Sexual Education Classes Should Be Taught

When the subject of sexual intercourse gets brought up, it can be an awkward situation for not only children, but adults as well. However, it is important that adolescents learn about how they were delivered into the world. Sexual activities can be a dangerous thing if the juvenile does not know what is happening or the ways to prevent them from happening. Many adolescents have been seduced into doing sexual actions without even knowing how it happened because they are uneducated. Safe sex courses should be taught to a minimum level of eighth graders instead of an abstinence class to inform students of the dangers and preventions of dangers sexual acts can cause.

The first argument made by those who are against schools teaching sexual education to their children state that the school has no right to teach their children about sex. Those parents argue that they can educate their child themselves about the dangers of sex. Parents fear what the schools are teaching their child, and fear that they will become “more accepting of sexual behavior” (Lenth). Another fear is that the classes will make students believe that all teens have sex, peer pressuring them into having

Every year in America, one million teen girls become pregnant and at least three million teens become infected with an STD (Donovan, 1). Though these numbers slightly fluctuate, problems facing American adolescents today, like HIV/AIDS, other STD’s, and teen pregnancy. This means that some needs to change. These problems will decline when sex education is revamped everywhere in America, by making the curriculum completely comprehensive in addressing problems facing adolescents today such as teen pregnancy, STD’s, rape, pressures and emotions dealing with sex, and give teens good communication skills. Right now teachers approach these subjects on their tip toes, dance around the issue, and not fully give out all the information.

Current programs have been successful in lowering the teenage birth rates from their 1991 rates to their current rates, a difference of more than 50 percent. While the STD rates in the United States have not improved, they have ceased to increase in recent years (Satcher, Carmona & Elders, 2015). Sexual education programs differ in what information the program covers, who teaches the class, and how relevant the material is to a diverse student body. In order for a sexual education program to be successful in reducing teenage pregnancy and STD rates, the United States needs to ensure that schools are offering comprehensive sexual education classes that incorporate information on contraceptives and condom usage, are facilitated by both trained and qualified teachers and health professionals, and are tailored to a diverse student

In the united states, there are two schools of thought when it comes to educating students on human sexuality. Sexual education is a broad term that applies to the teaching to information from basic contraceptive use, biological reproduction, the spread of infectious disease, and sexuality. One type of sexual education is referred to as Comprehensive Sexual Education. Comprehensive Sexual Education is curriculum rooted in health and life skills, that strives to teach students medically accurate information on healthy relationships, development, side effects and benefits of birth control methods, abstinence lifestyles, and how to avoid unwanted sexual advances. The other type of sexual education is referred to as Abstinence

The debate over whether comprehensive sexual education should be taught in schools is no less heated than it was when it first became a contemporary controversy in the 1960’s. Some argue that it should not be taught at all, in or out of the home. What many are unaware of is that sexual education has been a major moral dilemma since the year 1892, when the National Education Association passed a resolution citing the need for “moral education in the schools” (Cornblatt). This hot-button issue has made notably slow progress over the course of history, largely due to religious principles enforcing conservatism. Today, sexual education is mandatory in public schools in 22 of 50 states in the U.S. Due to little advancement made in the administration of sexual education programs, citizens of the U.S. have overlooked a deeper underlying issue – and that is, at what stage in adolescence is it necessary and most beneficial for this complicated, life-long learning process to begin? Also due in part to the slow progress these programs have made over time, some parents have even neglected to touch upon the issue entirely. What’s more, these continued failures to be proactive have led to the misuse of some of society’s most prominent resources. Non-“abstinence-only-until-marriage” sexual education in institutions of education,

When children reach adolescence, they begin wondering about things outside their normalcy. One of these things, they begin to wonder about is sexual activity. While answering the questions, they have been critical, teaching them about STI's, and how their bodies change is also crucial. Who should be teaching our adolescent children about these topics, has been a debate since the 1980's. With our current society so wrapped up in sex, and our children seeing more and more of it each day, who should teach our children sexual education? and what should they be taught?

Sexual education has been prominent in the United States for many decades. It has been the backbone of teaching adolescents what comes from sex and what does not it dispels certain beliefs such as not being able to get pregnant for the first time. There are many views on whether or not sexual education should be taught in school. Some of those include that they are too young to know about such things and others conclude that anytime will be the appropriate time to teach children about safe sex. A large number of research has been done regarding the two different programs that are implemented in the United States, the AOUM, abstinence-only-until-marriage, and the EBIs, “evidence-based” interventions. I believe that evidence-based programs,

The United States sex education poorly educates students on how to protect themselves from both unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted disease. When one looks at data comparing the United States to countries with comprehensive sex education, you can see the significant difference in numbers of these issues. You can also see how the lack of education among students leads to more sexual harassment towards females. In order to combat these issues, the United States should put in place a better education strategy that teaches young adults how to have safe sex that prevents unwanted pregnancy and STIs, instead of stressing the importance of abstinence.

To begin, some parents may debate that their child isn’t old enough to receive such graphic information, the truth is while children become teenagers puberty sparks interest in sexual activity and with some children starting puberty as early as ten or eleven years old sex is a natural thing to think about at that age. Following, some may also say that having an extensive sexual education course can present unruly ideas to our youth. To argue, as the 21st century has changed what Americans consider right and wrong allowing more understanding and acceptance of difference. Understanding themselves at an early age will help them achieve comfortability in their adult lives. Teenagers need an explanation to why their bodies and minds are changing and with a comprehensive sexual education course they may seek out the answers they have been questioning themselves, as well as answering questions they haven’t thought to ask yet. Lastly, considering how the teenage body and mind work, why would it be beneficial to explain a wide range of sexual education? With proper education teens can prepare themselves for the future, whenever they choose to become sexually active they will know who they can talk to including school counselors, pediatricians and more importantly their parents. Juveniles will also have the understanding of birth control, what the most effective ways to protect yourself

Sex education is quite a controversial topic in the world of education today. The act of informing young adults about sexual orientation, sexual health, sexual reproduction and the safety precautions in order to stay safe are all things that these young adults should know, but the problem is, who should have to teach them such a controversial topic? Should parents have to overcome the uneasy and uncomfortable feelings they face when mentioning such a topic to their children, or should the responsibility of such a task be confronted by well educated individuals in the school setting? The importance of highlighting the issue of sexual education being a mandatory course necessary for young adults only grows as the pregnancy rate continues increasing, and the age of young adults facing this issue decreases.

Coinciding with the onslaught of the new millennium, schools are beginning to realize that the parents are not doing their job when it comes to sexual education. The school system already has classes on sexual education; these classes are based mainly on human anatomy. Most schools do not teach their students about relationships, morals, respect, self-discipline, self-respect, and most importantly contraceptives. Everyday students engage in sexual activity, many of them with out condoms. This simple act jeopardizes these students' futures and possibly their lives. An increasing amount of school systems are starting to combine messages involving abstinence from sexual activity,

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.

“If the Liberals' law is passed, will sex education in the schools, including elementary grades, include the same portrayals of sexual activity which presently exist in heterosexual instruction? Will there be the same presentation of homosexual activity? Of course there will.”

In today's society there is an on going debate over sex education and its influence on our children. "The question is no longer should sex education be taught, but rather how it should be taught" (DeCarlo). With teenage pregnancy rates higher than ever and the imminent threat of the contraction of STD's, such as HIV, the role of sex education in the school is of greater importance now then ever before. By denying children sex education you are in a sense sheltering them from the harsh realities they are bound to encounter. Sex education has become an essential part of the curriculum and by removing the information provided by this class we'll be voluntarily putting our children in danger.