Sex Education Essay

Example #1 – Sex Education is Ineffective

Perhaps one of the most controversial issues arising today is that of sex education in America’s public school system. In today’s world, where information travels at the speed of light and mass media is part of our everyday lives, teenagers are more exposed to this world than ever before. In this country, teens have access to television, newspapers, and of course, the internet. Sometimes, teenagers can misinterpret what they see in the media regarding sex and make unwise decisions, such as having unprotected sex.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and teenage pregnancies are a growing problem in the U.S. Every year, one million girls aged 15 to 19 become pregnant each year in this country alone (Schools Skimping 13). Sex education was introduced to help solve the problem of STDs and teen pregnancies by giving teenagers real facts and correct information about sex. Teenagers can therefore make wise and safe choices about sex. However, there are major flaws in sex education.

While it is extremely important to educate teenagers about sex and sexuality, putting sex education in the American educational system is not the correct solution. Sex education is flawed in that it is ineffective when it comes to lowering teenage pregnancies and STDs because sex education programs leave out important information, teachers who teach it are unqualified, and because teenagers are more greatly affected by their parents, peers, and popular media than by their teachers.

There is a myth that sex education provides teenagers with good and important information. Sex education supposedly gives students the means to make responsible and wise decisions. Pamela DeCarlo, from the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, is a firm believer in sex education and believes it must be taught in order to reduce the spread of STDs and teenage pregnancies (DeCarlo).

According to an article in USA Today, however, Congress passed in 1996 a legislation allocating two hundred and fifty million dollars to fund sex education programs. These programs excluded medically accurate information about birth control and STDs (Schools Skimping 13). These programs cannot possibly hope to have any significant benefits.

Teenagers are deprived of getting the type of information they need about sex. The whole purpose of sex education is to educate teenagers about sex and help lower teenage pregnancies and the spread of diseases. If these so-called “sex-education programs” are lacking in information about birth control and STDs, then it defeats the whole purpose of having sex education in the first place.

Another argument that is often made is sex education provides teenagers with the type of information that they cannot receive from a parent. The argument is that sex education provides students with qualified instructors to help answer questions that might have been too embarrassing to ask a parent. According to a “Teen Talk” survey taken by Durex Consumer Products, a manufacturer of condoms, teenagers are more likely to talk to their parents only about dating and relationship issues.

Only about thirty percent of them talk to their parents about buying or using contraceptives (Schools Skimping 13). However, most teachers who teach sex education are unqualified. Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, vice-president of the Institute for American Values, says, “Principals have to do little more than buy a sex-education curriculum and enroll the coach or home-economics teacher in a training workshop, and their school has a sex-education program” (Whitehead).

It is unsettling to think of how just anyone can teach a program. Workshops cannot possibly provide teachers with enough skill and expertise to adequately educate teenagers about sex. Workshops, at most, would only cover the basics, which would put teenagers at a loss if they ever wanted to know something that was not taught in the workshop. It seems that sex education is not taken very seriously, considering that math and English teachers need degrees in their respective subjects in order to teach it, whereas sex education teachers need no such requirement.

Until sex education teachers are more adequately trained, the responsibility of educating teenagers about sex should lie with the parents. Since many teens may be too embarrassed to initiate a conversation about sex, the parent should be the one to bring up the subject. Although parents, too, may not have the expertise to know everything about educating their children on sex, teenagers are more likely to take this subject seriously when approached by their parents. An untrained parent is better at educating teenagers on sex than an improperly trained teacher.

A one-on-one discussion would be more personal and meaningful than a discussion in a classroom setting. Debra Haffner, president of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S., believes that sex and sexuality should be an ongoing topic between parent and teen. She says that if parents communicate openly and set clear limits, their children would be more likely to abstain from having sex or use contraceptives if they do (Haffner 81).

Professor Linda A. Berne, of the Department of Health Promotion and Kinesiology in the University of North Carolina, brings a point about the effectiveness of sex education in Europe. In the Education Digest, she claims that in certain parts of Europe where sex education is taught, the rates of pregnancies amongst teenage girls are two to seven times lower than the teenage pregnancy rate in the U.S. (Berne 27). The point she is trying to make is that if sex education is such a success in Europe, it should be effective in the United States as well.

However, the United States and Europe are two completely different areas. The United States has a completely different culture. Europeans are not exposed to the type of movies and television programs that American teenagers are exposed to. Charles Krauthammer, formerly chief resident in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, points out, “Kids do not learn their morals at school. They learn it at home. Or they used to. Now they learn it from culture, most notably from the mass media” (Krauthammer 584).

Jeannie I. Rosoff, president of the Alan Guttman cher Institute, also believes that media is one of the reasons why teenagers are more sexually active. She says, “The role of media, particularly television, is pervasive, and the depiction of sex and violence is ubiquitous at virtually all hours of the day” (Rosoff 33). It is impossible to compare teenage pregnancy rates of two different regions of the world when the teenagers in question are living in completely different societies.

