...1970s-80s push for abstinence-only sex education, which promotes the idea that because students are told to wait, they do not need to discuss how to have safe sex. Because of the largely negative effects of abstinence-only sex education on students and the inefficacy of the current...
Words: 1958 - Pages: 8
...Failure of Abstinence-Only Programs Sex education is important, but many students finish sex education classes with a distorted view of sexuality and without a good understanding of contraception and safe-sex practices. Instead, children only learn that they should not have sex until they are married. Abstinence-only programs in public schools have become popular because of a law giving millions of dollars to schools that teach the programs. These programs have the good intention of persuading young people to wait until marriage before having sex, but abstinence-only programs are not achieving this goal and are flawed by the distorted and biased perspective that they promote. In 1996, the United States government passed a law giving funding to states that offered abstinence-only programs in public schools. Since this time, over half of a billion dollars has been given to states to promote abstinence-only programs (Brody). To receive the money, schools must agree to follow a set of rules. The rules indicate that a school’s abstinence-only program must have "as its exclusive purpose teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity" ("Impacts"). Students must be taught that they are likely to suffer harmful effects if they have sex before marriage. They also must be taught that the "expected standard" is for school-age children not to engage in sexual activity and for adults to engage in sexual relations only within...
Words: 1238 - Pages: 5
...The Ineffectiveness of Abstinence-Only Education and The Importance of the Implementation of Comprehensive Sexual Education Programs in U.S. Public Schools Each of us deserves medically accurate and thorough information in order to make informed decisions about our health. Teenagers who are exposed solely to abstinence-only sexual education programs are not experiencing this right to information. Abstinence-only sexual education programs preach abstaining from sex until marriage, often omitting conversations about other significant topics of sexual health. Although practicing abstinence is the only sure way to avoid STIs and unwanted pregnancy, it is not realistic to expect all adolescents to remain abstinent until marriage as, according to...
Words: 1599 - Pages: 7
...pregnancy and STDs. Giving proper sex education on those issues will not only help preserve the youth to be as healthy as possible but it can make for better decision making in the future. One type of sexual education that is particularly well-known and mostly used in the south is abstinence-only sex education. Abstinence-only sex education teaches not to have sex before marriage and tends to exclude talking about safe sex, STDs and contraceptive methods. Abstinence-only sex education is not a proper way of teaching the youth about sexual education and sexual relations. They need to be exposed to what the real issues are and instead they are shielded behind a system that encourages abstaining from sex completely until marriage, which is unrealistic. These adolescents should be taught about how to protect themselves properly. Abstinent methods could be taught along the program but not as the only proper way. Actually, the states with the highest teen pregnancy rates and teen birth rates in the U.S. are states that do...
Words: 468 - Pages: 2
...her arms, hoping to see some sort of loving miracle, but instead sees only the thing that forced her to drop out of high school, following in her mother’s footsteps of having a baby at 16 and never receiving a high school diploma. Before graduation...
Words: 1758 - Pages: 8
...not to have sex before you’re married. The irony is about maybe half of those students have already had sex before and your gym teacher is only teaching you this because the school gets more funding if he does. This key flaw is letting faith-based organizations have a hand in teaching you one of your basic human rights of youth. Abstinence-only sexual education is inefficient and morally flawed due to its aim to promote one specific set of social values, and the group most affected by this is the youth. A bit of background on the origin of these abstinence only programs. In 1981,...
Words: 1239 - Pages: 5
...Public Schools (Bleakly, Hennesy, & Fishbein, 2006). Around 8.5 thousand American teens become pregnant each year with over 9 million teenagers experiencing a sexually transmitted infection (Klein & Committee on Adolescence, 2005). By the time most American teenagers complete high school at age 18, 70% of females and 62% of males have experienced intercourse. While sex education might ideally take place in the home, these numbers suggest that sexuality is either not being discussed at all or is not being addressed adequately. Comprehensive sexual education, which includes abstinence and birth control methods, is considered a fundamental human right for American public school students. Current abstinence-only programs are unacceptable and should be replaced with more accurate and inclusive information immediately. For decades, the United States government has spent billions of dollars on an abstinence-only sexual education programs (SIECUS, 2004). This curriculum inhibited teachers from teaching birth control methods or even answering direct questions about how these methods worked. Research has identified several highly effective sex education programs that have cut down on HIV and pregnancy rates in the children they have reached (American Foundation for AIDS Research, 2005). Despite findings like these, none of these programs are eligible for federal funding because they teach young people about the health benefits of condoms and other contraception methods. Schools continue...
