Sex_Education_in_Schools

The concept sex education in schools has been a topic of concern in American education for many years and is constantly a subject of intense debate. Throughout the years sex education has been discussed in nearly all aspects of American society, starting from classrooms to boardrooms and finally up to the Supreme Court. Regardless of all the commotion caused from the idea of sex education, the support for school based sex education is now higher than it has ever been. Recent polls suggest that 93 percent of all Americans support sex education in high schools, with 84 percent accepting its usefulness in colleges. Also, it was found that 89 percent of Americans support the idea to provide information and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and also that, it would be useful to concentrate on how to avoid unplanned pregnancies and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV infection and AIDS. Further studies have shown that more than 90 percent extended support to ten out of the fifteen topics selected and the support for the rest was between 76 percent and 88 percent. This earlier unseen support for sex education in schools should act as a motivation for American schools to act upon it. (School-Based Sex Education: A New Millennium Update) This does not imply that all Americans agree on the type of sex education that is best suited for their children. The major area of conflict is generally focused on abstinence-only education and these are heavily supported by federal government funds. Though only 15 percent of Americans prefer abstinence-only sex education, it is taught as sex education in almost 30 percent of public middle and high schools. This despite the fact that most Americans would like to have a broad based sex education curriculum, which includes topics like how babies get made, how to use condoms and how to get screened for sexually transmitted diseases. Another area of controversy is whether family planning clinics and doctors should provide birth control pills to teenagers and has had far larger support than abstinence only sex education among the American people. (Health and Care in Schools: The State of Sex Education in American Schools) Teenagers require the right information to aid in protecting themselves as these statistics given below show. The teenage pregnancy rate in the US is more than double that of any western industrialized country. The number of teenagers becoming pregnant each year is greater than a million. The rate of sexually transmitted diseases is the highest when compared to any age group. One out of every four youngsters contract some form of sexually transmitted diseases before the age of twenty-one. Sexually transmitted diseases have the potential to damage a teenager’s health and the ability to reproduce. AIDS has still no cure. There is a speedy increase in HIV infection in youngsters. One out every four new infection cases of HIV was found to occur in people younger than twenty-two. In 1994, among the age group 13-19 years 417 new HIV cases were seen and 2684 among the age group 20-24. There is the possibility of skin infection occurring even ten years before an AIDS; a majority of these young people should have been infected with HIV either as adolescents or as pre-adolescents. (Does Sex Education Work') In the US, forty percent teenage girls fall pregnant on at least one occasion before the age of twenty as per the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. This may be the lowest rate seen in twenty years, but still remains the highest in the developed world. (You Say: No Easy Answers to Sex Education). We are also looking at the grim reality that many of the present American teenagers engage in sexual risk before high school graduation. There is data to show that all high school students have had sexual intercourse at some time or the other, the percentage showing an upward trend as we move up the grades. Twenty percent of the students have had sexual intercourse with four or more partners. Oral and anal intercourse is getting to be popular with American teenagers. The occurrence of 25 to 80 percent of oral sex among the American teenagers indicates this. Anal intercourse is the latest trend among American female adolescents as it gives them the option of retaining their virginity and preventing pregnancy, while indulging in sex. Alarming is the fact that a growing number of these youngsters believe that oral and anal sex is not sex in its true sense. (School-Based Sex Education: A New Millennium Update) These statistics are distressing to anyone and there is agreement that everything should be done to prevent teenage pregnancy and STDs in teenagers. The question is how' Those in favor of abstinence only education advocate that these distressing statistics prove that providing a curriculum of sex education of safe sex is not working out. The solution to this is to teach students to abstain from sex till they get married. Their arguments run in this manner. As far as the dangers of smoking go there is no safe smoking. All the dangers of smoking are provided to the teenagers with the advice to abstain from smoking. So must it be with sex education too. They also affirm that teenage pregnancy and STDs are because of a lack of moral values and not the lack