Encouraging Comprehensive Sex Education Essays - 2187 Words

Encourage Comprehensive Sex Education Comprehensive sex education is the most realistic way of teaching sex education today. While remaining abstinent is the only way to be one-hundred percent sure one will not have an unwanted pregnancy or contract a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD), it is unrealistic in today’s society. Teenagers, as well as adults, are engaging in premarital sexual activity. STDs can be a serious or life-threatening disease. Effective comprehensive sex education should contain information detailing sexual development and reproduction, methods of birth control, STDs and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), abortion, and the different religious and cultural views on sex and sexual diversity. With this information,†¦show more content†¦From 1996-2005, federal government spent more than $750 million on sex education that promoted sexual abstinence as the only way for teens to avoid pregnancy and STDs (Friedman). Those who accepted federal money were not allowed to discuss condoms exc ept to say that they are unreliable (Friedman). It was also prohibited to not only talk about condoms, but any talk of contraception; and only define healthy sexuality as a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage† (Miner). According to Friedman, forty-six point seven percent of teenagers have said that they have had sexual intercourse at least once during high school, and fourteen percent have had sex with multiple partners. More than seventy percent of middle to high school students admits to engaging in oral sex (Friedman). By the age of twenty, ninety percent of Americans say they have had sex (Glazer). How can these young Americans protect themselves when they are being told condoms are unreliable, and why would these teens even bother thinking about using a condom if they think they do not work? Policymakers in our country, as well as schools, should realize that sexuality is a normal part of life, even for teenagers. Schools failure to help students understand and embrace their sexuality has particular consequence for kids of color, who represent vast majorities in many publicShow MoreRelatedSex Education Is Inappropriate And Harmful869 Words   |  4 Pageslack 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. â€Å"Comprehensive Sex EducationRead MoreTaking a Look at Sex Education1727 Words   |  7 Pagestopic is Abstinence-only until marriage sex educat ion should be taught in public schools. According to the heritage foundation, â€Å"teens who abstain from sex have improved life outcomes† (â€Å"Sex Education and Abstinence†). Safe sex can never be guaranteed to be 100% effective. Safe sex only merely reduces the risks while abstinence completely eliminates the risk (Garth 112). Modern sex education techniques are too bold and in turn, desensitize adolescents, encouraging promiscuous behavior. According to researchersRead MoreThe Best Kind of Sex Education708 Words   |  3 Pages There is much controversy over which form of sex education should be taught, comprehensive sex education, or abstinence-only sex education. The definition for comprehensive sex education is responsible and balanced sexuality education that seeks to assist young people in understanding a positive view of sexuality, provide them with information and skills about caring for their sexual health, and help them acquire skills to make decisions now and in the future. It is medically accurate and providesRead MoreSexual Education : A Comprehensive Sex Education969 Words   |  4 Pagescome with sexual education in the classroom is the first step in being a comprehensive sex education advocate. To this day, we see classrooms in middle and high schools preaching about abstinence, shaming children and not being able to give proper, thorough, and informative resources and guidelines on how to approach healthy, body-positive, accessible information about sexual activity. The ideal image abstinen ce curriculum advocates are hoping for is all adolescents will not have sex prior to marriageRead MoreThe Debate For Comprehensive Sex Education1212 Words   |  5 PagesDebate for Comprehensive Sex Education Across the United States of America there is wide spread support for abstinence-only education. A majority of states require that abstinence-only education be the only form of sexual health education provided, or requires that abstinence be stressed above other forms of sexual education. These highly stressed abstinence-only programs are under fire as research comes out against the efficiency of these programs, and as new forms of sexual health education appearRead MoreShould Sex Education Be Taught?1269 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Teaching only about abstinence is like teaching ‘a driver s education course in which teachers show students grisly photos of traffic accidents but never tell them to stop at red lights or buckle their seat belts’ (Wagle). Sex education is often a hot topic of debate within the States, where high school teens often receive some form of sexual education. However, the quality of this information varies from state to state and even district to d istrict. Although there are many different definitionsRead MoreWhat is Sex Education Today? Essays705 Words   |  3 PagesWhat is sex education today? Current educational policies mandate a comprehensive education while simultaneously avoiding the issue of explicitly approving or dissenting sexual behavior. On the contrary, most courses attempt to inform sexually active individuals about safe sex rather than encourage any particular practice. Why would educational statutes be wary of encouraging sexual practices of abstinence or otherwise? According to David Rigsby, author of Sex Education in Schools (2006), VariationsRead MoreTeenage Pregnancies And Std Contraction1342 Words   |  6 Pagesin rates of teenage pregnancies and STD contraction. What is it about the US and its approach to sexual education that produces such numbers amongst its youth? The prevailing sexuality education system in the US is abstinence-only sex education programs. Abstinence-only-until-marriage educ ation in schools is highly destructive to its students in multiple ways. Abstinence-only sexuality education does more harm to students than good, and is shown to have adverse effects on its students. The CDC YouthRead MoreThis Study Is Designed To Focus On The Effectiveness Of1305 Words   |  6 PagesThis study is designed to focus on the effectiveness of school based sex education programs in order to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s)/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/ acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). School districts across the United States have been teaching sex education program, however each varies with the type of program that is taught. The number of adolescents who engage in sexual activities has declined in past years. Nonetheless, the UnitedRead MoreAbstinence-only vs. Abstinence-plus1607 Words   |  7 PagesThere are many problems facing teenagers these days. None are bigger than the issue of underage sex, and all the issues stemming from it. The number of teenagers becoming sexually act ive, pregnant, and contracting sexually transmitted diseases are rapidly on the rise. There is no simple fix, or easy solution to this problem. Sex education should begin at home, and extend to include an effective program in schools that reinforce a clear message of abstaining from sexual activity in addition to