Sex education in public schools has been a controversial topic for many years and for many reasons. People believe differently on what should or should not be taught based on their own beliefs or their religious beliefs. According to a new poll by National Public Radio, the Kaiser family foundation, and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, has found that all Americans but about 7% say sex education should be taught in schools. There are different methods of sex education today. The three popular methods are abstinence, abstinence-plus, and responsible decisions. A long with these methods come consequences of not having sex education and with having it. Should sex educations be allowed in public schools? Yes, it should be. The NPR/Kaiser/ Kennedy School agrees with Brigid McKeon and SunHearald.com that sex education should be allowed in schools.
Over the years the questions of whether sex education should be allowed has dwindled to a very small percentage of people that say no. The bigger question is what exactly should be taught. The few different methods of sex education is a abstinence, abstinence-plus, and responsible decisions. Abstinence has been the most taught method for a ling time, but it has been proven to not be very effective. Abstinence plus is a newer method and is becoming more popular. Instead of just that the students should stay abstinent, abstinence-plus also teaches about different methods of contraceptives and how they are used effectively and it teaches about Sexually Transmitted Diseases, along with HIV and AIDs. Brigid McKeon and SunHerald.com limit themselves to just abstinence and or abstinence-plus, where as the NPA goes even further with a third method. The third method of sex education is responsible decisions. Responsible decisions focuses on teaching teens how to make responsible decisions about sex. Some people think that only one method should be taught, where as others feel like a little of all three methods should be taught in schools.
The absence of sex education in schools is not a pleasant thought. That is because the consequences of not having sex education begins to rise. Consequences vary from something minor and curable to something chronic and life threatening. The consequences of not having sex education begin with the psychological and emotional strain and stress put on a person if they are not completely ready to become sexually active. The next consequence is an unplanned pregnancy. Unplanned pregnancies result from the lack of knowledge of contraceptives and or the ignorant use of them. The next consequence is sexually transmitted infections and diseases and HIV and AIDs. This consequence is one that most people do not even consider that could happen to them. There are many types of STDs, some curable and some not.
Sex education being taught in public schools, and being taught effectively, can make a world of difference in the United States. If pre-marital sex could go back to being “uncool”, that would make a big difference too. Abstinence, Abstinence- plus, and responsible decisions being taught in schools more frequently, hopefully the percentages of all the consequences will begin to decrease, making the United States a happy, healthier nation with less unwanted babies.
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