sex eduaction

Sex Education in School Curriculum Due to not having the correct amount of information about the consequences of sex, teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 are drastically dropping out of high school, due to having unwanted pregnancies and the responsibilities that follow having a family. Over the last 30 years in the United States has been experiencing a drastic increase in teenage pregnancy, and significant increase in STD’s among these adolescents. Since then sex education programs have been applied into the curriculum to further extend the knowledge of sexual activity among young adults. Among many schools, the content varies but will similarly have the same message of awareness. David Landry’s article Factors Associated with the Context of Sex Education in US Public Secondary Schools, he explains that in secondary schools sex education content differentiates from stressing abstinence and the use of contraceptives among soon to be teens. (268) Instructors of sex education are well aware of young adults that are willing to engage in sexual activity, and teachers can’t help but to provide the adolescents with the right information to proceed with as much precaution as possible.
What do some parents of these teenagers think about having a sex education being implemented into the curriculum? Allison Chappell did a massive survey in her article A Theoretical Investigation of Public Attitudes toward Sex Education that did a scientific approach to the mindset of the parents. Stating most parents believe with the right information in the classroom it can decrease teenage pregnancy significantly, and increase the awareness of serious risks involving sex. (217) In the article Parents’ Perception, Students’ and Teachers’ Attitude Towards School Sex Education by Netsanet Fentahun states that education programs on sex should provide resources to students, teachers and parents as needed. With this information, young adults have the capacity to have their own way of thinking responsibly and think twice before they engage in sex. Sex education provides them with the necessary tools to make an educated choice and not end up with bad end of stick with risking themselves to the dangers of AIDS, and other STD’s. (105)
Many parents today fully support the teaching of sex education in public schools due to the fact that many of these parents did not have the information about the risk involving sex. A survey was conducted in which 130 mothers in Canada who were born between the 60’s and 70’s were asked about implementing sex education in school. The results showed more than 65% of the mothers favored the teachings of sex education, and also favored the option of informing teens of the use of condoms and birth control. “Mothers believe that their own sex education had not been adequate. Thus, not surprisingly, be in favor of schools offering sex education programs” (Marsman 361) Opponents to sex education tend to feel that this is not “education” at all, but an intrusion from the schools into an arena of private, or family, life. Sexual activity is rarely apart from ethical or religious belief systems; consequently, the assertion that morality is removed from teaching about it is inherently false. Young people, it is felt, are very vulnerable to peer pressures and easily swayed into wrong judgments. Teaching these children about sex, then, tacitly goes to promoting experimentation, or at least creating greater confusion in impressionable minds.
Also, many who oppose sex education are suspicious of the characters of the teachers to whom it will be entrusted. This is, no matter how clinically it is presented, a highly sensitive subject. Moreover, teachers wield great influence over students, who often seem them as more deserving of respect than their own parents. Consequently, an extremely progressive teacher would then have the power to convince young people that casual sex is acceptable, if not desirable, as long as precautions are taken (Landry 265). Even if issues of morality are removed from the instruction, a kind of morality is still being put forth; as the teacher is telling the children how to safely engage in sex, this may easily be interpreted as a “green light”. Teachers must never have authority in so personal a matter.
Lastly, that schools acknowledge the need to discuss abstinence is itself a damaging aspect of sex education, because abstinence implies a choice made by moral decision-making. When the school offers it as one of several options, it is then making a moral stand; it is saying that abstinence is not necessarily the wisest course to take, and this directly defies parental authority. For example, the parents who spend years in convincing their children of the benefits of abstinence are undermined because, in school, an authority is telling them that there are other choices to be considered.
The editorial Sex and Sensibility: Public School Education and the Religious Right described how naïve religious extremist can be when it came to sex education. Making claims of the teachings of sex outside of the church are considered to be a sin in “God’s eye." A Christian speaker was invited to a local high school in Charleston, West Virginia who made false allegations of condom’s never working and premarital sex can lead to infertility and death. Students and teachers were offended by the claims made by the speaker stating that the facts were not accurate (15).
Seizing upon that last point, there is no moral or religious component to sex education at all, except that which opponents often seek to add to it. It cannot be argued that the school system exists to prepare young people for adult life, and this often takes forms removed from traditional “education”. For example, schools typically have driver education classes, which are in place not to urge the students to drive, but to teach them how to do it safely. Education in all arenas of society is very much built into public schools, and the inescapable reality is that sexuality is a part of adult life. As the school is responsible for providing children with the information they need to decide on careers and learn the basics in general areas of knowledge, so too must it inform children of the facts regarding sex. Education here is, again, no more and no less than that.
Many seem to feel that this education must create in young people urges to experiment. There is, however, no evidence to support that teaching sex education encourages active sexuality, and many states are developing legislation that addresses this fear from opponents. In 2007, for instance, Colorado required that some discussion of abstinence as a choice be included in its schools sex education; similarly, in Washington, a bill was passed making it illegal to present abstinence as the only recommended choice or decision (Bruess, Greenber 33). This appears to be a response to those fearful of moral decline, and one that emphasizes that the moral components of the issue are beyond the school’s authority. More rationally, it is unlikely that any school today would seek to encourage students into engaging in sex, simply because such a grossly irresponsible behavior would certainly have disastrous consequences on the school itself.
Before HIV and AIDS became national concerns in the 1980s, the major reason for promoting sex education was to curtail teen pregnancies. People were fearful of the risks of sexually-transmitted diseases, but none were perceived as life-threatening (Netsanet 102). Today, even as new medications greatly ease fears that HIV must be fatal, this disease demands that young people understand the real risks of unprotected sex. This is, in fact, removed from morality, and it is all the more the obligation of the schools to educate children for their own safety.
That many parents and communities have serious concerns about sex education is perfectly understandable. As noted, it is no ordinary subject. It is a very sensitive one, particularly as students are nearing or undergoing the turbulent years of puberty. Then, it is also natural that parents would be concerned about moral influences that may contradict what they teach their own children. Ultimately, however, opponents to sex education must accept that it is no school’s interest to encourage sexual activity in students, as it is the system’s responsibility to provide information. In an age when unprotected sex could lead to dangerous illness, it is all the more critical that society acknowledge this effort from the schools as constructive. All other considerations aside, sex education in public schools is education, and it is therefore an obligation of the American school system.
Sex education can help teenagers in public schools be more informed about the consequences of having sex. It could lead to having unwanted pregnancy, STID’s and other life threatening risks, and teens should take the necessary precautions to prevent that. Sex education offer that kind of help and often stresses that abstinence is the best way to prevent those risks, or if the teen decides to have sex, contraception is often another best choice which lowers the risks.
Work Cited
Chappell, Allison T., Scott R. Maggard, and Sarah A. Gibson. "A Theoretical Investigation Of Public Attitudes Toward Sex Education." Sociological Spectrum 30.2 (2010): 196-219. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