With the media comes peer pressure. If something is believed by popular culture to be “hip” and “cool,” then teens are more likely to do it. In a study done by Ruth J. Berenda, ten teenagers were brought into a classroom. They were told that they were going to be tested on their perception. Cards were held up before the class. On each card, there were three lines, each of different lengths. As the conductor pointed to each line, the class was told to raise their hands when the conductor pointed to the longest line.

What one student did not know what that the other nine teenagers were brought in earlier and were told to point to the medium length line. When the nine students all raised their hands at the medium line, the one student would look around with confusion but would raise his hand as well. When the next card was raised, one student would follow all the others again.

This happened in seventy-five percent of all the cases (Dobson). Because of the power of peer pressure, a student would say that a shorter line is longer than a long one. Peer pressure is greatly affected by what teenagers do and look like. In many cases, unfortunately, teenagers are also pressured into having sex. Sex education in the school system would be ineffective because the pressure would be too overwhelming for a teenager to just ignore the crowd and not listen to his friends.

In a society such as ours, it is important that teenagers get the information they need about sex. Only then can they make responsible choices and keep themselves protected. However, sex education as it is known today is ineffective when it comes to lowering teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

The government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fund sex education programs that simply do not work. Sex education teachers are inadequately trained and cannot connect with a teenager the same way that a parent could. Until there is a revision in the curriculum of sex education programs in the U.S., it would be best if the government spent the money on something of use.

 

Example #2

What is comprehensive, reality-based sexuality education?

True comprehensive, reality-based sexuality education seeks to assist young people in understanding a positive view of sexuality, provide them with information and skills about taking care of their sexual health and help them acquire skills to make decisions now and in the future.

Ideally, sexuality education is taught in ways that are age- and experience-appropriate in kindergarten through 12th grade. It is taught by trained teachers who teach about: sexual development, reproductive health, interpersonal relationships, affection, intimacy, body image, and gender roles. The goal is to help young people grow into sexually healthy adults.

Being “sexually healthy” includes preventing the negative consequences of sexual intercourse, and also includes a broad range of life-enhancing skills, such as assertiveness, effective communication, critical thinking, decision-making, and the capacity to build relationships. Comprehensive sexuality education doesn’t happen in one place — it involves parents, educators, and other adults in the community.

Planned Parenthood urges parents to be involved in monitoring their children’s school programs and advocating for curricula they want to have in their children’s schools. We help parents to discuss sexuality appropriately and accurately with their children in community-based programs for families. We can’t expect children to become sexually responsible if the adults in their lives are uninformed about sex or uncomfortable talking about it.

What are the values of comprehensive sexuality education?

Among the values inherent in reality-based sexuality education are personal responsibility, respect for oneself and others, and the value of emotionally supportive relationships. The following list of values concerning sexuality was developed by the National Guidelines

 

Example #3

Many parents are against sex education being taught within the schools. Sex is a very sensitive subject. Many parents feel that it is not appropriate to teach children these facts of life at such a young age. Shouldn’t one wait for marriage to learn about these things anyway? The overwhelming fact is that a growing number of teens especially are thinking about and even having sexual encounters. Should sex education be taught in school?

Some say that is no longer the question, but rather how should it be taught. Over 93% of all public high schools currently offer courses on sexuality or HIV. More than 510 junior or senior high schools have school-linked health clinics, and more than 300 schools make condoms available on campus. (Sex Education in the Schools) The following is a discussion of the many questions associated with teaching sex education at school.

1. Why do youth need sex education? – The United States has more than double the teenage pregnancy rate of any western industrialized country. More than a million teenagers become pregnant annually. In addition, teenagers have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) of any age group. In fact, one in four young people contracts an STD by the age of 21. (Sex Education in Schools)

2. Why should schools be involved in sex education? – Most parents still avoid the issue. Keeping children ignorant endangers their lives Xespecially for the millions of teens who have already begun having sex. An overwhelming 61% of male high school students and 48% of female high school students fit in this category. (CDC, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, What You Should Know About Sexuality Education)

3. If sexuality education is so useful, why are so many teens still having sex and getting pregnant? – It is also the product of the child s environment and experiences that lead them down a certain path. The total responsibility cannot be placed on school education.

Here are some tips provided by Planned Parenthood for parents dealing with the issue of sex with their children. (National Family Sexuality Education Month)

• Start the conversation early
• Always use correct terms
• Be open and respectful about your child s questions
• Examine your values about sexuality

Here are some scary STDs, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, which teens should be aware of:

HIV – Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This weakens your immune system, making you susceptible to any other virus or bacterial germ in creation. HIV leads to AIDS, which is fatal and is now the leading cause of death in America with no cure or vaccine available. (Three Scary STDs) HIV is passed through blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk.

