” without knowing the risks.