Evaluation of Sex Education Strategies

 When it comes to the “talk” about sex many parents dread discussing it with their child. They want to wait until they feel like it is the right time to have it. However, when is the right time to have the “talk” with their child? Should it be when they are entering high school or when they are figuring out, they have all these different body parts? How would you feel if someone else educated your child about sex and its origins? Today, many schools are beginning to encourage sex education in the academic curriculum. School board officials are considering implementing sex education in academic curriculum, because it will decrease teen pregnancy, STD’s rates, and lack of knowledge teens have about sex.

According to Magoon, Grace Dodge helped built up The American Social Hygiene Association which turned into the main association to advance sex instruction in 1913 (17). In the beginning of the twentieth century, teenagers were getting married earlier and sex before marriage became more common, which increased the need for sex education (Magoon 18). Sex education of the 1940s and 1950s reflected educators’ conservative aim (Freeman 47). Educators needed to reinforce families and channel youngsters’ sexual considerations and energies into the establishment of marriage (Freeman 47). However, there are two ways sex education can be implemented. Abstinence Only Education (AUMOE) implies that sex shouldn’t happen at all while Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE), age appropriate information about abstinence and safer sex are being taught (Kendall 11).

 Abstinence Only Education is one of the two ways sex education can be implemented in the academic curriculum. Numerous guardians are exceptionally solid on religious and just encourage their youngsters to not engage in sexual relations until they are married. Similarly, abstinence only education encourage youths to keep away from sexual action until marriage so as to elude dangers of unintended pregnancies, STDs, and related medical issues (Rossi 5). Abstinence only advocates contended that showing youngsters STIs and pregnancy counteractive action likewise instructs them that sex outside of marriage is acceptable (Jensen n.pg.). In addition, the Welfare Reform Bill included abstinence only be the only funded sex-education curriculum in schools (Jenson n.pg.). According to Rossi, a few scientists have revealed that forbearance programs have resulted in youths detailing less sexual intercourse or less sexual accomplices (6).

Get Help With Your Essay

If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!
Find out more about our Essay Writing Service

 Equally, Comprehensive Sex Education is another way sex education can be implemented in the academic curriculum. CSE programs give broad actualities about prophylactic gadgets to programs intended to help young people’s sure investigation of their own sexuality (Kendall 7). According to Splendorio and Reichel, a truly comprehensive sex education curriculum includes activities that focus on reducing the risk of contracting STIs and HIV as well as abstinence (224). In addition, teenagers need to be taught precise information about sex so that they can protect their health and their partners’ health. Comprehensive Sex Education allows schools to reach out to children who are sexually active or thinking about becoming sexually active.

Sex education should be implemented in the academic curriculum because adolescents are not mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared for sex. During middle or high school, children are still trying to figure out their own identity and where do they belong amongst peers. Early sexual movement is connected to dangerous practices, for example, sedate use, wrongdoing, and school-related issues (Rivera et al. 347). In addition, the body is still developing and going through physical changes. The pubertal growth spurt begins at an average of 9 years for girls and 11 for boys (Santrock 341). For females, their body is now going through menarche and boys are experiencing their first ejaculation (Santrock 341). At this time of development of the body, children need to be taught about sex. Also, numerous young people are not sincerely arranged to deal with sexual encounters, particularly in early immaturity (Cai et al. 200). Having sex at a young age can cause regret and guilt, wishing that you would have waited longer. Sex education provides not only information that sex should not happen before marriage but also information about safe sex and negative consequences you can acquire if you have unprotected sex.

In addition, sex education should be a part of the academic curriculum to inform teenagers and middle-aged children about the effects of sex such as teen pregnancy. Adolescents are not ready for the accountability of caring for a child especially when they are learning how to become independent themselves. According to Werner, in 2010 an approximate of 614,400 U.S. adolescents (ages 15-19) were pregnant (3). Personally, from observations during high school, there was about six females pregnant all at the same time in school. Adolescents moms are bound to be discouraged and to drop out of school than their friends are (Siegel et al. 138). In addition, pre-adult pregnancy makes wellbeing dangers for both the child and the mother (Leftwich and Alves 349). According to Leftwich and Alves, infants who are born to an adolescent parent, have low birth weight, infant mortality, childhood illness, and neurological problems (349). However, in 2015 the U.S birth rate for 15-19-year-old was 22.3 births per 1,000 females, the most reduced rate at any point recorded (Martin et al. 1). The explanation behind the decrease incorporates school and network wellbeing classes (Santrock 349).

