Its awkward, its controversial, and many people think it should be banned. Should Sex Ed be a part of the curriculum in American public schools?
Many people think that sex education has no place in public schools. Some believe it is the role of parents to teach their kids about sex, as part of the overall role of the parents to bring their children up as moral human beings. Others believe that the schools have a responsibility to teach youth about the risks of sexual activity, and how to avoid STDs and unintended pregnancies.
People’s opinions on this topic come from much greater ideological divides than just whether or not classrooms should teach about STD’s. The controversy comes out of greater issues of debate, such as abstinence-only instruction, sexually active youth, abortion, and the morals surrounding birth-control use.
Historically, Sex Ed programs began appearing in public schools around the 1960s in an effort to reduce pregnancies. Since they were founded, these programs have been often strongly opposed by religious groups that believe that youth should be taught in an abstinence-only way.
Traditional Christian teachings tell us that we should only have sex after we are married, and thus people who firmly believe this to be true will have a hard time condoning high-school age kids being taught about sex, when most of them are not even legally old enough to marry. Many religious groups have even claimed that teaching sex education in schools encourages promiscuous behavior. Also, many Christian teachings tell us that birth control is bad and immoral. People who believe this will likely not want their children to be taught how to use condoms by their school teachers.
Also, there is a huge perception in American culture that girls who become pregnant in their teen years are inherently promiscuous, and they are often unfortunately seen as failures. This perception is not strictly religious, but rather just a part of today’s American culture. This wider view of teen pregnancy affects how many people view sex education in schools.
On the other hand, proponents of sex education will say that it gives youth valuable knowledge, and that they deserve to have this knowledge. Many people believe that sex ed lowers the amount of teen pregnancies, and allows women to make safer, more informed decisions with their bodies. Also, many people consider sex ed an important public health initiative because it can potentially help reduce the spread of STDs and HIV.
Those who believe sexuality have a place only in traditional marriage will have a hard time condoning sex ed classes, while people who believe sextuality to be more of an individual freedom will likely support sex education. Also, our cultural stereotypes about sex and about teen pregnancy decide how many people view this issue. Unfortunately, these two views of sex ed can not be reconciled in today’s culture. People’s opinions on these subject come from very strong ideologies that are deep rooted inside of them. The biggest difference is in how people view sexuality.
Great post! This issue to me is very tricky. The idea of introducing sex in schools is something that I believe will always be controversial. Many people with strong religious backgrounds, as you stated, oppose these teachings in classrooms. Abstinence is what they preach. While doing so is perfectly fine, I believe like many proponents, that despite preachings of abstinence, kids are apt to become curious. Because of this curiosity, I believe and agree that it is important to educate on staying safe and preventing STDs. Some kids are afraid to ask their parents about such matters and some parents are not there to teach their kids about this. This is when schools need to step in to educate and promote safety, not to encourage promiscuity.
ReplyDeleteThis is always going to be a very controversial issue in our society however I think many of the religious groups are very naive about sex education in schools. Many believe that Sex Ed encourages teens to have sex however I see it as teens are going to have sex regardless and it is much better if they are educated so that teen pregnancy doesn't occur. I think in our society it is unrealistic to teach an abstinence based sex ed program instead of educating teenagers about contraceptives and STDs.
ReplyDeleteI know that whenever the sex ed unit came up in my health class I always felt awkward being taught about it. The first time it happened was when I was in 8th grade. Sex was the last thing on my mind! But I think starting early helps implant the idea that sex can lead to bad things if you are not smart about it. I think sex ed classes are important just because teenagers need to be aware of the risks. You can't rely on parents to talk about an awkward topic with their kids. Parents don't have a great influence on their kids at that age.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! before read your post, I didn't know that sex education is also such a big controvsial issue in US. All I know is that in China, sex education is a really big issue. Because people never want to talk about it. When the kids are asking about their parents, the parents only answer that "you will know when you are older" I think that sex education is very important. it could helpe our society develop better
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