Sexual Education At Middle Or High School

The role of educating students about the importance of healthy sexual relationships has fallen hard and fast on public schools. School aged boys and girls are not receiving information from their parents on what decisions they should make in regards to sex. Parents are finding this topic of conversation too taboo to breach and as a result, students are getting what little information they are receiving from school. Less then half of school aged adolescents talk to their parents about sex and abstinence (Smith, 2005).

Schools should educate students about their bodies, and how to protect them. “The point of this kind of sex education is to inform teenagers about the possible risks of being sexually active and to educate them about methods of birth control and sexually transmitted infection protection.” Students deserve the basic human right live freely, and if their choice may be, considering about 70% of the national teenage population usually make this decision anyway, to be involved in sexual relations than there needs to be a basic knowledge of safety

We have all heard the stories about the rise in teenage pregnancies, girls dropping out of school to care for their newborns, and even those who get pregnant on purpose. This new trend is everywhere. Most parents fail to have the “talk” with their children and are left without the proper education regarding sex until its too late. With the current rates of teenage pregnancy correlated with the current rates of spreading epidemics of STD’s and HIV/AIDS, steps should be taken in an effort to aid the situation. Schools are a main source of information and education for teens, and are in a unique position that can provide adolescents with knowledgeable skills and understanding that promote sexual health. With consistent speculation surrounding

Teens are using the internet and the media to learn about sex, if they are not getting the information from credible sources at school. The perpetuation of sexual objectification in the media can influence young adults, especially young girls. Half naked women are all over magazines, internet and television. This images along with shows such as Teen Mom, can add to the confusion and curiosity about sexual behavior. If these young students are bombarded with all of these over sexualized ideas in the media, but only are told to abstain from sex, it can cause many issues for the students. One side of society tells these students that sex is a positive act, while abstinence only programs tell them that sex is bad and to avoid

Often, sexual education can go against an individual's moral or religious beliefs. Many schools do not teach abstinence only but teach safe sex, whereas many religious groups and families do not value intercourse before marriage. Teachers may input their own beliefs or morals into the subject matter rather than stick with the facts if they are not properly trained on how to conduct a sex education course. Sex education classes are briefly focused on during a health class or physical education. This is not a long enough period to educate students on such serious material. These arguments does not take into account the fact that students will be taught on subjects such as, sexually transmitted diseases, the reproductive system, sexually and birthing issues rather than the stuff they learn through peers, television or the internet. Many of the myths learned by students about sex swill also are discussed, such as not being able to get pregnant the first time. Classes for those of a younger group are separated by gender, saving embarrassment amongst students and teachers. Teaching sex education can have a major impact on preventing unplanned pregnancy and other sexual problems in adulthood.

As the Authors Stokely, Anne, McMahon, Maureen, Points of View: Sex Education in Schools, 3/1/2016 "Reducing the rate of teen pregnancy and STDs requires a multifaceted approach because teen pregnancy is a complex issue with varied effects. Research has shown that effective sex education programs focus on teaching behaviors and communication skills as well as offering instruction about contraception use..."(Par 8.) It doesn't motivate anyone to have sex, instead it educates people and informs them on what the effects are such as STD's and AIDs. Many high school teens who do not grow up in a religious household are still likely to have sex before marriage, and taking this class may or may not change their minds.

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

What is realistic is the sex education of all students which includes topics such as: contraceptives, abstinence, sexual orientation, STD awareness and prevention, building healthy relationships, and where to find help for specific situations students may be going through. Sex education offers a variety of information to students, and it could affect students globally. Starting out teaching children at a young age the “birds and the bees” may prepare them for when they get themselves into those situations, and also prevent certain outcomes. Programs regarding sex education tend to focus solely on positivity, which means no one is left out or different in class. There are many benefits of sex education, which is one of the main reasons all schools, or almost all schools, should have a program regarding sex. Research shows that abstinence-only education has no long-term method of preventing sex in young adults. It has also showed that sex education has benefited kids, teaching them what they want based on their beliefs of their family and themselves. Teaching students what to do based on themselves instead of what society sees as morally correct, can overall benefit young adults positively. Whether that might be showing the student where to go if issues arise, teaching them the correct way to deal with a situation, or showing them that abstinence or not is right for

Sex is always a touchy subject, adolescents feel embarrassed discussing it with their parents or teacher and adults feel awkward answering questions. When people discuss being pregnant or breastfeed it’s often referred to as a natural thing, but when discussing sex it is a natural thing that a lot of adults feel uncomfortable confronting. There can be number of problems that can occur in the area of adolescent sexuality, but it is important to keep in mind majority of adolescents have healthy sexual attitudes and engage in sexual behaviors that will not compromise their journey to adulthood (Adolescence pg. 193). Are the “suttle” and “private” talks about sex harming adolescents versus helping them? Is the sex education that is being taught being embedded in adolescent’s heads? Many people have a different opinion on wither sex education should be taught in school and how it should be taught. When looking at the statistics, sex education can play an important role in adolescents now days. In 2011 54% of twelfth graders have had sexual intercourse and 38% were currently sexually active (Adolescence pg. 197). Many adolescents that are sexually active do not use contraceptives. 34% of the sexually active adolescents did not use contraceptives the last time they had intercourse (Adolescence pg. 206). I am all for teaching adolescents about abstinence but truth of the matter sex is becoming more and more popular in adolescent lives. The way sex education is being presented

Nineteen-fifty five marked the debut of sex education programs in schools in the United States. Along the years, many have argued whether or not sex education should be taught in schools. Many believe that the education of sex encourages students to engage in sexual activities which lead to a higher number of pregnancies and sexual transmitted diseases (STD’s).The U.S. is the leading country in teen pregnancies and STD’s As the number of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases climbs higher and higher every day in our country, one can only think that sexual education is a necessity in our school systems. Young people, teens, account for 25% of our country’s sexually active population and contract half of said population’s STD’s. Teens as young as fourteen years old have admitted to already engaging in sexual activities. No teen should be engaging in such acts at that age. Many schools give parents the choice to have their child opt out of the lesson or class. Few states are required to teach sex education to students in secondary schools unless they were withdrawn from the class by their parents.

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).

The debate over whether comprehensive sexual education should be taught in has been a controversial issue in the United States for over a decade. The United States has more than double the teenage pregnancy rate of any western industrialized country. Recent statistics has shown that more than a million teenagers become pregnant annually. In addition, teenagers have the highest rates of sexually transmitted disease of any age group. In fact, one in four young people contract a sexually transmitted disease by the age of twenty-one. Comprehensive sexual education in educational institutions is crucial as a means of combating the alarming rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies amongst teenagers.

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

Sexual education in the classroom has been a topic of controversy for years. Outside influences, such as increases in media and television exposure to children and adolescents cause an overwhelming exposure to sex. As a result, sexual education, like most school subjects, is far too important to be left in the hands of parents alone; teachers must educate students on the importance of sexual behaviours. Sexual education serves an important part of the classroom curriculum requiring proper education on individual sexuality, safety, and morals to students.

When students are faces with different situations and questions relating to sex but do not have the proper knowledge on the topic, it could have many negative consequences. That is why it is important to start early and introduce the basic ideas around sex to make sure each student at a young age already has a base knowledge on the topic. Also, helping students learn about their bodies will help them learn to understand and take care of their body leading to self confidence when they are going through the different changes, and having schools teach sex education will prevent unprepared parents from avoiding the subject with their child, and nervous children from feeling unsure to ask their parents a sex related