To teach Sex Education or not to teach Sex Education?
By: Briana Thomas
Why is Comprehensive Sex Ed. Necessary?
The goals of comprehensive sex education are
to help young people gain a positive view of sexuality and to provide them with
developmentally appropriate knowledge and skills so that they can make healthy
decisions about their sex lives now and in the future. Medically accurate sex
education is an investment in our children’s future.
“Parents
aren't sex education experts just because they are parents.”
-PEPPER SCHWARTZ, Ten Talks Parents
Must Have With Their Children
-In the U.S., more than
750,000 girls ages 15-19 become pregnant every year. More than 80 percent of
these are unintended pregnancies.
Teens who receive a comprehensive education about sex are
50 percent less likely to have an unintended pregnancy than those who receive
sex educations that are abstinence-only or contraception-only programs.
-Almost 80 percent of parents support
sexual education that includes information about sexual orientation.
More than 90 percent of parents
of junior high and high school students believe that it is somewhat or very
important for sex education to be included in the curriculum
Characteristics of Effective Sex Education
Experts have identified critical characteristics of highly effective sex education and HIV/STI prevention education programs. Such programs:
- Offer age- and culturally appropriate sexual health information in a safe environment for participants
- Are developed in cooperation with members of the target community, especially young people
- Assist youth to clarify their individual, family, and community values
- Assist youth to develop skills in communication, refusal, and negotiation
- Provide medically accurate information about both abstinence and also contraception, including condoms
- Have clear goals for preventing HIV, other STIs, and/or teen pregnancy
- Focus on specific health behaviors related to the goals, with clear messages about these behaviors
- Address psychosocial risk and protective factors with activities to change each targeted risk and to promote each protective factor
- Respect community values and respond to community needs
- Rely on participatory teaching methods, implemented by trained educators and using all the activities as designed. -http://www.advocatesforyouth.org
What can we do as future Health Educators?
We create an environment in which people of all ages can gain information, skills, and motivation to become sexually healthy individuals. We educate on many aspects of sexuality, such as; homosexuality, sexual orientations, sexually transmitted diseases, birth control options, self-esteem, abortion, sexual violence, healthy and unhealthy relationships, masturbation, puberty, pregnancy, values, reproduction, decision making, communication, safer sex, parent-child communication, sexual harassment, body image, life skills, and many other topics.
Resources:
Advocates for Youth. (n.d.). Effective sex education. Retrieved from
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications450
N.A. (April, 2012 23). 11 facts about sex education in the u.s.. Retrieved from
http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/tipsandtools/facts-about-sex-education-us-0
N.A. (n.d.). Implementing sex education. Retrieved from
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/resources/implementing-sex-education-23516.htm
I think your topic is very relevant, Briana. With so many reality shows out there glorifying the concept of teen pregnancy and sex, I think it's very difficult for teenagers and young adults to make smart decisions concerning sex if they don't understand the full implications of their actions.
ReplyDeleteI like how you tied democratic ideals in to your piece by stating that sex education is for the benefit of students as a whole, and therefore we have and obligation to teach it. I also think this could be democratic in the fact that teenagers should be able to own their maturing bodies and sexuality while at the same time making smart, informed decisions. Of course abstinence would be the best solution, but realistically that will not happen. Therefore, I think providing teenagers with proper contraceptives and knowledge is the best way to protect them.
Very nice work, I liked the inclusion of statistics. It really surprised me that around 90 percent of parents are on board for sex educations; it's time for educators to get on board, too!
(The last comment is from Myranda. I didn't want any confusion with the blog being in my name as well).
DeleteGreat topic, Briana! It is quite obvious with the number of sexually active teens there are that they need to be correctly educated about it. It is important information about sexual education comes from a trained professional; parents, friends, family members, or even teachers who have not studied this subject can give wrong information to teens. I am glad you put the statistic in there that 80% of parents agree with this being taught in schools. It is even more profound that 90% of students believe it is useful to be taught. They have questions, and we should give them answers!
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the democratic aspect of it, I believe that public education needs to address the concerns and interests of the students. If this is a topic that wants to be covered more in depth, then in order for their education to be democratic, we need to give them solid, correct statistics and information and let them create their own opinions and ideas based on it. I believe as long as we are presenting correct information in an unbiased way that the students feel is important to learn about, we are one step closer to providing a democratic education.
I feel that this is a very important topic to be discussed as it was not very well taught at my high school. This is a topic that needs to be more publicly displayed as well because it affects everyone. The worst part is that the topic is viewed a stigma and instead of discussing matters openly and honestly, the subject is swept under the rug to be ignored. It's amazing that even 90% of parents think that this is a topic that should be discussed in schools! Ignorance is the downfall of education because how can you learn something you know nothing of? Something you may have wanted to include in you post would be information about national organizations that will give advice to those who need it such as planned parenthood. Otherwise great post!
ReplyDeleteBriana,
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that "teens who receive a comprehensive education about sex are 50 percent less likely to have an unintended pregnancy". I have always thought that sex education is important, but I had not thought of some of the reasons you provided, such as the idea that sex ed. teaches students to "respect community values and respond to community needs". I think this topic is very relevant because many parents and school districts have trouble accepting the fact that sex education is very important to the future of our students. I hope that you can defend this in your school district, once you have a job, so that you can help prevent teen pregnancy. Thank you for caring.
-Katie Shepherd