CHLAMYDIA- It’s called the “invisible STD” because a large percentage of people who have it don’t show symptoms. Chlamydia is bacterial, so it can be treated in its early stages with antibiotics. However, if left untreated, it can leave you sterile.

GENITAL WARTS – A type of the Human Papilloma Virus. Some types of this virus cause warts, others show NO symptoms. There are 60 different types altogether. Luckily, there are a number of ways to treat it. However, even with treatment, warts can always recur. Condoms do offer some protection, but viruses can “shed” on areas not covered by the condom. (Three Scary STDs)

 

Example #4 – Sex Education In Traditional Societies

INTRODUCTION

This paper discusses sex education in traditional societies, rumors surrounding the topic, the results from different techniques, and the different views of each. Five countries were chosen for this analysis and were chosen based on their economy, culture, and availability of information. The countries are the United States, England, Canada, the Netherlands, and Sweden. It is measured by the rate of teen pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in teens.

DISCUSSION

Sex education deals with all aspects of human sexuality. It is often used when talking about educating young people. It covers topics such as reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), contraceptives, relationships, behavior patterns, cultural issues, and gender issues. Sex education can be taught in many ways. Children learn about sex from their peers, their parents, schools, and sometimes church. Television has a large impact on children in developed countries, especially in the United States.

There are varied opinions on the topic of sex education. Many people feel that educating teens on contraceptives makes them more likely to have premarital sex, but despite this “nine out of ten parents want their children to receive it.” (Haffner and Sowell, 1993:426) Some opinions are for sex education while some are against it. A recent change is that many groups who were against sex education have moved toward a very conservative program supporting abstinence.

England

England is trying to drastically cut their rate of teen pregnancy. By the year 2000, England wants its pregnancy rate for teens 13 to 15 to be down to 4.7 per 1,000 girls from its rate of 9.5 in 1989. Their plan was to increase the number of family planning clinics for young people and to increase the sex education program in schools. The annual report showed a drop from 10.1 to 9.3 between 1990 and 1991. This is the lowest rate in the 10 previous years. Extra services and education seemed to be the major cause of this success. (Malcolm, 1994:1149)

Even with this decrease, the important second part falling apart. Proper sex education in schools is having major opposition by moralists who believe that more sex education leads to more sex. In 1991 and 1992 the Education Secretary removed contraception, abortion, and AIDS/HIV from the secondary school science curriculum and gave parents the right to remove their children from the program without penalty. Even worse, he proposed that the children must be separated by categories of awareness so “the innocent remain innocent.” (Malcolm, 1994:1149)

A second setback on England’s health campaign has been the sex-obsessed media and tabloids. It took the tabloids less than two months to stop the printing of a health pamphlet on sex education directed at 16 to 25-year-olds by calling it “smutty.” Some of the education ministers believe more education leads to more sex. On the contrary, a National Survey of Sexual Attitudes found that not only did the education improve the protection it also delayed the age at which people experienced their first sexual experience. (Malcolm, 1994:1149)

A study of 19,000 men and women aged 16 to 59, showed that sex education programs did delay the onset of sexual activity and also increased the use of the condom during first intercourse. In addition, Douglas Kirby, director of research for ETR Associates, pointed out that earlier studies showed that school programs did not hasten the onset of sex or increase their frequency.

In fact, some programs may delay both. Kirby wrote: “There is not enough direct evidence to determine whether any of these education programs significantly decrease rates of pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, or HIV infection. If some do delay the onset of intercourse, reduce the number of sexual partners, or increase the use of protection, then logically they should also have an effect on these endpoints.

What this study does show is that, while not all sex and AIDS education programs work, some do. If effective programs were implemented more broadly, they could have a modest, but significant, impact on reducing sexual risk-taking behavior.” (Health Facts, 1995:p6)

Sweden

Sweden is very open about its sex education programs. Since mandating it in 1956, sex education is part of every school. From 1975 to 1985, the U.S.’s rate of birth control rose 43 percent, while it fell 30 percent in Sweden. Education there obviously is a major cause. Sexual activity is initiated much earlier than in other countries. By 16 one-third of girls have experienced sexual intercourse, yet the pregnancy rate is much lower than the other countries except for the Netherlands. (Jones et al., 1985)

Even in Sweden where attitudes about sex are very open, young people wish to keep their sex lives personal and private. Swedish clinics are forbidden to inform parents of adolescents’ request for birth control. Contraceptives are offered free of charge to all patients. (Jones et al., 1985)

Canada

Canada has the latest first sexual experience in all countries. At the ages of 16 to 17, only one out of five girls are sexually active. Canada’s clinical system is sparse and not as private as in Sweden. Many of the doctors require parental consent before prescribing contraceptives to teens under 18. All the clinical expenses are free but the prescribed supplies must be purchased from pharmacies. Teenage pregnancy rates reflect these policies and are much high in Canada than in Sweden. The education about sexually transmitted diseases is poor. Pregnancy and STDs in Canada are second only to the United States.

