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...The topic of sex is, "one of the least examined issues of current American politics," (Paglia, 1995). Walking down the street, the topic of sex is not something that comes up very often yet it is a thing that occurs often. Why is this the case? Despite declines in rates of teen pregnancy in the U.S., about 820,000 teens become pregnant each year" (Family First). The U.S. spends about $7 million on teenage pregnancy every year. It is clear that proper education of sex is lacking both in homes and in schools, but whose job is it to teach children about sex? In this paper, these question will be explored by taking a look at the history of sex education in schools, sex education in the family, and how these two are linked in effecting the knowledge of children about the topic of sex. The history of sex education began in the 1980s when the debate of having sex education in schools really began to take off. Two of the major forces that drove this movement were the growing rates of STDs and prostitution. Therefore, "by 1989, 23 states had passed mandates for sexuality education, an additional 23 states strongly encouraged sex education, 33 mandated AIDS education and 17 additional states recommended it," (FOSE). Opponents had previously taken the stance that the topic sex should not be discussed in schools, but now they fought for the idea that the only message that should be taught in schools was the idea that sexual behavior outside of marriage was unacceptable. Today, this is...
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...Introduction What is sex education? Sex education ('sex ed'), which is sometimes called sexuality education or sex and relationships education, is the process of acquiring information and forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, relationships and intimacy. Sex education is also about developing young people's skills so that they make informed choices about their behaviour, and feel confident and competent about acting on these choices. It is widely accepted that young people have a right to sex education. This is because it is a means by which they are helped to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV and AIDS. It is also argued that providing sex education helps to meet young people’s rights to information about matters that affect them, their right to have their needs met and to help them enjoy their sexuality and the relationships that they form. Body What are the aims of sex education? Sex education aims to reduce the risks of potentially negative outcomes from sexual behaviour, such as unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and infection with sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. It also aims to contribute to young people’s positive experience of their sexuality by enhancing the quality of their relationships and their ability to make informed decisions over their lifetime. Sex education that works, by which we mean that it is effective, is sex education that contributes...
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...Speaking to or teaching teenagers about sex is a continuing controversy. Statistics from the Guttmacher Institute show that nearly half of U.S. teenagers between the ages of 15-19 have had sex. There has always been a debate on the curriculum of sex education. Some people believe that abstinence only education is the only kind of education that should be taught in U.S. public schools, while others believe in the need to teach comprehensive sex education. Statistics show that teenagers do have sex, are contracting STDs, and are getting pregnant. Although many U.S. states disagree with teaching abstinence only sex education, the government has funded over a billion dollars to schools over the past ten years that have taught an abstinence only curriculum. The Grand Rapids Press affirmed, in 2008 the Bush administration gave $ 200 million to schools in the U.S. for abstinence only curriculums. In the United States, we are divided on our opinion of sex education. Sharyl Attkisson from CBS News reported in 14 states both abstinence and contraception are taught, in 19 states only teaching abstinence is required and in 17 states the state does not specify on which sex education curriculum to teach. “The National Abstinence Education Association argues that comprehensive sex education in schools doesn’t reduce the number of teens having sex”, reported in the Grand Rapids Press. But contrary to the National Abstinence Education Association a study by The Mathematica Policy Research study...
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...Research Paper November 13, 2011 Pros and Cons of Sex Education in Schools Sex education in public school has been a controversial issue in the United States for quite a while now. I feel like it really needs to be into schools with so many teen pregnancies, HIV and STD’s cases sex education is needed. Most of the American public believes that sex education should be taught at home by the children’s parents. They feel this way because the sex education programs in schools do not emphasize on abstinence instead they encourage the children to have sex instead. American culture is very sexually oriented. When you turn on your TV or listen to music sex is all you can hear. The pros of sex education in school are countless. Sex education in school gives the kids opportunities to express themselves with their sexuality. It also prevents them from becoming parents at an early age. Each year, U.S. teens experience as many as 850,000 pregnancies, and youth under age 25 experience about 9.1 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs). By age 18, 70 percent of U.S. females and 62 percent of U.S. males have initiated vaginal sex. When expressing comprehensive sex education is effective at assisting young people to make healthy decisions about sex and to obtain healthy sexual behaviors. No abstinence-only-until-marriage program has been shown to help teens delay the initiation of sex or to protect themselves when they do initiate sex. The U.S. government has spent over one billion...