Words: 1250 - Pages: 5
...principles implementing political theory. Today, sexual education is obligatory publicly faculties in twenty two of fifty states within the U.S. as a result of very little advancement created within the administration of sexual education schemes, voters of the U.S. have unnoted a deeper underlying issue – which is, at what stage in adolescence is it necessary and most helpful for this difficult, life-long learning method to begin? Additionally due partially to the slow progress these programs have revamped time, some oldsters have even neglected to the touch upon the difficulty entirely. What’s a lot of, these continued failures to be proactive have junction rectifier to the misuse of a number of society’s most outstanding resources. Non-“abstinence-only-until-marriage” sexual education in establishments of education, bolstered by doctors, parents, and/or guardians within the stages preceding pubescence, is crucial as a method of combating rising rates of teenaged pregnancies and STDs. It isn’t uncommon for folks to feel that they're...
Words: 2787 - Pages: 12
...Jonathan Stokes 1 Jonathan Stokes English 155 Instructor Caramess May 18, 2012 Comprehensive Sex Education vrs. Single Sex Education There have been many debates and changes made throughout history on the subject of Sex Education in school. Now a day's there are many forms of sex education. Two main forms of sex education being debated on are Comprehensive and single sex. Dates of when sex education was first taught in school date back as early as the 1830’s. However sex education didn't really get noticed or take a dramatic affect in scholls till the 1900's. In 1913, Chicago became the first major city to implement sex ed for high schools. During the 1920's school finally began adding sex education to their curriculums. "To prevent the immense evils of self-pollution, therefore, in our boys and students ... They should always subsist on a plain, simple, unstimulating, vegetable, and water diet; and care should be taken that they do not eat too fast, and are not excessive, in quantity. They should never be kept too long a time in a sitting, confined, or inactive Jonathan Stokes 2 posture. They should never sleep on feathers." —Sylvester Graham, Lectures on Chastity (Cornblatt 1) (1834) Upon further investigation into my topic i have found several key dates and facts. one fact was that during the 1930's the U.S. Office of Education started publishing articles and training teachers. also during the 40's and 50's colleges began adding courses on Human...
Words: 455 - Pages: 2
...Abstinence-Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education Which is the Right Choice? Allysa Lekas English 401 Professor Kramer December 11, 2012 Abstinence-Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education The appropriate type of sex education that should be taught in United States public schools continues to be a major topic of debate, which is motivated by high teen pregnancy and birth rates in the United States compared to other countries. This debate is centered on whether abstinence-only or comprehensive sex education should be taught in public schools. Some argue that sex education, that covers safe sexual practices, such as condom use, sends a mixed message to students, and actually promotes sexual activity. The United States government used to promote abstinence-only initiatives through the Adolescents Family Life Act. It cost 176 million dollars annually to fund abstinence-only programs. The central message of these programs was to delay sexual activity until marriage, and cannot include information about contraception and condoms (Stranger-Hall & Hall, 2011). It has been proven that abstinence-only education does not have an effect on the birth rates in the United States, but comprehensive sex education has. Teaching students to not only about abstinence, but about contraceptive use and information about sexually transmitted diseases, has decreased the birth rates in the United States as well as the contraction rate of sexually transmitted diseases. Comprehensive sex education...
Words: 3018 - Pages: 13
...but not taught the truth about sex. Sex is a natural biological urge that no piece of paper makes a difference about. What should be different, is how teens are taught about sex. In 1996, the United States government passed a law giving funding to states that offered abstinence-only sex education programs in public schools. Since this time, over half of a billion dollars has been given to states to promote abstinence-only programs. (Brody) After a study of four of the schools with abstinence only programs showed, that teens who had participated in the class were no more likely to hold off on having sex, engaging in oral sex, lower the amount of sexual partners or avoiding sex completely than, a teen that did not attend the class at all. (Trenholm) Comprehensive sexual education programs have helped the rate of sexual transmitted diseases, (STD Surveillance) number of unwanted pregnancies and or abortions decline. Sex education also has been shown to reduce the possibility of sexual violence. (Gorden) Comprehensive sexual education programs promote knowledge about prevention, knowing the symptoms of STDs and where to get tested. In 2009, two years after the study of abstinence only programs and start of implementing more sex education, the gonorrhea rates dropped to their lowest numbers since the national reporting began in 1974. (STD Surveillance) Unfortunately, there is no regulation on how STD prevention is taught in schools. States such as Indiana...
