An interesting topic lately is sex
education in schools. Is it necessary? Should it the school’s responsibility?
Are schools programs effective in engaging and getting through to teens?
According to the National Conference of State Legislature all states are
somehow involved in sex education whether it is instruction about HIV/AIDS,
basic sex education, or both. If you’re wondering why sexual education is
taught in schools you’re not alone. Many believe that if sexual education is
not taught in schools many children will never learn in a healthy environment
what safe sex is, about their bodies and others, or have someone to talk to
about uncomfortable situations such as those that arise when talking about
sexual activities. A survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention indicates that more than 47 percent of all high school students have
had sex and only 60% of the students that had had sex in the three moths prior
to the survey reported use of a condom and even lower number of 23% reported
use of birth control. The goal of sexual education is that if teens are going
to engage in sexual activity they know and understand the possible consequences
and how to engage in safe sexual activity that limits the possibilities of STIs
and STDs, pregnancy, and other dangerous repercussions. This website gives
reasons for sexual education to be taught in school, and a breakdown of state
sex education legislation status from the National conference of State
Legislatures: http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-policies-on-sex-education-in-schools.aspx#2.
In November of 2011 the Real Education
for Healthy Youth Act was introduced which aimed to provide young people with
the comprehensive sexuality education they need to make informed, responsible,
and healthy decisions in order to become sexually healthy adults and have
healthy relationships. This act raises the issue of accurate and healthy sexual
education but also healthy relationships, which are an essential part of
growing up and developing into sexually healthy adults. Supported by the
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States the Real
Education for Healthy Youth Act seeks to give adolescents and young adults the
information they need to become informed, sexually healthy adults. More
information can be found at: http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=1347&nodeID=1
A lot of information given to children
and young adults about sex education is just scary statistics. But when is it
appropriate start teaching sex education? According to the Chicago Board of Education,
kindergarten. These young children will be taught the basics about human
anatomy, reproduction, healthy relationships and personal safety. This new
policy mandates that a certain amount of time be spent on sexual education in
each grade starting in kindergarten. Through third grade students will focus on
the family, feelings and appropriate and inappropriate touching. From then on,
students will start learning about puberty, HIV, reproduction, the transmission
and prevention of HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases, bullying
and contraception, including abstinence (Mohney 2013). A large change in the
sex education instruction is that it will now cover sexual orientation and
gender identity in order to promote awareness and tolerance, while preventing
bullying. More information can be found at: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/02/28/chicago-passes-sex-ed-for-kindergartners/
Questions to consider:
·
Is
sex education the schools responsibility?
·
Do
you think the sex education that you received was effective?
·
Should
kindergarteners be taught sex education?
·
Should
the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act be passed, why or why not?
·
What
would happen if sex education were taken out of schools?
- Olivia Weaver
Although the phrase "sex-ed for kindergarteners" may be somewhat jarring to the average person, I think that exposing children to healthy ways of learning about their bodies in a safe environment has the potential to be productive. At that young age, children are curious about their bodies and those of others, and chastising a child for that curiosity is not the answer. By starting their sex education early, children will have a greater chance of a healthy and confident relationship with both their bodies and sexuality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brittany in that "sex-ed for kindergarteners" gives the reader an unsettling image. But once the initial shock has abated, teaching young children about "family, feelings and appropriate and inappropriate touching" seems to me to be a much-needed program. Opening the discussion at an early age gives children the opportunity to ask questions -- questions which may or may not be allowed in their family environments, but nonetheless must be addressed.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, in my experience, sex-ed programs rarely discuss sexual orientation and gender identity. Some students don't objectively learn about these topics until well into young adulthood. Giving students unbiased information about sexual orientation and gender identity may help decrease the emotional strife experienced by many questioning adolescents. These topics are much-needed additions to the sex-ed curriculum.
I agree with Sarah, especially going towards talking about gender identity and sexual orientation at a younger age. Having taken Abnormal Psychology and hearing from transgendered individuals, it seems that having an open environment to talk about these kinds of things would be extremely beneficial and I'm sure it would help a lot with possible psychological issues.
ReplyDeleteKindergarten through senior year, I attended the same private, Catholic school and received abstinence-only education. This meant that we never learned about contraceptives or touched on the subject of intercourse. Priests and motivational speakers were brought in once a month to talk about the inevitable dangers of STI's (and therefore sex), and the mortal sins that had to do with homosexuality, masturbation, and pre-marital sex. By all means - this does not represent the environment of all private, Catholic schools - but this was my experience and how I learned about my own body and sexuality.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I respect abstinence and those who choose that path, I don't think it's fair to condemn children and young adults for being curious about their own bodies. To say the least, I am all for informative and positive sex education. By starting early with things like "family, feelings and appropriate and inappropriate touching", children and young adults can (as Brittany said) develop confident relationships with both their own bodies and sexuality. It would be interesting to see if parents would be accepting of sex-ed at such an early age. As for me, I hope that my kids will have the chance to gradually learn about their bodies and safe sex in an informative and positive environment.