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...Sex education in public schools has been a controversial issue in the United States for over a decade. With the HIV and teen pregnancy crises growing, sex education is needed. Some of the American public believe that sex education should be taught at home by the children’s parents. Some argue that sex education in schools do not put an emphasis on abstinence and encourages children to have sexual intercourse. Sex is a prominent issue that constantly arises in the media and it is our duty to enforce and enhance a more effective sexual education program in schools. As Charles Krauthammer stated, “Sex oozes from every pore of the culture and there is not a kid in the world who can avoid it” (Krauthammer). As a Freshman in college, I have been fortunate enough to undergo more than one opportunity of sex education. I was introduced to sex education in the fifth grade. Some may say the fifth grade is too early to start, but I think that it is an effective age to begin simply because it is the point where puberty creeps up on us and it is important for adolescence to be aware what is happening to their bodies. From fifth grade to my junior year of high school, I was given the rare opportunity to be a part of a various sex education classes. However, not all students are lucky enough to get a chance at an effective and complete sex education or any at all. Schools today usually dedicate one year to sex education for students. Typically, this is done either their sophomore or junior...
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...investigate sexual education because it is a policy area that hits close to home. Sexual Education is an issue with many facets, but it falls under the larger umbrella of reproductive freedom. Many people would consider themselves either pro-life or pro-choice, but there is also a middle section that is less defined. This section is present because of cases like rape, health difficulties, or future health of the baby. With education, it is less black and white in the eyes of the general populace. Further, sides are frequently taken due to religious beliefs. Education is typically a more local issue, but it has a large impact on the rate of pregnant teens, which ultimately funnels into the debate over abortion. More specifically, the federal government has to take action on both abortion and sexual education because of their inter-connectedness. With that said, the focus of my policy is primarily the need for comprehensive sexual education. I work for the American Civil Liberties Union, and within this I am a part of TACL. The point of this group is to focus on civil liberties for students. With the passage of the abstinence only bill in Tennessee, I feel as though my liberties have been taken. I believe that you cannot stop students from doing what is natural by not teaching them about it or teaching them about protection. Studies show that in states with abstinence only education laws, the pregnancy rate is much higher. I want to focus my research on education about safety...
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...School Counselor Agenda - Sex Education Course Student’s Name High School Affiliate School Counselor Agenda - Sex Education Course Outline 1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. What is sex? 4. How you are changing? 5. Why boys and girls are different and where babies come from? 6. Importance of studying sex at age 10-12 years 7. Conclusion 8. Reference 9. Appendix Abstract As a school counselor, I am in charge of presenting a sex education course to the student body of late childhood ages 10 through 12 years of age. The discussion is needed to help children grow in a way that is essential on the basis of what is happening on their physical, emotional and mental life. Therefore, an enumeration on the topics like: what is sex, how you are changing, why boys and girls are different and where babies come from? After listing the above topics, an enumeration on the topics will be made to help the reader fully comprehend what can be done to assist children aged 10-12 on matters associated with sex. Lastly, a conclusion will be initiated to help understand what the sex topics can be utilized on children aged 10-12 years. Introduction Teaching children aged 10-12 years of age is a fundamental approach especially if it is associated with sex. Brooks (2012), indicates that sex as a subject, it is very delicate, and hence, having a proper and fundamental topics on sex generates a society that is responsible...
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...and it’s Setting Background of the study Sex education has become a major issue here in the Philippines because the church people and government officials cannot decide on whether to incorporate sex education in students learning curriculum in this study the researchers will show the importance of incorporating sex education to the subjects of the students. According to statistics compiled by the Guttmacher Institute schools (2008) is exploring the best sex education programs to benefit students. The US has “one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world—almost twice as high as those of England, Wales and Canada, and eight times as high as those of the Netherlands and Japan.” Because of the rising pregnancy rates among teens, in addition to the rising rates of sexual activity among teens, parents. The United States has unacceptably high rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS infections. To address this challenge, NARAL Pro-Choice America supports honest, age-appropriate, and medically accurate sex education that promotes abstinence and provides young people with the information they need to protect themselves. On the same hand, Peter J. Smith (2006) any DepEd directors and church people have argued that if they should incorporate sex education to the learning of the students. Furthermore they have argued about it since 2006 but today some public schools are incorporating sex education to a child’s learning in addition the government...
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...about whether sex education should be taught in schools. The questions of who, why and is it appropriate are still unanswered. The statistics every year shows the rate of teenage pregnancy and the number of teens having sex is escalating in the Caribbean. The percentage of births that take place during adolescence is about 18% in Latin America and the Caribbean (WHO, 2016). Conservatives normally believe that abstinence should be the only policy taught in schools, while liberals feel that statistics shows an increase in risky behaviour amongst teens indicates a need for sex education in the school system. The former Minister of Education Dr. Gopeesingh said, “More than 2, 500 teenage pregnancies...
