Discussion Whether Should Sex Education Be Taught in Schools

According to Times USA, recent CDC study showed that among teens ages 15-17 who have had sex, nearly 80% did not receive any formal sex education before they lost their virginity”. Within the high percentage, their lack of knowledge caused these teens to face a likelihood of unwanted pregnancies, STDs, and STIs. As a consequence, teens neglect practicing safe sex by participating in activities that can be harmful to their health. So this is should sex ed be taught in schools essay in which the topic is discussed. 

Issues like this can be prevented if teens are provided with formal education about topics such as sex and sexuality. Curriculum based classes that highlight these subjects help instill the benefits and disadvantages when performing unsafe sexual intercourse. Although parents and other adults reject the idea of having such “inappropriate” classes taught at school, some find it to be the most trusted and effective way to communicate sexual education. For this purpose, it is important for schools to advise teens about sexual education in order to discuss contraceptives and abstinence with the purpose to spread awareness of the negative consequences related to sex.

First, public education should include a curriculum that discusses contraceptives that are used to prevent STD’s and unwanted pregnancies. Comprehensive sex education included in public schools can impact a student’s view of one’s engagement with sexual activity. Instructed lessons of this topic are directed to advocate for protecting one’s well-being. It is inevitable to find that many students are having sex during their early years of adolescence. So, it is necessary for trusted adults, specifically teachers and counselors, to communicate healthy choices that pertain to the involvement of safe sex. This can include the use of contraceptives such as condoms or birth control and may even involve getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases. USC Department of Nursing found that “[r]esearch published in the Journal of Adolescent Health External link concluded that when sex education included information about contraception, teens had a lower risk of pregnancy than adolescents who received abstinence-only or no sex education”. Although it is a common fear for adults to believe that sex education only promotes sexual activity, it is proven that a teen’s knowledge of contraceptives show that teens are more responsible when they are given a chance to make choices that can either benefit their health or lead to negative outcomes. Because of this, teen pregnancies decline due to the fact that teens are more aware and are properly taught about the consequences of unsafe sexual intercourse. Even though sex education is mainly taught for this purpose, it also provides further lessons that cater to their behavior which allow for teen’s sense of self to grow as it constructs a path for making smarter decisions during adulthood. “When delivered well, CSE [comprehensive sexuality education] responds to this demand, empowering young people to make informed decisions about relationships and sexuality and navigate a world where gender-based violence, gender inequality, early and unintended pregnancies, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) still pose serious risks to their health and well-being”. As a student is taught about these recommended actions, it is expected that one will incorporate it into their lives outside of sex. Alongside contraceptives, teenagers can also take part in abstinence as another protective factor.

Subsequently, the education curriculum should follow an outline that informs their students about the benefits of abstinence. Abstinence is defined by the act of avoiding any sort of sexual activity; it has been noted to be the most valid and effective way to avoid pregnancies and/or STD’s due to the absence of sex. Promoting abstinence not only teaches students that it “is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems”, but it can also enlighten them about social issues as well. Teen pregnancies are very common to those who may not have access to sexual education or to young adults who have not taken the right steps with their sexual tendencies. However, it can be prevented if adolescents partake in abstinence. Reports from The Center for the Advancement of Health, a healthcare program designed to advocate for proper healthcare solutions, states “[t]he likelihood of pregnancy was 30 percent lower among those who had abstinence-only education compared to those who received no sex education”. Although the percentage may be low, if sexual education continues to be neglected, girls ages 15-19 are at high risk of becoming involved with issues that may later affect them as an adult. “Teenage mothers are less likely to finish high school and are more likely than their peers to live in poverty, depend on public assistance, and be in poor health. Their children are more likely to suffer health and cognitive disadvantages, come in contact with the child welfare and correctional systems, live in poverty, drop out of high school and become teen parents themselves”. Adolescents should not have to worry about these types of problems at such a young age. Young mothers who give birth at this time are more likely to develop early health problems such as having a low birth weight child. Teenagers are also typically juggling activities such as school and work where there would be no time to take care of a child. In addition, money would be another struggle the teen would face as well. As a result, it is important for adults to prevent these situations from occurring by advising adolescents early about sexual risks that may occur when one is not precautious. If one participates in abstinence, teens will have a zero to low chance of becoming a teen parent and will be able to avoid other hardships as well.