One recent program based on abstinence until marriage has had some effect on high school students. Twenty-three-year-old Rebecca Morcos has introduced a 90-minute presentation to many high schools that present all of the advantages of staying sexually inactive until marriage. The numbers on its effectiveness are not yet published but she broke through the stereotype of old, grim, prissy, and out of touch virginity enthusiasts. (Blyfield, 1995: p2)

Netherlands

The Netherlands has the highest level of education and accessibility of clinics and it is reflected greatly by the very low pregnancy rate among teens. Patients are offered a choice between their family practitioner and family-oriented clinics. As in Sweden, doctors are forbidden to disclose any information to parents of teens. All contraception options are free of charge.

The United States

“In this country, we profess great concerns about protecting our children from the harm that might come to them through the exposure to unsuitable information.”(Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 1993: p1) Parents often overprotect their children to the point that they endanger them by withholding information vital to them making proper decisions about their actions. Most sex education programs in the United States are geared only toward “disaster prevention.” Many of the programs only discuss sexual anatomy and reproduction, saying nothing of love or relationships.

With 21 states mandating sex education and 23 encouraging it, one would think that teens are being educated about sex in school. Contrary to that, recent studies show that less than 10 percent of teens receive comprehensive sexuality education in school. (Haffner and Sowell, 1993: p426) Most of the programs face only the negative effects of sex and none of the positive ones such as pleasures.

Less than one in ten classrooms discuss sexual behaviors. Schools need to turn away from being conservative. One ignorant superintendent said, “The utter certainty and stridency of those who are pushing sex education programs contrasts sharply with their factual evidence to its effectiveness.”(Haffner and Sowell, 1993: p426)

With such poor educational programs, teens must turn to other ways to learn about sex. The media is the most controversial of these methods. Fully 49 percent of African Americans, 27 percent of Whites, and 29 percent of Latinos reported watching talk shows daily. A monitoring report showed that teen sex was the topic of as many as 21 shows in 20 days. Shows with topics such as “I slept with my step-dad” along with shows on gays, transsexuals, and sex in the schools, show where teens sometimes get their false beliefs on their own sexuality. (CQ Researcher, 1995: p1022)

With the schools teaching mostly pro-abstinence programs, students sometimes turn to each other for information on sex. Over 80 percent of all people leave their teens already experiencing sex, the programs that promote abstinence helped very little. Education about contraceptives and AIDS is limited to very few schools. School leaders are left to make decisions that effect the students’ sex life with pressure from groups that want opposing programs.

Some groups propose that education should strictly promote abstinence. They believe dealing with such topics as condoms and STDs send mixed messages. Other groups believe that education should prepare the student for sex yet promote delaying it until marriage. Even others oppose the promotion of abstinence saying that it associates fears and shame with sex. Most of the debates occur between the conservatives and the moderates though. With nine of ten parents wanting sex to be taught in schools clearly the issue needs to be resolved. (Berne and Huberman, 1995: p229)

In some inner-city schools where sex education is not taught, 10 percent of mothers giving birth are under 18. While at another school of 303 students put through a sex education program, one third less became pregnant even though sexual frequency remained the same.

 

Example #5 – The Importance of Sex Education Essays

Sex education should be increased in schools. Nearly one million women under the age of 20 get pregnant each year. That means 2800 women get pregnant each day. If students are educated about the effects sex has on their lives, it lessens their chance of having children at an early age. Knowledge about sex can also lessen the chance of kids receiving STDS.

First of all, the main reason children have sex prematurely is that they are curious. Students lack knowledge about sex because they haven’t been taught about it, however, when children know the consequences behind their actions and the risks they are taking they less likely to want to have sex.

In addition, unprotected sex is the result of many STD and the cause of millions of deaths. 1 in 4 sexually active teens become infected with an STD every year. Millions of people die from AIDS and some are living with diseases such as; Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and genital warts. But if kids have no knowledge about these things, how can we expect them to know any better.

In addition, another thing students need to be educated on is teenage pregnancy. There are so many young mothers and fathers who have no idea what they have gotten themselves into. When kids become sexually active they don’t think about the negative results of their actions, they just live in the moment. If students are educated about the burden of carrying and taking care of a child they may think twice about having sex.

One way to show children how hard it is to raise a child as a teenager is to bring teenage parents in to attest to the fact that parenting a child as a teen is not easy. They can tell them about the excruciating pain they went through and how difficult and sacrificial having a child is. Many teenage parents have no social life and are forced to grow up quickly because they have to bear the responsibility of taking care of a child. If students have knowledge about these things they are less likely to repeat other people’s mistakes.

 

Example #6 – Should Sex Education Be Taught in Schools?