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...Jason Rusli Esl 26 26 July 2012 Essay 1 Final Draft Sex Education for a Better Future Pregnancy among school-age youth may reduce completed levels of education, employment opportunities and marital stability, and increase welfare dependency (Illinois Department of Public Health). This staggering sentence has pointed out the important needs of sex education in schools to ameliorate the nation’s economics. Two approaches to sex education currently prevail: abstinence-only approach – inculcating teenagers with the notion that premarital intercourse is astray – and comprehensive approach, which focuses on the dissemination of information on safe sex practices, while simultaneously promoting abstinence as the ultimate solution in diminishing the issues of unwanted pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In spite of seemingly endless debates as to which approach is more effective, it would be reckless to simply laud one approach and criticize another, for the two approaches are not mutually exclusive. Moreover, neither approach is effective on its own. Only by incorporating the merits of both approaches, coupled with family support / parental involvement, can the issue at hand be effectively handled. In an essay titled “Sex Education in Schools,” the author, Amber Dahlke, staunchly believes that sex education should be taught in comprehensive style. However, I remain ambivalent towards the comprehensive approach. Although I recognize the value in imparting...
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...crucial it is to have a comprehensive sex education that teaches adolescents the dangers of sexual intercourse, how to prevent pregnancy, and promotes sexual health and well-being. Due to the high volumes of sexual content teenagers watch each day, a comprehensive sex education seems vital in providing accurate information regarding anything related to sexual intercourse. Also, this type of education would have the means to correct the half-truths and false information mass media presents to the public through a variety...
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...Sex Education in Schools Anquavese Jones ENG/102 06/26/2011 Becky Wilfahrt Abstract Teenage sex education is a topic of much debate in America’s schools because sex and its health related issues are prevalent in the lives of so many adolescents. Teenagers’ engagement in sexual activities has led to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases, emotional and psychological injuries, and out-of-wedlock childbearing (Rector, 2002, para. 1). Therefore, schools across the nation have been charged with implementing programs that will educate the young about the risks of engaging in sexual activities before marriage. America’s schools use one of the two commonly known approaches in hopes to deter premarital sex. These approaches are abstinence education and comprehensive sex education. Abstinence education is a type of sex education that places strict emphasis on abstaining from sex until marriage. Comprehensive sex education examines abstinence along with sexual reproductive health education and contraceptives. This paper will examine both approaches and show that comprehensive sex education is the most effective method. Introduction Sex is a hot topic that reaches many children through the different mediums to include school, internet, radio, and television. An effective way to arm our children with important data concerning sex education is by providing abstinence education in our schools. According to Powezek, in the United States, maturation classes are usually implemented...
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...Abstinence- Only Vs. Comprehensive Sex Education Nickenha Ashley SOC 233 Professor Singer October 31, 2013 The debate about “abstinence” vs. “comprehensive” sex education has been occurring for at least three decades. The common ground that drives these competing approaches is concern about the negative consequences of adolescent sexual activity to the health and well-being of individuals and society. The debate about these programs were re-energized recently based on the research of about four different abstinence program, where teens in that study reported that they did not abstain from sexual activity more than non-participants. Based on these results it has come to the conclusion that the abstinence approach to preventing teen sexual risk behaviors does not work. My position on this topic is that I feel that all schools should implement the comprehensive sex education class rather than the abstinence only. The abstinence only approach to sex education does not protect young people from HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and unplanned pregnancy. This approach will likely have serious unintended consequences by denying young people access to the information they need to protect themselves. Sex education will prepare them only for when they want to make that decision but will clarify that having no sex is the only way to truly prevent any accidents. The idea that sexual activity is the ticket to popularity is burned into teens brains by media, through television...
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...Sexual health education in the schools: Questions & Answers 3rd Edition Sexual health education in the schools: Questions & Answers (3rd edition) A resource with answers to your questions about sexual health education in our schools This resource document was prepared by Alexander McKay, Ph.D, Research Coordinator, and Mary Bissell, Ph.D., Information Services Coordinator, Sex Information and Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN) contEntS IntroductIon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 QuEStIonS: 1. Sexual health and Canadian youth: How are we doing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2. Why do we need sexual health education in the schools?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3. Do parents want sexual health education taught in the schools? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4. Do young people want sexual health education taught in the schools? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5. What values are taught in school-based sexual health education?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6. Does providing youth with sexual health education lead to earlier or more frequent sexual activity? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7. Is there...
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