The Importance of Sex Educations in Schools Essay

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

A. According to the nursing schools of the web page published in 2016 called 10 Truly Shocking Stats on STDS and College Students, “One in four college students have an STD.” They also stated that “Only 54 percent of students regularly use condoms during vaginal intercourse, 29 percent during anal intercourse and only 4 percent during oral sex.” Why is it that students aren’t protecting themselves against these issues?

Studies not only show that abstinence only programs do nothing to delay the age at which teens and young adults begin having sex, but they also fail to provide any information about alternative and necessary healthy sexual behaviors ((Santelli, J., Ott, M. A., Lyon, M., Rogers, J., Summers, D., & Schleifer, R, 2006). Humans are sexual beings, and yes one of the ways to avoid STI’s and pregnancy is through abstinence. However, these programs decline to take into account or acknowledge that these teens will inevitably become sexually active at one point or another, and in turn fail to equip them with the proper knowledge on how to be safe when they do make the choice to have sex. Making sex taboo does not create a population of well-informed young people with safe sex practices and it definitely has not aided in resolving the epidemic of teen STI’s. Rather it has exacerbated it by denying youth with the correct information and tools they need to make well informed healthy

Sex education is about informing students about sex so that they can make educated decisions when the time comes to have sex. Sex education helps students protect themselves from unintended pregnancies, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. Students should leave a sex education course with the right tools so they make informed decisions about their sexual health and well-being. The goal of sex education is to provide a student with as much information as possible so that they can use the skills they learned in class for the rest of their lives.

Today’s youth faces very tough issues in their everyday life. Kids are growing up too fast too soon. They are facing situations and making decisions that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Among one of the most pressing issues they have to deal with is the risk of dangerous sexual behaviors and early pregnancies. Sex education programs in schools are clashing over comprehensive-sex education programs versus abstinence-only education programs. Abstinence-only programs not only instill morals, but the program helps prevent sex before marriage, prevents teen pregnancy, and the spread of STDs. The comprehensive-sex education programs helps kids make better decisions when it comes to sexual activity, they help prevent unwanted pregnancies, and they decrease the rates of STDs (Grossman, Frye, Charmaraman, Erkut). Combining both of these programs may be the smartest and healthiest solution for our kids when it comes to making decisions about having sex.

The reason parents are fearful of the sex talk is because they cannot or do not want to picture their child having sex, even though it is a possibility, and the child will feel embarrassed to have their parents talk to them about sex. Because of these feelings, the talk repeatedly becomes delayed, and it either does not happen at all or it happens too late after their child has already had sex. “In the latest study on parent-child talks about sex and sexuality, researchers found that more than forty percent of adolescents had had intercourse before talking to their parents about safe sex, birth control or sexually transmitted diseases” (Park).

In this paper I will address virginity, first sexual experiences, sex education in public schools, and abortion. The first two topics, virginity and first sexual experiences, coming from a personal perspective as well as some credible sources. I will also include the historical aspects of virginity, the creation and use of the concept, and why it’s in our society. The last topic is my concern for the lack of sex education in public schools and mentioning the harm of abstinence only sex education and the importance to provide comprehensive education for our youth for protection and lifelong sexual satisfaction. I will also include my experience with sex education and how limited or censored topics can be detrimental to children by second-guessing their understanding of necessary and critical sexual information.

+ Sex is important. Every human life is the result of someone having sex. So why has sex education become such a controversy? The entirety of the issue seems to fit under a cloud of scandal, because almost every topic is slightly taboo. Sex education however, is vital and absolutely necessary for a student’s comprehensive education. Students, parents, and teachers begin to hit roadblocks when human dignity and social inequalities begin to cause issues and misconceptions about sex education. When one is informed about what sex education really is, the issues within sex education that need to be faced, and how communication can create more solutions, the understanding of how sex education should be handled will naturally increase. The difficult and controversial topic of sex education is inundated with complicated issues, however with the help of increased education and communication, more solutions can be found for our most challenging problems.

According to plannedparenthood.org, the nation’s longest provider for sex education says, “Sex education helps people gain the information, skills and motivation to make healthy decisions about sex and sexuality.” As well as abstinence, the fact or practice of restraining oneself from indulging in something, in this case…, sex. It is understandable why some parents do not want their children to be taught sex education in schools, just as there are some teachers who don't think it is their job to teach it. There are some parents as well as teachers who agree it should be taught in schools and at home because it is a topic that we all cannot escape. Sex education helps young people reduce their risk of potentially negative outcomes. These outcomes consist of circumstances such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It can also help youth to enhance the quality of their relationships and to develop decision-making skills that will prove invaluable over life. Sex is a natural part of life, and it happens with or without sex education. Refusing to talk about it will not make it go away.