Words: 1013 - Pages: 5
... [Albert Einstein, "Religion and Science", New York Times Magazine, 9 November 1930] In 2000 my first and second grade children arrived home from school with a surprising question for me. I was asked what “69” meant. My response was “the number after 68 and before 70”. That was not the correct answer to the specific question they were asking, yet they were too naive to know any different. I did not feel they were at the appropriate age for a response to that question, but it meant it was time for a small bit of conversation regarding sexual education. Sexual education is opposed by some for religious beliefs, infringement of parental rights, and parental fears of a higher level of sexual promiscuity. Those opposed typically promote abstinence programs, (which have failed our society). Regardless what age a child is, sexual education is a very important topic and I feel it is crucial to start educating about sex now; in the schools; rather than wait for the latter possible unplanned STD, pregnancy, or even the unfortunate act of molestation. Since the beginning of time biblically, our society has been taught to wait to have sex until marriage. God has told us this in the Bible through many verses. This would be great in a society that was simple minded and lacking opinions. Today this is not the case. Our televisions, radios, magazines, internet, and peer pressures all promote some type of sexual propaganda. It even travels through our school hallways and buses as well...
Words: 2043 - Pages: 9
...III 12 February 2014 Outline I. Introduction A. Sexual education and abstinence programs seem to be taught nationwide, causing most parents to believe that this affects their children’s decisions regarding sexual activity; however, these programs have not had statistically significant impacts on the rate of sexual abstinence. II. Statics A. Schools 1. 39% of female and 45% of male high school students have had sexual intercourse. 2. Half of the students don’t really pay attention because they’re already having intercourse. 3. No significant changes since Abstinence-only programs started III. Federal Funding 1. 1981, more than 1 billion spent on these programs 2. Some of the funds that are given aren’t correctly monitored 3. 1996 as a welfare reform 4. Spend on programs that haven’t been effectively working for a while IV. Teen pregnancies A. Not mature 1. Not ready to take care of baby 2. Drop out of school 3. Won’t have successful career 4. Too busy with baby if they go to college B. Love & sex 1. Teens don’t take in consideration what consequences are 2. Express feelings in a different way 3. Peer pressure C. Statistics 1. 58% of pregnancies end in abortion 2. Rate of pregnancies is 61.9 out of every 1,000 women 3. Teen rate is 96 out of every 1,000 women V. Abstinence-only vs. Comprehensive sex A. Not working 1. Abstinence only is not consistent 2. Not teaching right way 3. Influence on such early...
Words: 305 - Pages: 2
...the Texas Tribune, put his chin in his hand and asked Gov. Rick Perry: "Governor, why does Texas continue with abstinence education programs when they don't seem to be working? In fact, we have the third-highest teen pregnancy rate in the country, among all the states." "Abstinence works," Perry replied, his arms folded and resting on the table be-tween them. Smith tried again – the point of the question, he said, was that abstinence education, by the stats, doesn't exactly seem to be working. It does work, Perry replied; it's the "best form ... to teach our children," he said. "Can you give me a statistic suggesting it works?" Smith asked. I Heart Pants abstinence website "I'm sorry, I'm just going to tell you ... from my own personal life, abstinence works," said Perry, increasingly agitated. "If the point is ... we're going to stand up here and say, 'Y'all go have sex and have the whatever is going on ... and here's the ways to have safe sex' – I'm sorry; call me old-fashioned if you want, but that's not what I'm going to stand up in front of the people in the state of Texas and say, 'That's the way we need to go, and forget about abstinence.'" Of course, neither Smith nor anyone else was asking the governor to "forget about abstinence," but the truth, say advocates for adolescent health, including doctors and educators, is that teaching "abstinence only" has not worked to reduce the high rates of teen pregnancy and births in Texas despite the tens of millions in funding...
Words: 2547 - Pages: 11
...teen pregnancies is a result of a lack of information provided to teenagers from their high school sexual education programs. Abstinence-only sexual education has caused nationwide debate over the lack of information provided to teenagers about pregnancy, STDs and other harmful consequences that can result after having unprotected sex. The debate can be solved by reducing government funding for abstinence-only education, allowing parents to determine whether or not their children should be taught about safe sex, and introducing a comprehensive education system. Description of Problem The ineffectiveness of abstinence-only education...
Words: 1497 - Pages: 6