Fentahun Netsanet, et al. "Parents ' Perception, Students ' And Teachers ' Attitude Towards School Sex Education." Ethiopian Journal Of Health Sciences 22.2 (2012): 99-106. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Oct. 2013

Landry David, et al. "Factors Associated With The Context Of Sex Education In U.S. Public Secondary Schools." Perspectives On Sexual & Reproductive Health 35.6 (2003): 261-269. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. Marsman, Joan, and Edward Herold . "Attitudes toward Sex Education and Values in Sex Education."National Council on Family Relations. 35.3 (1986): 357-361. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. < http://www.jstor.org/stable/584361>.
"Sex And Sensibility: Public School Sex Education And The Religious Right." Church & State 66.6 (2013): 15. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.

Cited: Chappell, Allison T., Scott R. Maggard, and Sarah A. Gibson. "A Theoretical Investigation Of Public Attitudes Toward Sex Education." Sociological Spectrum 30.2 (2010): 196-219. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. Fentahun Netsanet, et al. "Parents ' Perception, Students ' And Teachers ' Attitude Towards School Sex Education." Ethiopian      Journal Of Health Sciences 22.2 (2012): 99-106. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Oct. 2013 Landry David, et al. "Factors Associated With The Context Of Sex Education In U.S. Public Secondary Schools." Perspectives On Sexual & Reproductive Health 35.6 (2003): 261-269. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. Marsman, Joan, and Edward Herold . "Attitudes toward Sex Education and Values in Sex Education."National Council on Family Relations. 35.3 (1986): 357-361. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. < http://www.jstor.org/stable/584361>. "Sex And Sensibility: Public School Sex Education And The Religious Right." Church & State 66.6 (2013): 15. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.