It’s something we all question in our teenage years: sex. Teenagers often feel uncomfortable talking to their parents about sex. For this reason, Sex Education is effective while being taught in school. Many believe this will increase curiosity in teens and may cause them to experiment. If thoroughly taught, Sex Education will be informative and give teens a good understanding of sex and why it’s such a big deal.

First and foremost, Sex Education decreases teen pregnancy. The class will teach teenagers (both girls and boys) the negative consequences of having a child at a young age. Teens may be biologically ready to carry a child, are not physically nor emotionally mature enough. For instance, the stress and difficulty of body changes often cause them to have premature babies, which can lead to life-long problems for both the mother and the baby.

Not only does this affect the health of the mother, but it can also affect the mother’s education. Only forty percent of teen mothers graduate from high school. Grades begin to drop and the easiest way out is to just not go. The parents are exhausted from staying up all night taking care of a baby. How can they concentrate in school, when life in their hands? This connects with the abortion rate. In most cases, teenagers who become pregnant, are pressured into getting an abortion. If the teenager is responsible and practicing abstinence or safe-sex, both pregnancy and abortion can be avoided.

Furthermore, we need Sex Education in schools to decrease the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Not many teens think about this when they are intimate with another person, but it is our job to keep them informed. Diseases not only cause health issues, but they can also cause a woman to become infertile and HIV AIDS leads to death.

Not often does a teen go get checked for STDs by a physician, so they may be unaware that they contracted a disease. If the teen has multiple partners, the disease is quickly spreading and affecting many. It’s important that students be taught the correct methods to safe sex to avoid STDs. Sex Education will bring awareness to these dangerous diseases.

Lastly, Sex Education can protect children and teens from sexual abuse. Victims of sexual abuse do not report cases due to fear or humiliation. They may lack understanding of sexual abuse. The abuser brain-washes the victims, into believing what they’re doing is okay. Sex Education will provide guidance and steps to take when being abused. Students will learn that everyone has the right to say “no”. Children and teens should be knowledgeable in healthy relationships, boundaries, and consent.

In conclusion, our schools deserve factual, inclusive, and engaging Sex Education. Our entire society will acquire the benefits. According to the PLoS one research article, “More than 93 percent of parents place high importance on sex education in both middle and high school.

Sex education in middle and high school is widely supported by parents regardless of their political affiliation.”(Kantor, Levitz). In order for Sex Education to be effective, we need all parents, no matter race, political or religious views, to agree that teaching our children about sex is just as important as teaching them math and history.

 

Example #7

As highly controversial and problematic matters, Sex and sex affairs should be taught and in fact, intensified in school so as to prepare the teens as future adults and more so parents. The current social settings make teenagers interpret education as a hindrance, old fashioned, and ineffective.

These current social settings deprive them of the correct information, which may later come to haunt them with early pregnancies and other bigger problems such as sexually transmitted diseases. Increasing sex education will be preparing young people to be responsible, as they will have knowledge of sex and sexual matters.

As much as we would teach abstinence education, it would also be important to teach safe sex education to those teenagers who feel they cannot abstain. Such education would entail lessons on birth control measures such as avoiding multiple sex partners, use of condoms during intercourse, and guide them on where to obtain condoms and how to use them.

This will help a lot not only in curbing teenage pregnancies but other complications for instance problems associated with sexually transmitted diseases. Through proper education, a teenager will know that having unprotected sex will lead to pregnancy or contact with sexually transmitted diseases and therefore he/she will take precautions.

It would be sad if we continue acting blindly, refusing to see that the rate of teenage pregnancies is on the rise. We continue to say that teenagers are taught all they need to know about sex in schools.

Increasing sex education to our youngsters and especially girls is crucial in curbing teenage pregnancies. If a teenage girl has the right information about her menstrual circle and wants to have sex without using condoms and contraceptives, she will time her safe period so as to engage in sexual intercourse.

At the same time, she will have in mind that having sex without protection is a recipe for contracting STIs. Denying a teenager such an important piece of information will mean that we will be responsible for his/her mistakes. A teenager armed with information will be able to decide actions to take, bearing in mind the consequences of his or her actions.

Secondly, conversation on sex matters is seen as embarrassing and inappropriate in a family environment as a parent will not want to be seen as encouraging their children to engage in premarital sex i.e. a mother may find it difficult to discuss with teenage son how to use a condom in case he is just about to have sex or a father talking to her teenage daughter about the use of contraceptive pills.

This should be another reason why sex education should be increased in schools. A teacher will not find any problem at all while demonstrating or talking to teens about sex issues.

It would be arguably inappropriate to continue advocating for abstinence programs only, while the outcome of it is more teenage pregnancies. Teenagers are human beings with hormones and feelings. They know a lot about sex, only that the information they have is wrong. For example, some teens believe that you cannot be pregnant if you have sex in a swimming pool.

Demystifying this and other silly myths known to teenagers by teaching them facts that they need to know about sex would help a lot. Abstaining is the best way to go but as soon as teenagers get out of the class and hit a party, it evaporates from their mind and any information on safe sex would be important in such situations.