of scientific knowledge. (You Say: No Easy Answers to Sex Education) Education on abstinence is the moral solution to this social problem. Teenagers will take responsible decisions only when they are educated on moral choices and not the way they choose to prevent pregnancy. They also feel that educating teenagers on safe sex is like granting them the unspoken permission to indulge in sex. A review of the literature on safe sex suggests that it has been misnamed. There is no safe sex. There is no way that a thirteen-year-old teenager would make a sound decision on safe sex. These immature decisions will have detrimental consequences on the rest of their lives. (You Say: No Easy Answers to Sex Education) For a long time, the right wing of politics has been having a bash at sexuality education programs. They have tried to argue the myth, that sex education does not teach the benefits of abstinence, but only gives information on how to have sex. Having failed in all their attempts to stifle sex education, they have now attempted with some degree of success a new strategy. With adept lobbying and influence, they have managed to radically alter the funding for sex education in schools. They have diverted congressional and state subsidies away to programs that do not provide health information. (Back to School with the Religious Right- Sexuality Education) So does abstinence provide the solution regarding the gigantic issue of teenager sex and the answer would be yes, as it is a foolproof method to prevent unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Yet, the problem with abstinence is that it is just not possible. Studies clearly show that abstinence alone is not the answer. A comprehensive and medically accurate sex education is necessary. This education must include information on both abstinence and birth control – which has been proven to prevent both pregnancy and infection. This is because some teenagers will choose to have sex and they do need correct information on how to protect themselves from infection and prevent pregnancy. If this is not available through the education system, they may get incorrect information from other avenues like friends and media sources. The abstinence only education does not consider gays, lesbians and bisexual and they cannot marry by law in nearly all the states in America. Abstinence only sex education also does not include those who choose to remain single all their lives. Still nearly a third of the American high schools educate their children on using abstinence till marriage as the only option to avoid pregnancy and contracting sexually transmitted diseases. (Speaking Out About Sex Ed) A look at some other countries and their greater success in implementing a program to address the unwanted pregnancy and risk of infection in teenagers may provide the answer to this controversy. In countries like England, Canada, Sweden, France and Holland, where the age at first intercourse is similar to that of the US, they have managed to keep the teenage pregnancy rates less than half the level as seen in the US. These countries have sex education in their schools and it is comprehensive in that it includes a policy totally in favor of sex education, frankness and openness about sex, consistent information throughout society and access to contraceptives. It is also seen that it is better to start sex education at the lower class levels, maybe even as early as kindergarten. (Does Sex Education Work') In conclusion, policy makers, parents and those in the field of education must avoid wrong ideas on sex education. Looking at the various statistics on unplanned pregnancies and STDs among teenagers, it is clear that there is the requirement for a comprehensive sex education program for the kids, that teaches to postpone sexual involvement and how to protect oneself should one choose to indulge in sex. This comprehensive risk prevention strategy may provide the American teenagers with the maximum protection from the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The children should get the best possible education, as they deserve it. (Does Sex Education Work') References “Back to School with the Religious Right. -Sexuality Education”. Retrieved from http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx'oid=3647 Accessed on 18 November, 2004 DeCarlo, Pamela. “Does Sex Education Work”' Retrieved from http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/sexedtext.html Accessed on 18 November, 2004 “Health and Care in Schools: The State of Sex Education in American Schools”. (February 2004) Volume: 4; No: 12. Retrieved from http://www.healthinschools.org/ejournal/2004/feb2.htm Accessed on 18 November, 2004 Parker, J. Terry. “School-Based Sex Education: A New Millennium Update”. Eric educational Reports. Retrieved from www.findarticles.com/p/articles/ mi_pric/is_200112/ai_1121132764 - 25k Accessed on 18 November, 2004. “Sabatier, Julie. (November 25, 2003) “Speaking Out About Sex Ed”. Retrieved from http://www.teenwire.com/index.asp'taStrona=http://www.teenwire.com/infocus/2003/if_20031125p265_ed.asp Accessed on 18 November, 2004 “You Say: No Easy Answers to Sex Education”. (June 2004) American School Board. Vol. 191, No. 06. Retrieved from http://www.asbj.com/2004/06/0604yourturn.html Accessed on 18 November, 2004