The Importance Of Sex Education

Several reasons have been put forward for the various and often opposing approaches to sex education. For example, Paechter (2004) proposes that

The topic of sex education conjures up much controversy regarding what should be taught, how it should be taught, or if it should be taught at all. The overarching goal of including sex education in public school curriculum should be to promote a lifelong healthy sexuality, and with this goal comes the hope that the inclusion of sex education in public schools will delay sexual activity. According to an article by David J. Landry, Jacqueline E. Darroch, Susheela Singh, and Jenny Higgins, “men and women in the United States typically begin having sexual intercourse during adolescence at a mean age of 16.9 years for men and 17.4 for women” (Landry, Darroch, Singh, & Higgins,

Teen pregnancy is one of the most impactful, nonreversible events in a human’s life that can alter it forever. Bringing a child into the world is a blessing but at the same time it can also be a setback in the lives of teenagers who have experienced pregnancy at a young age. Sex education has been taken away from the curriculum in schools in the United States and replaced it with electives such as art, drama, dance etc. Being well educated on safe sex and the consequences that comes with poor decision making is just as important as core classes that are taught on a regular basis. I believe it will be interesting to discover the impact of sex education courses on the perspective of adolescence and how it may affect their decision in engaging in sexual activities. Several researchers analyzed data from 4691 men and women aged 15 to 19 who participated in the 2006-2008 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). National Survey of Family Growth young people questioning whether they received formal instruction before age 18 on "how to say no to sex" and / or "methods of birth control." Results show that sixty-six to one hundred of women's sexual experience and Fifty-five percent of men reported sexual experience that she received information about both abstinence and birth control before the first time they had sex. By sexually experienced both genders remaining nineteen percent of women and twenty-one percent of men received abstinence instruction, and sixteen percent of women and

Whose job is it to teach children sexual education: teachers or parents? While many argue that it is the parent’s job to educate her children about sex, it is often awkward for a parent to talk to her “babies” about it, and many times she does not. That is why some schools take on the responsibility to make sure kids are educated on the subject, but are enough schools offering this type of education? The answer is no. Sexual education in the United States should not be optional. States should make sexual education a required course in school to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, as well as the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) with an effective and organized program.

For every 1000 girls 39.2 teen girls give birth in Kansas. Imagine how many girls give birth throughout The United States(HHS.gov). This statistic would not be as high if we educated middle and high school students. Sexual education should be a big part of our school to help educate individuals on the protective way of sexual activities and precautions with sexual transmitted diseases.

“In teenagers between 18–19 years old, 41% report that they know little or nothing about condoms” (HealthResearchFunding.org, 2014, Statistics). A high level of sexual education is something that should be required in every high school. The education they teach should be a comprehensive one, and that means that the education that the student is getting a factual one that teaches them everything they need to know about having safe consensual relationships with others. A comprehensive sexual education is necessary in all high schools in North America because, it gives girls a higher self-esteem, it teaches teenagers about sexual assault, and it leads to less teen pregnancies.

In our culture, sex is a taboo subject and our youth is an example of the effects of sexual ignorance. Sexual education in schools is often responded with apprehension from parents because the line between sexual education and lechery can easily be crossed, especially with minors. Sexual education is sex education about sexuality, contraception, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, and attitudes and principles about sex. Currently, the United States has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and abortion compared to other western countries. Interestingly, the United States has the weakest sexual education curriculum compared to developed European countries. On the same note, cases of rape are staggering in the US, a result of sexual misinformation about consent. Teenage misinformation about sex is on the rise due to the increasing accessibility of inappropriate sources for sexual education that distort sexual behavior, like pornography. A sexual education class can help dispel myths surrounding sex. Therefore, the underlying question is – should sexual education be required in public schools, without the option to opt-out? Sexual education should be obligatory rather than optional in schools because schools are a safer and reliable source for sex information, sexual education can reduce teen pregnancy, and it can protect children and educate teenagers about proper practices and social views regarding consent and child sexual abuse.