Similarly, sex education is needed in the academic curriculum due to the rising rates of STD’s and HIV/AIDS in young people. Chlamydia infections and Gonorrhea are common in young people and seem to be increasingly common (Healey 1). Additionally, in a solitary action of unprotected sex with a contaminated accomplice, an adolescent young lady has a 1 percent danger of getting HIV, a 30 percent danger of obtaining genital herpes, and a 50 percent possibility of contracting gonorrhea (Glei 73). Inside the United States, 777,467 individual instances of AIDS were accounted for to the Centers for Disease Control somewhere in the range of 1981 and 2000 (Emmers-Sommers and Allen 1). As indicated by Emmers-Sommers and Allen, eighty-three percent of those cases included men and seventeen percent included ladies (1). Furthermore, every year an excess of 3 million young people gain a STI (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention n.pg).

Conversely, sex education should not be implemented in the academic curriculum because parents are not being held accountable. Georgia Military College psychologist stated “parents are taking less responsibility for their children and their behavior. They are letting the school guide them throughout life instead of stepping up and taking responsibly for their children and not the school. The school is not responsible for teaching your child about a topic that should be taught by the parents. If parents taught their child about sex, it would be less teen pregnancy occurring. Many young children wouldn’t have all these different diseases such as HIV/AIDS, herpes, or a sexually transmitted disease. From her experience, in health class, the teacher would make comments such as “sex burns calories”. These type of topics from teachers would make the teen or child more curious to explore the feeling” (Ward).

On the other hand, sex education should not be implemented in the academic curriculum because parents who have the “talk” with their child decrease the chances of having sex. According to psychologist of Georgia Military College, “it should be the parent’s responsibility to have the “talk” at home” (Ward). Helping guardians and young people impart, especially about sexual issues, helps with decreasing hazardous conduct (Kenny n.pg.). According to a recent study, uncovered that young people who in the eight-grade revealed more parental information and more family leads about dating were more averse to start sex from the eight to tenth grade (Simons et al. 255). Similarly, various child rearing practices the factor that best anticipated a lower dimension of unsafe sexual conduct by young people was steady child rearing (Cordova et al. 348). Parents who have the “talk” with their child most likely reduces the chances of having sex than the school educating them.

To conclude, sex education should be implemented in the academic curriculum because they are not ready for sex, the increase in teen pregnancy, STD’s and HIV/AIDS. Teenagers are mainly taught at home to not just have sex completely until marriage and do not break down why it is important to not have it. Parents do not include information about pregnancy, STD’s and HIV/AIDS. Whereas, sex education provides information on these topics and abstinence only. Sex education is needed in the academic curriculum because as children grow, they are more prone to these conversations. Sex education can be implemented either as Abstinence Only or Comprehensive. Whichever way the school decides to teach about sex and its origins, children are not being mis leaded. It prevents other people such as their peers to mislead them on sex and what comes after sex. Sex education in the academic curriculum can decrease the negative effects of sex and give them the correct information.