Teenage sex is nowadays becoming a thing or a trend among teenagers all over the world and unless we change our approach towards sex, the rising number of teenage pregnancies will continue being the order of the day.

 

Example #8

As children grow, they accumulate knowledge over the years about a variety of subjects to prepare them for the future. Children learn from parents, schools, life experiences, what they watch, and other influences around them, and it can be either positive learning or negative learning.

There is one subject that is difficult to teach and have control over because of misunderstandings, lack of teaching, and publicity. Sex education has been a major debate for children under eighteen because there are some parents that want it taught in schools and others that do not because of different reasons.

The reason parents are fearful of the sex talk is that 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). If schools had sex education classes and made them mandatory then they would actually learn about sex and sexuality like they are supposed to.

“Sex education teaches them about their bodies, informs them of the risks of having sex, and teaches them about safe sex”. Learning about sex in school would be less uncomfortable for the student, because it would feel like a normal class they have to take, instead of a one on one talk with their parents, who makes it worse than it is since they do not know how to talk about it.

Letting the school teach about sex and sexuality would take the pressure off of the parents, and they wouldn’t have to struggle thinking of something to tell their child. Sex education in school would be a sure way to be certain that students learn about everything they need to know.

 

Example #9 – Sex Education Should Start at Home

How many teenagers do you know or associate yourself with that soon to be mothers? I’m sure we all can name quite a few in this generation. Teenage pregnancy is a major issue on the rise in America’s society, but there are many ways to prevent teen pregnancy, many people to get advice from, and many decisions that a teen parent must make.

Education is one of the best ways to prevent teenagers from becoming pregnant. Not the basic school-based sexual education where you’re split up during health class, boys in one room and girls in another. Parents stepping up and educating our youth would help these teenagers understand all the consequences of becoming a teenage parent and all the advantages that they can have if they protect themselves from becoming pregnant. Yes, it’s time for “the talk”!

One of the main issues teenagers fail to realize is that every time you participate in sexual activities you are planning a pregnancy. And, if you can’t realize that, how can you be expected to think about the detrimental effects of pregnancy at such a young age. Nearly half of high school students have had sexual intercourse, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Teenage pregnancy brings a range of problems to the mother as well as the child.

The mother now must face social, economic, and health issues throughout the rest of her life. As soon as you are expected to be pregnant, you are likely to lose the support from not only your family, but many are found to lose the relationship with sex partners as well. At the times when she needs the utmost parental care and support, she is left helpless. Being alone and financial independent can deeply affect the mental as well as emotional aspects of the teenager.

Also, pregnant teenagers are likely to discontinue their education. This eventually leads to possible long-term unemployment and brings a larger financial load on the mother’s shoulder. As a result, the mother is more likely to opt for low-paid jobs with a low income thus affects the overall growth of the child as poverty cannot afford to offer adequate health care and even basic necessities.

Although not surprised, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “In 2013, a total of 273,105 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a live birth rate of 26.5 per 1,000 women in this age group.” Not having the sex talk with your children is a large mistake to make as a parent. “The first thing mothers need to know is that they are a critical voice in their daughters’ sex education,” according to Leslie Kantor, MPH, national director of education at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Despite the statistics, many parents still avoid having frank conversations about sex with their children. If we are not educating our teenagers about teenage pregnancy, then who is? If we cannot open up about this topic with our children, then how can we expect someone else to do it? In one recent study of 600 young people aged 12 to 15, nearly one-third of the kids said they had never talked to their parents about sex. Kids today know a lot more about sex than we think they do, but is all this information being fed to them by their peers factual?

In fact, Dr. Berman says “Children are being forced to make sexual decisions by middle school, from receiving sexually explicit text messages—also called “sexting”—to feeling pressured to perform acts like oral sex.” Parents don’t necessarily need to have a lot of sophisticated knowledge or technical information about sex in order to have this conversation with their kids.

Although some mothers may say they shy away from the conversation because they don’t want to seem like they’re condoning sex, but you have to arm your daughters with as much information as you can. Seventeen magazine editor-in-chief Ann Shoket says “Girls don’t only want the nuts-and-bolts talk about sex—they want to learn more about the feelings that can come with it. Some parents think they’ve covered the bases with one or two comments, then leave their daughters to fend for themselves. “It’s clear that these girls are doing very advanced sexual things,” she says.

“And yet what they really want their mothers to talk about is the emotional side. They want their mothers to talk to them about: ‘How do I know if this boy is just using me? How do I know if I’m ready for it?’ That’s the part where mothers play a huge role that the Internet or their friends just can’t do.” As parents, we teach our children to cook, clean the house, washcloths, and so on, so we as parents should also be teaching them about teenage pregnancy and the consequences.