The purpose of sex education is to advise adolescents how to be sexually aware about their choices and decisions. However, parents believe the act of bringing topics like sex into classrooms cause sexual indoctrination and have protested that it should not be taught as a part of the education curriculum. Sexual indoctrination involves “[p]arents in the U.S. and around the world [who] have successfully opposed such curriculum changes, asserting their right to raise and educate their children according to their own beliefs and values”. Parents have openly rejected the idea of bringing sexual education into public schools due to their belief that it may lead to the promotion of sexual ideology, draw others away from their true identity, and appear inclusive to certain genders. This leads to parents’ desire of fulfilling their right to teach their children based off of their own ideas. Because of how sensitive the topic of sex and sexuality is, parents do not believe that subjects like this belong in classrooms and should only be taught at home. Although this may be the case, “[a]ccording to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that surveyed teen girls between the ages of 15 and 17, most young women don’t receive formal sexual health instruction until after they’ve already become sexually active”  and shockingly enough, “[a]bout a quarter of them said they had never discussed the issue with their parents”. The sensitivity of this topic may affect the communication between young adults who feel belittled to talk about sex, especially to their parents, so they may seek help from other sources such as the media. However, the media is found to be highly misleading about the perspective of sex since it delivers an unrealistic message. Instead, public education should be able to provide an accessible, comfortable, and reliable environment for young adults to understand their bodies and make healthy choices about sex. Furthermore, public education’s goal is to provide students of all genders and ages credible information especially for a health-related topic like sex. So, in order to avoid sexual exclusion, “it is essential to ensure learning and teaching in school-based sexuality education programs recognize and respond to the diversity of student needs”. Although parents believe this is non-beneficial, assimilating sex education to public school curriculum delivers a message from a reliable source that accommodates to the needs of all students.

Public education should be able to address sexual education topics about contraceptives and abstinence in regard to the possible sexual risk factors. If teens aged 15-17 continue to not be well-informed about sex education, they will be at even higher risk for unwanted pregnancies and STD’s. Classes that focus on the importance of sexual knowledge will be able to provide students with an understanding of the benefits and disadvantages of sex, regardless of how inappropriate the topic may seem. It is important to integrate sex education into the public curriculum in order to teach students of all needs how to remain healthy while engaging sexual activities. This right of education will allow for adolescents to take safer steps towards their health and promote a beneficial lifestyle that encourages sexual awareness of their relationships and identity.

Works Cited

• “America's Sex Education: How We Are Failing Our Students.” Blog, USC Department of Nursing, 18 Sept. 2017, https://nursing.usc.edu/blog/americas-sex-education/.
• Blackman, Kate, and Samantha Scotti. “Why Is Sexual Education Taught in Schools?” State Policies on Sex Education in Schools, NCSL, http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-policies-on-sex-education-in-schools.aspx.
• “Comprehensive Sex Education Might Reduce Teen Pregnancies, Study Suggests.” ScienceDaily, The Center for the Advancement of Health, 20 Mar. 2008, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080319151225.htm.
• DeWitt, Peter. “Should Sex Education Be Taught in Schools?” Education Week - Peter DeWitt's Finding Common Ground, 4 June 2015, https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2015/06/should_sex_education_be_taught_in_schools.html.
• Jones, Andrea, and Emilie Kao. “Sexual Ideology Indoctrination: The Equality Act's Impact on School Curriculum and Parental Rights.” The Heritage Foundation, Civil Society, 15 May 2019, https://www.heritage.org/civil-society/report/sexual-ideology-indoctrination-the-equality-acts-impact-school-curriculum-and.
• Parenthood, Planned. “Goals of Sex Education for Teenagers: Youth Health Services.” Planned Parenthood, https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/for-educators/what-are-goals-sex-education-youth.
• Sifferlin, Alexandra. “Why Schools Can't Teach Sex Ed in the Internet Age.” Time, Time, https://time.com/why-schools-cant-teach-sex-ed/.
• Twitter, Tara Culp-Ressler. “Most Teens Don't Receive Formal Sex Education Until After They've Already Started Having Sex.” ThinkProgress, 9 Apr. 2014, https://thinkprogress.org/most-teens-dont-receive-formal-sex-education-until-after-they-ve-already-started-having-sex-e298f9d71e2e/.
• “Why Comprehensive Sexuality Education Is Important.” UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 19 June 2018, https://en.unesco.org/news/why-comprehensive-sexuality-education-important.
• “Why We Need Sexuality Education.” Department of Education and Training Victoria, Victoria State Government, https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/physed/Pages/aboutwhy.aspx