Work Cited

• Cai, T. et al. “The school contextual effect of sexual debut on sexual risk-taking: A joint parameter approach.” School Health, vol.88, 2018, pp.200-207.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Sexually transmitted disease surveillance.” Atlanta: Author, 2018.
• Cordova, D., Huang, S. et al. “Do parent-adolescent discrepancies in family functioning increase the risk of Hispanic adolescent HIV risk behaviors?” Family Process, vol. 53, 2014, pg.348-363.
• Emmers-Sommer, Tara M., and Mike Allen. Safer Sex in Personal Relationships: The Role of Sexual Scripts in HIV Infection and Prevention. EBSCOhost, Routledge, 2005, pp.1, chapter 1, Why Examine Safer Sex in Personal Relationships?, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=124589&site=ehost-live.
• Freeman, Susan Kathleen. Sex Goes to School: Girls and Sex Education Before the 1960s. EBSCOhost, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2008, pp.47, chapter 3, Experiments in Sex Education, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=569823&site=ehost-live.
• Glei, D.A. “Measuring contraceptive use patterns among teenage and adult women.” Family Planning Perspectives, vol.31, 1999, pp.73-80.
• Halstead, J. Mark, and Michael J. Reiss. Values in Sex Education: From Principles to Practice. Routledge, EBSCOhost, Routledge Falmer, 2003, pp.7, part 1, Why values are central to sex education, What is sex education? search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=98144&site=ehost-live.
• Healey, Justin. Discussing Sexual Health. EBSCOhost, vol.386, Spinney Press, 2015, pp.1, chapter 1, Sexual and reproductive health of young people, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=979388&site=ehost-live
• Jensen, Robin E. Dirty Words: The Rhetoric of Public Sex Education, 1870-1924. EBSCOhost, University of Illinois Press, 2010, Introduction, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=569750&site=ehost-live.
• Kendall, Nancy. The Sex Education Debates. EBSCOhost, University of Chicago Press, 2012, pp.11, chapter 2, Sex Education Research and Policies, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=507156&site=ehost-live.
• Kenny, Maureen C. Sex Education: Attitude of Adolescents, Cultural Differences and Schools’ Challenges. EBSCOhost, Roberto C. Abreu, Maria de la Paz Bermudez, Whitney Wheeler Black, Poulomee Dalta, Abby Hunt, Efrosini Kalyva, Siu-mee Kan, Osmo Kontula, Thomas Lickona, Adriana McEachern, Cindy Miller Perrin, Della Mosley, Mary Ott, Maria Teresa Ramiro, Estefania Riveros, Cheryl L. Somers, Jay Talvkdar, Immaculada Teva, Vlastaris Tskaris, Siu-ming To, Stan E. Weed, and Sndy K. Wurtele, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2005, pp.1 chapter 1, Why Examine Safer Sex in Personal Relationships? search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=836678&site=ehost-live.
• Leftwich, H., and Alves, M.V. “Adolescent pregnancy.” Pediatric Clinics of North America, vol.64, pp.381-388.
• Magoon, Kekla. Sex Education in Schools. EBSCOhost, Edited by Amy Van Zee, Abdo Publishing, 2010, pp. 17-18, chapter 2, Sexual Revolution in The Early 1900s, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=395171&site=ehost-live.
• Martin, J.A., et al. “Births: Final data for 2015.” National Vital Statistics Reports, vol.66, no.1, 2017, pp.1
• Rivera, P.M., et al. “Linking patterns of substance use with sexual risk-tasking among female adolescents with and without histories of maltreatment.” Adolescent Health, vol. 62, 2018, pp.347.
• Rossi, Isabella E. Abstinence Education. EBSCOhost, Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2009. Pp.5-6, chapter 1, Efforts to Assess the Accuracy and Effectiveness of Federally Funded Programs, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=333492&site=ehost-live.
• Santrock, John. Human Growth and Development. 17^th, McGraw-Hill Education, 2019.
• Siegel, R.S., and Brandon, A.R. “Adolescents, pregnancy, and mental health.” Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, vol.27, no.3, 2014, pp.138-150.
• Simons, L.G., et al. “Mechanisms that link parenting practices to adolescents’ risky sexual behavior: A test of six competing theories.” Youth and Adolescence, vol.45, 2016, pp.255-270
• Splendorio, Dominick, and Lori, Reichel. Tools for Teaching Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education: Lessons, Activities, and Teaching Strategies Utilizing the National Sexuality Education Standards. ProQuest Ebook Central, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013, pp.224, chapter 5, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and HIV, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/gmcollege/detail.action?docID=1550543.
• Ward, Mary. Personal interview. 7 April 2019.
• Werner, Ryan. Teen Pregnancy: Statistics and Federal Prevention Programs. EBSCOhost, Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2014, pp.3, chapter 1, Teenage Pregnancy Prevention: Statistics and Programs, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=851321&site=ehost-live.