Overall, parents stepping up and educating our youth would help these teenagers understand all the consequences of becoming a teenage parent and all the advantages that they can have if they protect themselves from becoming pregnant. Therefore, decreasing the rate of teenage pregnancies in today’s society. Look for Dr. Berman’s book, “Talking to Your Kids about Sex.” filled with guides and tips for undergoing this conversation.

One parent stated after reading this book, “An especially helpful feature is the far-ranging set of questions at the beginning of each new topic directed at parents themselves, designed to encourage, if not urge, them to think and talk through their own attitude and values, and the values they most want to impart, well before they begin a dialogue with their children.” When you know better, you do better!

 

Example #10 – Why Sex Education for Children is Very Important

The very word sex is nevertheless a taboo within society and handled as vulgar. We are yet to come a long way from the way of life shying away from the nude and semi-nude footage that are incised on the temple architecture and design. And we are also to get to examine to talk about sex freely at home. In this scenario, it takes enormous, concerted effort at convincing individuals of the need and the large advantages that ought to be derived out of the program and at making sure of its wider acceptability.

Sex education for children is tremendously debated in many countries that it needs to be approved or should no longer be a part of the school curriculum. Sex-education in its greatest experience consists of all social, ethical, scientific, and spiritual instruction and has an impact on which directly and indirectly may assist young people to put together to resolve for themselves the troubles of sex that inevitably come in some form into the existence of each normal human individual.

Sex education establishing from home is constantly safer for children to keep away from any risky sexual activity. The paper shows the explanations for why children at the age of 12 to 19 must be taught sexual education in schools. In my view there are many pros of introducing sex education, so the reasons will be discussed briefly. Taking age into consideration, an open conversation with a child concerning sex makes the youthful mother and father friendlier.

The kids within the age of 12 to 19 are physically in the period of sex-changing so why not they have a right to study this bodily flip. Delivering sex lessons will allow the children to interpret why and how their bodies mature, the modification of their sex organs, for example. In addition, they will realize some odd emotions that emerge such as passion toward the opposite gender. Furthermore, sex education is required to avoid social issues among the age of children.

Such issues like early marriage, being pregnant, and rape crimes are precipitated through sexual abuse. Through allocating these chapters, the children will develop skills to cope with their affection safely. They, so that preserve their life as common in society. The children feel free to speak regarding their issues and insecurities which include depression, relationships, abuse of medicines, and alcohol as well as sexual problems.

This way, the children could also be saved from being misinformed and misguided by others due to the fact that they already have gotten due information. Young humans need coaching that relates no longer only to health but also to mindset and to morals as these three are motivated by using sexual instincts and relationships. The success of the program relies principally upon two factors, the content, and the technique. In order to reap the preferred results, the teachers ought to be mainly skilled for the aim, with the stress on ethics and teenage psychology.

Otherwise, there is the risk of the taught being exploited by way of a few unscrupulous ones amongst the fraternity. And the curriculum needs to be organized with the utmost care and caution with the aid of a high-powered professional panel in such a way that the content material is without a doubt educative and informative, not seductive, and does no longer cause embarrassment to each the instructor and the taught.

It is also worth analyzing the modules of other international countries wherever such training is introduced, for guidance. It is no longer shocking that we have turned to hunt for an academic answer for the issues of sex. Education has come to be the trendy cure for several of our ills—hygienic, business, political, and social. It was known that people are dropping health for more than a few reasons and hygienic instruction should be provided as prophylactic.

The analysis was done for many issues of the industries, and now trying to seek the solution in industrial education. It was noted that numerous social and political misunderstandings take a look at the development of individuals and nations. And, in like manner, in every section of this modern life of ours, we are trying to know how important thing is knowledge to all giant problems.

It’s really the age of schooling, not merely the education provided in schools and colleges, however, training in the larger sense includes the mastering of beneficial knowledge from all resources whatsoever. Here are the eight sexual troubles which can be solved by educating children. They are (1) Personal sex-hygiene, (2) social illness, (3) social evil, (4) illegitimacy, (5) chastity, (6) sexual vulgarity, (7) sexual issues and wedding, (8) eugenics (life science). Similarly to the ethical-social bearings of biological coaching, our sex-education will be incomplete till we tend to learn the way how to attack the sex issues directly and effectively with relevance to the moral, social, psychical, and aesthetic aspects.

Perhaps we may additionally be in a position to do this only with mature people; probably it is too much to wish that even a serious impression can be made on all shrewd human beings; however in some way sex-education need to be executed through the adequate presentation of these aspects, for the issues of sex are satisfactorily resolved solely within the lives of those lucky people whose vision of the relation of sex and lifestyles combines the viewpoints of biology, hygiene, psychology, ethics, faith, and ultimate but far from least aesthetics.