SEX! For it just to be a three-letter word, its meaning comes out to be just more than pleasure shared between people. It comes with a legion amount of consequences if precautions are not taken into deliberation. “Each year, U.S. teens experience as many as 850,000 pregnancies, and youth under age 25 experience about 9.1 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs)” (Klein and Weinstock). Why watch these number accumulate when we can enlighten our youth on to make sagacious sex decisions and embrace healthy sexual behavior. The school board should take the intuitive for efficient sex education to mandatory in the curriculum. Is it ever too early to learn the basic, but indeed vital elements of sex education? Of course not, but not knowing in advance can result to dreadful consequences.

Teen students are sexually active even though they are probably not mentally, emotionally, and financially prepared for the consequences of their actions. Students who are uneducated on sex are most certainty unaware of health disparities sex can cause. According to Amy S. Hedman PH.D, a professor at Minnesota State University, Sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) are one of the most common consequences of sex and one in four high school students has a STD. (“American Journal of Health Studies”). It is crucial that students can learn information important as prevention and detection of STD’s. Not only can the lack of sex education cause diseases, but likewise, pregnancy can occur. “Absence of comprehensive sex education has resulted in teen pregnancy” (“American Journal of Health Studies”). Teenage pregnancy can result in a number of problems from medical complications to poverty, nonetheless this can

Their was a once a girl who wanted to have sexual intercourse with her boyfriend. The next day when she went to second block which was her sex ed class the teacher made all the student stand up and ask question’s or tell personal stories. One of her friends told the class her personal story about how she had sex with her beloved one and caught HIV. The girl went home and decided not to have sexual intercourse with her beloved one just yet, she rather learn more about sex and get well informed about how to prevent STD”S and other bad things. Sex education has a positive impact on students. It helps students prevent such things as STDS/STI. Sex ed also shows teens how to protect themselves from any unhealthy relationship. Schools should allow sex education because it helps prevent STDS/STI , it also could gain self esteem , it could help prevent more teenage from being pregnant.

In the United States, rates of sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy, and teen births are significantly higher than in most other industrialized countries. In fact, 4 out of 10 adolescent females have been pregnant at least once before the age of 20, 1 out of 4 sexually active teens contracts an STD each year, and 50% of new HIV infections occur in individuals under the age of 25 (Beh 22). This can partly be attributed to the state of sex education in the United States. Only 24 states require sex education be taught in schools and only 20 of those require the information to be ‘medically, factually, or technically accurate’ (“State Policies”). Abstinence-only education has been proven to be ineffective in reducing rates of teen pregnancies, STDs, and the consequences of both; has a lack of public support; and a large majority of the programs that are federally funded have been found to be factually and medically inaccurate. Proper and comprehensive sex education should be required in all states across the nation. States should also shift their focus from abstinence-based practices to more comprehensive ones that include information about contraceptive use, pregnancies, abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases.

America has the highest number of teen pregnancies with 750,000 teenage girls becoming pregnant each year and HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, a leading cause of death in young people, infects America’s youth everyday (Sun). The lives of ordinary young men and women are abruptly interrupted when they learn they will soon be parents or must now live with an incurable disease. With this information in mind, American public schools need to be teaching middle school and high schools students the importance of safe sex. Many programs focus on the idea of abstinence, refraining from sexual activity until marriage, but these programs seem to have little to no effect on our youth. By age 19, most college students

Plenty of us, if not all, will agree that as hormones run rampant and curiosity grows even bigger, teenagers and young adults alike will partake in sexual activities as a way to explore their own newfound needs and desires. Though this may be what many enjoy doing, it does come with its own consequences. Regardless of age, sex can definitely result in a multitude of burdens including unwanted pregnancies, as well as various STDs and HPVs (HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Herpes, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, etc) and other negative consequences. With an astounding lack of proper information regarding sex education, it is no wonder that this is an epidemic. It is obvious that this occurs in a growing number of teens in America, so the question lies; what is being done about informing others about sex? Why is it these teenagers face dilemmas, all which shouldn’t affect them at their age? How said information was received is also something worth asking about. Besides their own peers, and maybe their parents if they dare discuss it with them, a good majority of what teenagers learn is given at local schools. Sex education is given nationwide, but just how valuable is it? How useful is the information; could it be that what is offered, the way it is distributed a factor in the rise of teen pregnancies and STDs? The consequences of inadequate sex education have dire life-changing events which can cause a huge negative affect on their lifestyle overall. With the