Should Sex Education Be Allowed? High Schools?

A subject that is talked about a lot in today’s society is whether or not kids should receive sex education in public schools. With rates of teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases on the rise, it is essential that school aged adolescents receive appropriate sex education courses. Though many parents across the nation believe that it is crucial to curriculum, how much they should be taught and what exactly should be taught is up for dispute. Articles such as “Abstinence and Abstinence-only Education: A Review of U.S. policies and Programs” written by John Santelli, Mary A. Ott, Maureen Lyon, Jennifer Rogers, Daniel Summers and Rebecca Schleifer and “The Impact of Abstinence and Comprehensive Sex and STD/HIV Education Programs on Adolescent Sexual Behavior” Douglas B. Kirby analyze the two types of sex education in the U.S. and their effectiveness on teens. In “Abstinence and Abstinence-only Education: A Review of U.S. policies and Programs” Santelli et al. claims that even though sex education programs that only offer abstinence-only instruction are ethically flawed, abstinence from sexual activity is efficient behavioral choice for teenagers to make. In order to support their claim, the authors focus on the federal government’s involvement on funding for these abstinence programs and the censorship of the information that they portray. In “The Impact of Abstinence and Comprehensive Sex and STD/HIV Education Programs on Adolescent Sexual Behavior,”

Sex education should be taught by the schools and not only by the parents of the students. Only 13 states require sex ed to be ‘medically accurate,’ in the U.S. (“Should Sex Ed”). We should be teaching our children about sex ed medically correct and not teaching them incorrect things. According to Future of Sex Education, “Young people have the right to lead healthy lives, and society has the responsibility to prepare youth by providing them with comprehensive sexual health education that gives them the tools they need to make healthy decisions” (FACTS ABOUT). People are so worried about kids getting pregnant and getting STDs but if we don’t teach our kids about the the correct things and medically accurate information the pregnancy rates would go down and kids getting STDs would lower..

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.

Sexuality is a part of everyone’s life. It is important that children get the proper education they need so they are aware and are able to protect themselves. The way sex education should be taught is debated among parents, educators, religious groups, and society. Some people believe in abstinence only curriculum while others believe a comprehensive curriculum is more effective. Values, beliefs, and funds can affect how students are being taught. It is important that we pick a curriculum that works best for the students.

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 United States sex education poorly educates 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 of 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 a better education strategy that teaches young adults how to have safe sex that prevents unwanted pregnancy and STIs, instead of stressing the importance of abstinence.

For such a complex and multifaceted problem, the solution is actually quite simple. Schools should include pornography in a more thorough and inclusive sex education system. If pornography was a required topic in sex education, every student would learn how it influences its consumers. This would provide a strong incentive for students to reject all forms of pornography. The sooner consumers recognize the effects porn has on their lives, the sooner they can break the cycle and the easier it will be. (UK Schools)

Should sex education be increased in the school systems to curb problems such as teen pregnancies and diseases? Some parents seem to think that sex education shouldn’t even be taught in school systems for many reasons that concern their child. While some parents rely on the school systems to teach their children about sex so that their child will be aware and more cautious. Let’s see what each side of the debate has to say…

There are many debates that occur in our society today. Some of the debates are viewed as being unnecessary. While others are looked at as more serious topics, one of the newest debates is whether or not sexual education should be taught to our youth of today in public schools. Sexual education should be taught to our youth in public schools. Many children aren’t being educated at home to, there is a lack of parent education, adolescents are becoming more sexually active at a younger age, and the number of teen pregnancy is at a lower level than in the past, but still at an alarming rate.

People say that sex education teaches the students about how sexual intercourse is done but the truth is sex education lets the students know about the consequences and the truth about sex. One may likely suffer emotional or mental depression which may lead to suicide. Students are also informed that it is only for unity and procreation of married couples who are committed to each other. They are also informed that they will know the true purpose of sex when they grow up as adults. Appropriate sex education in schools has a great impact on preventing sexual problems in adulthood. Also, it teaches students on what is right and what is wrong.

The debate over whether or not sex education should be a part of the necessary curriculum has been a popular topic of controversy since the 1960s (Pardini). Sex education is defined as “[a] broad term used to describe education about human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, and other aspects of human sexual behavior” (“Sex Education”, Science Daily). Today in the United States, many people no longer feel that sex is a topic to be ignored or not mentioned in “polite society,” but one that should be freely and openly discussed. With greater acceptance of sexual behaviors, comes a greater need for awareness. The topic of sex has been a subject in our culture for centuries that is frequently discussed. Issues with parents

People believe more sex education classes can decrease sexual risk like teen pregnancy and reduce HIV/AIDS ( “Pro and Cons of Sex Education in School”) For example Smith argues that if more of these classes were taught in more schools teen pregnancy rates would drop (Smith) Yes , there are a lot of teens in exposure of teen pregnancy because they are curious or just pressured into doing stuff and they do not know the risks . ( “Pro and Cons of Sex Education in School”) However some students can’t take the classes because they have religious beliefs in their households ( “Pro and Cons of Sex Education in School”) Parents that agree that schools should have

Sex: the elephant in the room no one likes to talk about. It is a natural act humans have done for years but also a taboo to show or acknowledge. Sex, despite being taboo, is omnipresent. It is present in discussions of God, television, dating, and other areas, all of which have played a role into my understanding of sex and sexuality. However, public education has ultimately been the main factor in maintaining my personal safe sex life. Many parents debate whether sex education should remain in school and be exposed to their children, despite the fact sex is already pervades in other aspects of life such as religion, gender roles, media, and relationships. Sex education should remain a part of public school curriculum because it educates teenagers about its consequences and how to do it safely.

Schools play a major role in a child’s life. Students generally spend more time in school with their teachers and peers than they do at home. They learn about Math, Science, English, Social studies and much more. One of the major things that needs more emphasis is sex education. Society is changing boys and girls are starting puberty earlier than when schools provide them with information about it. “52% of teens have has sexual intercourse out of that 52% 42% say they did not use a condom during the last instance”(Sex Education in Texas Public Schools). With all the information on the Internet students should be informed on what is correct and what is not. The way we can do that is be placing students in sex education classes. Sex education is a necessary component in a child’s life; with society changing it needs to be offered at a younger age. There are many reasons for this it can help prevent unwanted teen pregnancies, educate youth on sexually transmitted diseases and teach them how to be safe. One of the issues people have with sex education in schools is the belief that it corrupts the youths mind.

Sex Education is taught in middle and high school today, and in many places of the world as young as age 4 and about sexuality. Most sex education classes taught today do not cover contraceptive and are mainly abstinence-only-till-marriage programs. “89% of Americans believe that contraception should be taught in sex education,” (Effective Sex) as no abstinence-only-till-marriage programs have shown proof that they help to prevent teens having sex.