Accept the reality that teens the ones that are going to make the massive selections as far as their personal sexuality is concerned. We can no longer manage and dictate their movements, as much as you may want to. Some kids never raise queries. You would possibly be compelled to begin the conversation. It’s an honest plan to decide about what to say beforehand, and then select a suitable time to deliver the subject up.

After reviewing the data I acquired from the websites I searched, I came to the conclusion that sex education in schools is useful to an exact extent; however, it may also be an aid to the curious teen. A robust sex education curriculum equips students with correct, age-appropriate data and builds the talents necessary for them to reply to the demanding situations going through them, both digitally and in character.

I used to suppose that sex education was not desirable because it turned into promoting teenagers to have sex, but now I assume it’s an awesome useful resource to teach teens on the attainable sexually transmitted diseases they may contract or the feasible pregnancies they may have, or in reality a way to prevent both of those from occurring.

I think the most vital component we need to face is teenagers having sex in order to control their hormones. So the way I look into the problem is not essentially promoting sex, but aiding teenagers to make the right choices and where to assist help if they are in need. Sex education was an honest idea to teach teenagers in school which provides them an insight into the positive and also the negative aspects of sex.

If we wish the current generation and also the following generations to exist a safe and secure life, there is a requirement for comprehensive sex education at home and in school managing the psychological, physiological, and social problems referring to sex and reproduction. Knowledge is power; it’s just up to the individual to make the right selections.

 

Example #11 – interesting ideas

How do I conclude my persuasive essay on sex education?
My thesis is sex education should include more than the topic of abstinence. My supporting paragraphs include how:

• students are being denied their rights 2 basic health information when they are given inaccurate information
• sex ed. should talk about the use of condoms and contraceptives
• and lastly how parents should try to get more involved with their kids and actually converse w/ their children about sex

Although I agree with religious conservatives who want to challenge the youth to delay sexual activity for a while, I totally disagree with their message that a condom is a provision for sin. I send my Christian friends to the website below which debunks the whole thing against premarital sex in the Bible. That way they have no excuse not to support comprehensive sex education.

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Public school systems have been implementing sexual education into their classrooms as a regular part of instruction for decades. Controversies are abundant when dealing with such delicate issues and there are many pros and cons to sexual education being taught in public schools.

It seems that most parents are either strongly against or strongly in favor of sexual education classes, but very few parents are in the middle ground. And, in fact, there are more parents that are in favor of sexual education classes.

Results of recent polls have estimated that less than 7% of the population does not believe that sexual education should be a requirement in schools. This is 93% who are in favor of this subject matter as a part of the regular curriculum.

However, there are pros and cons that must be considered by parents when dealing with sexual education classes that one would not have to consider with a less controversial topic such as math or reading. In general, a parent needs to be aware of his or her own family or religious beliefs and values and know their child’s intellect and maturity levels.

With so much of the population on the affirmative side, there must be some pros to this curriculum. Such advantages might be:

• Classes are gender-exclusive. This saves embarrassment amongst students and teaches them only what is necessary to know based on their gender.

• Taught properly, sexual education could become a regular course such as Human Anatomy or Biological Science complete with tests and grading that goes towards their graduating credits.

• Students can be taught the correct terms of the reproductive system, sexually transmitted diseases, and birth contraceptives rather than the “street lingo.”

• Myths surrounding intercourse can be dispelled (such as not being able to get pregnant the first time).

• Studies show that many teenagers become sexually active before the inclusion of educational classes. Early inclusion of classes has proven to help students remain either abstinent or to at least be responsible if they are active.

• Appropriate sexual education can have an impact on preventing sexual problems in adulthood.

Cons:

However, there are disadvantages that can cause the validity and effectiveness of the material to be in question, and if it cannot be delivered effectively it should not be delivered at all. Some disadvantages might be:

• Students may still suffer from embarrassment or get excitable by the topic matter. This can cause out-of-control classrooms if students take to giggling or making inappropriate remarks.

• Most sexual education classes are taught as a brief interlude during physical education or a health class. This is not a long enough time to effectively relate such serious material.

• Often, sexual education can go against an individual’s moral or religious beliefs. Many schools do not teach “abstinence-only” but teach how to have intercourse safely, whereas many religious and family values stress marriage before intercourse.

• Sexual education is often viewed as a “recreational” course and not a serious subject (this is a direct correlation to the fact that there are no grades or scores to be derived from class).

• Teachers are not always trained on how to properly teach sexual education courses and may transgress their own beliefs or morals into the subject matter rather than stick with the facts.

• The attitudes of parents, educators, or religious leaders in the community can cause the subject matter to vary from state-to-state or even school-to-school.

When registering a child for school or checking into various school districts a parent should consider what form of subject matter is going to be included as part of their regular curriculum. A parent or child might also have the right to refuse the sexual education classes if preferred.

A school will not change their curriculum based on one parent’s ideologies so if there are serious aversions to allowing a child to be in a sexual education course, then other educational programs such as private schools, religious schools or even home-schooling might want to be considered