Yet before the side of a comprehensive sexual education side is examined it is important to look at why some may not believe that this the best method of keeping children healthy and safe. The most prevalent argument for abstinence only education is that it is the most effective form of contraceptive. Without having sex is it almost impossible to get pregnant and almost impossible to conduct sexuall transmitted diseases. In the U.S. almost 15% of parent’s support the teachings of abstinence only education (Santelli et al., 2006, p. 72-81). Much of this significant portion of the population believes that since many children’s and teenager’s minds are not fully developed yet that they should not be able to make decisions that will be able to impact the

In America Sex Education is put on the back burner when it comes to education, which is causing a rise in teen pregnancy rates and STI/HIV rates in the United states. “A lot of the Sex Education in our country is based on fear and putting Sex and Sexuality as something that is not normal.”(Heather) Sex Education in America is very important to teach the youth; with help from teachers and parents can make the youth more aware about proper sex education and how to have safe sex, and learn healthy relationship normality's.

In the United States, sex education poorly informs 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 relating to 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 an education strategy that is more similar to those of the countries with these low rates. This should include information on how to have safe sex and prevent unwanted pregnancy and STIs, instead of stressing the importance of abstinence towards adolescents. These changes could begin locally, in New Hanover County, by changing the curriculum in schools from abstinence-based teachings to programs that include fact-based material and information on contraceptive methods other than just abstinence.

Young students all around the world have been engaged in sex since the start of time, yet our society fails to give the youth the curriculum needed for them to make healthy and smart decisions on sex. Twenty-eight out Fifty states do not require sex education in public schools and so this is not good enough, considering the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate than any other developed country. Sex education should be taught in public schools in order to inform students on making educated decisions on sexual intercourse as well as the consequences sex can have.

Not all schools provide sex education even though they should because students will gain a lot of knowledge from these classes. These classes should be mostly focuseds from early middle school years to high school. That way students would have much more knowledge of STDs, puberty, and could even help them with their sexual orientation. Parents should also want to talk to their teens about it and sexual education should even start at home. They play a big role in the education of their teens and it shouldn’t just be the school’s option to have talked to students about it. Even though some parents might feel uncomfortarble or even embarrassed talking to their kids about it or afraid they won’t take them seriously it is really recommended they do it when they are growing from children to teenagers. Maybe some parent’s might even think that talking to their children about sex might just cause them to be more curious or push them to act because they are bringing the topic up. Sex education should be should be provided in school’s every student deserves to have more knowledge of what it really is,. It will help to maybe decrease the amount of teenage pregnancy, it could aware teens of diseases and ways to prevent them from occurring, and it would teach them about abstinence, it will help teach them about sexual orientation and homosexuality as well.

How can sexual education programs be improved to further improve the health of a country?

Louisiana has one the highest rate of curable sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) such as chlamydia and gonorrhea in the US (CDC, 2017 September). STIs are the most direct determinant of PID which can lead can cause vaginal pain, ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Other effects of STIs are possible reproductive health problems, fetal problems and cancer. The cost of treating STD is about $16 billion dollars annually (Owusu-Edusei K, 2008). You, the lawmakers of Louisiana, must consider policies you may adopt to lessen theses rates. A basic solution would be to mandate a comprehensive sex education program in public schools and to allow the distribution of condoms in schools. Comprehensive sex education does not only teach about STI, pregnancy and anatomy, but also teaches about communication skills that help students understand their goals, values and options.

One reason that sex education should become mandatory in all high schools, is because many teens may otherwise live in denial or be illiterate about sex due to lack of parental teaching, thereby being ignorant about how to avoid the dangers of sex. Parents, above all should not live in denial about their teens having sex. Yet, too many parents admit they simply avoid the topic, or fail to properly teach their children about the dangers of sex. For example, college friends admit that they hide