Read what role sex education plays in US schools and why learn about its advantages and disadvantages.
With the onset of teenage premature sex on the rise, the US government insists that all schools offer Sex Education. Sex Education is crucial because it orientates youngsters about sex anatomy, relationships, and how to live a healthy sex life.
The Importance of Sex Education in the United States
The U.S ranks first among the developed countries worldwide with respect to pre-marital sex, due to the constant rise in adolescent pregnancies, abortions, and sexually transmitted infections. To reduce this hike, the US government has funded sex education programs in schools.
Sex education is critically important for adolescents as it helps them become accountable for their sexual health and activity. More than 90% of parents in the US support the forceful implementation of sex education both in middle and high schools. However, some parents are against Sex Education because they find it ‘embarrassing.’ But that should not be the case because parents need their children to learn their sexual orientation. Still, parents need their children to abstain and learn how to control their sexual desires.
Where Can You Get Information About Sexual Relationships
Did you know that at least 70% of teenagers engage in sexual practices at the age of 19? As a result of premature sex, CDC estimates that 16.7% of young girls become pregnant, and around 20% of teenagers contract STIs or HIV. You can learn this information from open statistics reports available on the web. However, you should also check an essay about sexual harassment and some other college papers written by students who dig deep into this topic. Thanks to a variety of materials created by students themselves, you can expand your knowledge about the relationships between sexes.
Harassment and Other Sexual Problems Associated with Sex Education
In the USA, teens are not all the same when it comes to their experiences with sex. It’s hard to believe that there are 21 states that still do not have sex education at schools. This leads to more problems such as harassment or pregnancy. Many parents, churches, and other involved parties believe that current system is insufficient at schools.
This type of education is needed in schools to wisely teach children about the relationship between a man and a woman. Some children learn about this in very graphic details that they discover from their friends and their phones. They are not taught about how to prevent unwanted pregnancies, unwanted sexually transmitted infections, unwanted, unhealthy relationships, and more. It also leads to cases of sexual abuse and misunderstandings. Often, kids’ lives are changed forever from the consequences of a lack of proper sex education – some of them get shunned and rejected and don’t know where to turn.
Sexual education it will help to empower them too, as they learn more about the shifting traditional views of men and women. Proper education can take away a lot of confusion and harassment – it can help young people feel safe, confident, unafraid, and well-informed. This will allow them to make wise choices that will ultimately benefit their health and reduce sexual abuse.
The Types of Programs in the United States
The sex education programs in US schools are delivered in two forms – comprehensive and abstinence-only education.
Comprehensive Program
This program teaches adolescents how to engage in safer sexual activities to prevent the contraction of sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies. It also explains how sex should be done and that sexual intercourse should be consensual in order to prevent sexual harassment and abuse.
Abstinence-only Program
This program is also called sexual risk avoidance or youth empowerment sex education. It forbids adolescents from engaging in sexual activities before marriage. Moreover, as part of the programs in the schools, AIDS education program is mandated in every state.
Pros and Cons of These Education Programs in the USA
According to the Center for Disease Control, the United States remains as the highest among developed nations in teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (CDC, 2010). Because of this, there is an urgency to revisit the current curriculum of sex education in the country. Currently the topics involved in the curriculum includes sexually transmitted infections (STIs), puberty, healthy sexual relationships, birth control, and sexual orientation.
Sex education arms the students with science-backed evidence regarding human sexuality, reproduction, pregnancy and childbirth, masturbation, birth control, and contraception. Moreover, it opens an avenue for discussion and critical thinking regarding sensitive topics like gender identity, abortion, sexual harassment, HIV/AIDS, and other STIs. In addition, proper sexual education also promotes social and cultural sensitivity to sexually active people and LGBTQ youth.
Despite its benefits, one of the cons of sex education is that the material taught is mostly against moral and certain religious beliefs. Moreover, since the curriculum is focused on abstinence-only sex program, it may increase rates of unintended pregnancies. In addition, aside from the steady decline of teenage birth, there is no study supporting any claims that sex education helped raise the age of first intercourse, postpone having sex, reduce the number of teens’ partners, improve the use of condoms or other contraceptives among sexually active teens.
Final thoughts
An alarming reveal of the average age of males and females to have their first sexual intercourse in the US has shaken the government. The average age of males recorded is 16.8 years, whereas, for females, it is recorded at around 17.2 years of age for indulgence in first sexual intercourse. Therefore, the importance of programs in schools cannot be emphasized enough and such programs should never be neglected.
