Why Sex Education Should Be Taught In Schools Essay, Research Paper

Why Sex Education Should Be Taught In Schools

Most America teenagers are sexually active and think nothing could ever

happen to them.

But, many of them are misinformed about the risks that are involved in

sex. Teens also don’t always know the best ways to protect themselves and their

partners from becoming pregnant or getting STD’s.

Alan Harris said, the more educated someone is the more likely they are

to make responsible and informed choice for their behaviors. Sex education

given by teachers at school is the most relabel way to give kids the right

information about sex. In schools sex education information is give by

professional and has be proven by many reports all over the country and world.

The first formal attempts at sex education was introduced by a Dr.

Arnold a schoolmaster at a public school. Dr. Arnold used the Bible to make the

schoolboys fell guilt and scared of sex and masturbation. The nineteenth-

century scare tactics books of Dr. Arnold were nothing like the sex book used by

the sex educations teachers of today(Greaves. pg.171).

Schools that have sex education taught by a sex education professions

and that use reports and survey from all over the country and world are the most

convening sources of information. They have had the most influence on my

decisions about sex as well as many other teens. Parents and other teens can

give out wrong information about sex that can give a false scene of security,

which can lead to a unwanted pregnancy or STD. Sex education must be taught in

schools so, student get the right information.

Most parents fell that the best place for sex education is in the home.

The parents can teach their children family and religious values. Teacher Mary

L. Tatum says, Schools do a better job influence children and have more time to

try to influence children better that anyone except, perhaps, the parents. It

is important that parents give sex information but, school need to reinforce

what the parents teach to make sure that the information is correct.

Most people who are against teaching sex education in schools have the

opinion that, ?Sex education encourage students to become sexually active at

younger ages.? But, ?The World Health Organization has reviewed 35

scientifically controlled studies in the U.S. and abroad, and found that no

program increased the invitation of sexual intercourse over the control group.?

Not all parents know how to talk to their children and if they do the

children do not always understand or listen to what the parents have to say.

Some mothers wait to ask embarrassed daughter just before their wedding,

?You do know what to do, don’t you?? or, ?Do you want to ask me any questions??

(Kelly .101) Parents of the bride usually assume that the husband will know

what to do about sex.

According to APPCNC (Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North

Carolina) research, parents who talk to their children about sex tend to

encourages they children to delay first time sexual intercourse. The children

will also become sexually active at a older age and are more likely to prevent

unwanted pregnancies and STD’s. But, passed attitudes of parents is, once a

child is taught about sex they fully understand all that is needed to be

understood and there is never a need to talked about sex again.(Berne. pg.2)

Some children do what ever the parents tell the not to do. In this case it

would be bad to have the parents talk to the child and will get their sex

education for another source, their peers. Peers exchange information in locker

rooms, play grounds, and parties. Dorothy W. Baruch found that, Childish

Imagining usually changes sexual ideas a lot more that getting facts. This is

how many teens get most of their information about sex.

The most important thing when teaching sex education is have accurate

information that is taught to them so, they can make their own decision with

correct information when the have to make that choice. The best to get this

information is at school for a teacher or other trained professional.

The North Carolina Coalition on Adolescent Pregnancy found that, ninety

percent of the people surveyed agree that, sex education should be taught in the

public schools. Even parents agree, as show in Douglas Kirby studies, about

three fourths of U.S. adult population supports making information and

contraceptive available through school-based health centers.

School-based Programs to Reduce Sexual Risk Behavior: Review of

Effectiveness, states that, ?If effective programs are implemented in our nation’

s schools, they can have and important impact upon reducing sexual risk-taking

behavior…? It can also, ?provide and effective component in a large overall

strategy to reduce unintended pregnancy, STD and HIV?

One out of ten America teenage girl under the age of 20 get pregnant

each year (Berne .18). That’s over one million teenage girls in our country

alone. More that half of those pregnancies unfortunately end in abortions or

miscarriages. If the teen mother is not married and choose to have the baby

anyway, four percent of the babies are put up for adoption (Berne .155).

Half of the pregnant teens will lose their babies from abortion or

miscarriage and those that don’t will have to suffer with the effect that

pregnancies have on teen mothers. When pregnant teenagers decided to have their

babies and keep them, there are many consequences that effect them before,

during, and after labor. Some of the consequences are: 8 out of 10 teenagers

are likely to drop out of school, 72 percent will divorce by 18, the legal age

of marriage, the risk of committing suicide is 10 times greater, they are 100

times more likely to abuse their child, and the risk of birth defects and

complications in a teen mother are two to three times higher than in an adult

mother(Berne .9). Teen sex and pregnancies is out of control in America. These

teen mothers are not ready for sex or pregnancies.

The median age of first sexual intercourse for girls is just above

sixteen years old (16.2), or 11th grade and the median age for boys is around

fifteen and a half years old (15.7) or 10th grade.

Kids who live in poor and or broken homes do poorly at school, have no

interest in college, and whose parents have low education; are one to three

years younger the first time they engaged in sexual intercourse(Berne .4).

Harriet Pilpel and Laurie Rockett have found in a study of parents that,

eighty percent of the parents believed the sex education should be taught in

schools. The SIECUS report of November 1979 found that, only one to three

percent of parents did not give their children permission to attend the schools

sex education class.

Sex education is best when taught in schools. Because, schools have

professional teaching the information and get their information from surveys and

reports. Teens do not always get along with their parents and will not take the

advise evening if it is right information. And the teens peers usually spread

false information around to each other which can be harmful or even deadly for

teens. If the schools are allow to teach to students hopefully it will help the

teens to make the right decisions to prevent unwanted pregnancies of STD’s.

Works Cited

Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina. The

Advocate, 1995. pg.10.

Baruch, Dorothy Walter. New Ways in Sex Education: New York, McGraw-

Hill, 1959. pg.41.

Berne, Linda A. and Barbara K. Huberman. 17 Arguments Against

Comprehensive Sexuality Education And The Answers From Scientific Literature.

class handout. 1994.pgs.1-9, 155.

— Dealing with the Reality of Teen Sexual Behavior, class handout,

1994. pg.4.

Greaves, Norman. J. Sex education in College and Department of

Education; Health Education Journal, . 1965. pg.171-177.

Harris, Alan. Sex Education, Rationale and Reaction , What does ?Sex

Education’ Mean?

Cambridge University Press, Ed. Rogers, 1974. pg.19.

Huberman, Barbara and Douglas, Karin, The North Carolina Coalition on

Adolescent Pregnancy: March 1993. pg.5.

Kelly, Gary F. Sex Education in the Eighties: Parents as Sex Educators,

New York, Plenum Press, 1981. pg.101.

Kirby, Douglas. School-Based Program To Reduce Sexual Risk-Taking

Behaviors:

Sexuality and HIV/AIDS Education, Health Clinics And Condom

Availability Programs.class handout. 1994.

Pilpel, Harriet and Rockett, Laurie, Sex Education in the Eighties: Sex

Education and the Law, New York, Plenum Press, 1981. pg.19.

Tatum, Mary Lee. Sex Education in the Eighties: Education in the Public

School, New York, Plenum Press, 1981. pg.138

Roberts, E.J., and Holt, S.A. Parents-child communication about

sexuality. SIECUS Report, 1980, 8(4), 1-2,10.

World Health Organization , Technical Report, pg.572. 1994.