Should Sex Education Be Mandatory?

Sexual education in schools has become a highly controversial topic over the past few years. Some people believe students should be taught abstinence-only education, while others believe students need the full on “sex talk”. While the sex education controversy may seem silly, it is very important that students receive the most efficient education possible. When it comes to education parents want their children to receive the most effective kind. This is also very true in terms of sex education. Sex education is very debatable right now as to whether students should be taught abstinence-only education or comprehensive sex education.

Sex education should be implemented at an early age beginning at the middle school level. A discussion of contraception, the risks of diseases, the risk of becoming an unwed teen parent and the disadvantages of not having an education will help decrease the number of teen pregnancies with future generations. Parents should not feel threatened of having their children learning about sex in class. Parents should feel empowered; it will allow their children opportunities to feel they are able to discuss future topics of sex at home to help promote

Imagine if the United States said “Okay, we’re banning driver’s Education in schools. We don’t think a sixteen year old is mentally and physically prepared to drive safely, and we don’t want to encourage that”. So of course, schools start pulling driver’s ed classes, but also say “Wait wait wait, sixteen year olds may not be ready to drive, but they’re going to anyway. Why not make it safer for them instead of putting them out on the road with no safety knowledge?” But, the country continues to say “They’re not ready so we’re not going to encourage that in schools” Sex education isn't just about pregnancy, it's about avoiding STDs and other health issues. The highest teenage STD rates are normally associated with abstinence-only education. Some STDs will cause life-long problems, and should be taught about to teens. Although there is an attempt to minimize teen pregnancy and stds, the rate of teen pregnancy is higher in the U.S. than other Western countries, Among teens aged 18–19, 41% report that they know little or nothing about condoms, and 1 in 4 teens in the US receives information about abstinence without receiving any information or instructions about birth control.

First, with young students this subject may be a little uncomfortable to talk about, but without learning about sexuality extensively many students may be unaware of the hazards of unprotected sex. Being open with our children and explaining the natures of sex will help them make the best decisions for themselves without scaring our students by focusing on the dangers. Second, some may say that our sexual education course is fine how it is, but there always room for improvement. A questionnaire was presented to graduates from Ontario Canada. They were asked what they think should be mandatory concerning sexual education in high school. Many agreed that talking about sexual decision making, communication about sex, relationships and more should be mandatory throughout sexual education creating a better understanding of safe sex. (Meaney 112). Why isn’t this in the United States curriculum? Whether teachers or parents like it or not, every teen is curious and full of questions. Being prepared for that is the best solution to protect our youth from sexual transmitted disease and pregnancy. Last, you may know someone who has had a child in their teenage years and question how hard could it be? They could do it, why can’t you? Talking to

When I was in the eighth grade, I remember attending a sex education course. At the young impressionable age of fourteen, I listened quietly as the lecturer showed us grotesque pictures of sexually transmitted infections and warned us that abstinence was the only effective way to not get pregnant. At the end of lecture, everyone at the assembly was handed a little card that read, “Virginity Pledge” and we were all required to sign them. Looking back on this memory, I am appalled by the severe lack of scientific foundation of the lecture, the use of misinterpreted statistics, and the use of peer pressure in requiring students to sign pledge cards. Many students my age probably have a similar experience with this type of sex education, which is referred to as abstinence-only sex education. Students deserve a better sex education than what the abstinence-only sex education programs provide. Abstinence-only sex education should be removed from all U.S. schools and replaced with comprehensive sexuality education.

Sex education should start at a young age in order to assure sexually healthy adults. The United States ranks first among developed nations in rates of both teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In an effort to reduce these rates, the U.S. government has funded abstinence-only sex education programs for more than a decade (Stager-Hall, 2011). Although this type of education is beneficial, it is not realistic to societies needs. Data shows that abstinence based education is ineffective in preventing teenage pregnancy and is possibly causing high teenage pregnancy rates in the U.S. (Stager-Hall, 2011). According to governing.com, sex education in U.S. schools are failing. The article discusses how sex education can be an uncomfortable experience and how as a country we are horrible at teaching it. “A December report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that less than half of U.S. high schools and only one-fifth of middle schools are meeting the CDC's recommendations for

An alarming rate of Sexually Transmitted Infections and Pregnancy among teenagers has been an ongoing concern and could be linked to the lack of sex education in schools. Statistics show that 3 in 10 teenagers are becoming pregnant every year, and 1 in four teenagers are contracting sexually transmitted infections. There are numerous opposing views towards the teaching of comprehensive sex education in school districts. Many people are opposed to this because they believe that it encourages premarital sexual promiscuity in young adults, is destructive to religious belief, and is inappropriate and harmful. “Comprehensive Sex Education Is Inappropriate and Harmful” is and article that provides concrete evidence, for example, it states in the article that “Teens enrolled in these classes are given false information about how pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases can be avoided and may actually be encouraged to engage in activities that could lead to sexual intercourse” which is quite the contrary. My personal view is that as a nation we should be teaching students comprehensive sex education also known as abstinence plus, because it will better educate students and save money. Comprehensive sex education stresses the importance of abstinence, but also provides important information for the prevention of STI’s and unplanned pregnancies. I believe this needs to be taught in schools because I come from a school that taught abstinence only and nothing more, and the number of

Mary Calderone, a physician and public health advocate for sexual education, said, “Before the child ever gets to school it will have received crucial, almost irrevocable sex education and this will have been taught by the parents, who are not aware of what they are doing.” Under our interpretation, this means that children, even if their parents are wrong or even unaware of what they are doing, will default to what was taught to them by their parents. As a result, it would be a costly, in regards to time, mistake to leave the teaching of sexual education in the hands of school officials. That being said, Parents and guardians should be the primary sexual educator(s) of their children.

Not only do they provide limited information, but they also “use factually incorrect curriculum or teach distorted information about reproductive health” (LeClair 291-322).

Some people may believe that it should solely be the parents responsibility to educate their own child. There may be some parents that view sexual activities differently do to their background and would prefer to teach their own children. Although that may be so, there are some children that do not have responsible parents to educate them. In Wilson’s (2010) article, all parents in the study believed that the content of sex education should be based on mental maturation. This meant that staying abstinence should first be taught, but as the student grow and their body changes, it is important to educate them accordingly. According to Grossman (2014), family sexuality communication can reduce teen sex, but parents often lack the knowledge and confidence to educate their child. Comprehensive sex education is the solution for parents that do not have the self-confidence to educate their child. Comprehensive sex education without parental activity produced more positive results than parental activity alone (Grossman, 2014). Typically, parents do not want to promote talking to their kids about sex in fear of promoting sexual activity. The parents may lack resources to educate their child. According to Wilson (2010), 39% of parents felt uncomfortable talking to their kids abut sex, 37% felt that someone else could do it better, and 32% believed that it would encourage

This has been a debate since the 19th century, some oppose the teachings of sexual education, stating that schools should not infringe on parental and church guidance. Some also argue, that teaching adolescents about sex, encourage children to venture into sexual activity. While not teaching sexual education at all in schools is one argument, the other is, abstinence should be taught to our adolescents. Some believe that the current teaching is " We know you're going to have sex, so here's how to put a condom on." These individuals argue, sexual education should be the teaching of saving yourself for adulthood or

Should sex education be taught to young adults in school? This has been a major controversial topic for many years amongst parents, teachers, and other community members. Their biggest concern is that it teaches students that it is okay to have sex at a young age and think that the program shows them how sexual intercourse is done. Although, this is not the intent of the class, like some may think. They tend to believe that abstinence-only programs should be taught in schools. Allowing sexual education to be taught in public schools and not in an abstinence-only point of view is something that every school should do because it can help them understand the facts about their bodies. “Sex education aims to reduce of potentially negative outcomes from sexual behavior, such as unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and infection with sexually transmitted diseases including HIV.” (AVERT) By teaching sexual education it can help them to understand the emotional values it has by resisting peer pressure and how to recognize it.

In the United States, many teens are uneducated about sex. It has been a very taboo subject due to not being normalized in our society. Sex has been around since the beginning of humans and animals. It is the utmost natural part of life. It's the reason everybody is on the Earth. It should not be kept a secret from students. Comprehensive sex education should be taught in public schools because people need to know about their bodies, how to protect themselves during intercourse, and it is the best way to educate teens about sex.

As children grow, they accumulate knowledge over the years about a variety of subjects to prepare them for the future. Children learn from parents, schools, life experiences, what they watch and other influences around them, and it can be either positive learning or negative learning. There is one subject that is difficult to teach and have control over because of misunderstandings, lack of teaching, and publicity. Sex education has been a major debate for children under eighteen, because there are some parents that want it taught in schools and others that do not because of different reasons. There are currently eighteen states and the District of Columbia that require schools to provide sex education and thirty-two that do not require

There are problems with not teaching sex education at school. There are some parents that don't know how to talk to their children about sex. If the school doesn't children about sex, then they will learn it the "hard way", maybe by contraction of a sexually transmitted disease. One of the most deadly and well-known sexually transmitted diseases today is HIV. According to the Web page AVERT, HIV infection is increasing most rapidly among young people ("Does"). This disease is killing hundreds of children each year, because they had to learn it the "hard way".