Amaral 1

Saving the Future through Sex Education

For the past several years the concept of sexual education has risen to be one of the most

controversial curriculum courses taught within a public school setting. Some public schools have

chosen to enforce an abstinence-only sexual educational course. The abstinence-only curriculum

preaches to students to delay any sexual intercourse until marriage. This curriculum fails to

discuss the risks of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), the importance of birth control, and

other options accessible to adolescents to prevent pregnancy and other health risks. Other public

schools around the country chose to adopt the comprehensive approach to teaching sexual

education within its school system. The comprehensive approach teaches students about STDs,

condom use, other effective ways to avoid pregnancy, and options for the adolescent has if she

accidentally becomes pregnant. Comprehensive sex education programs also teach adolescents

the importance of a domestic violence-free relationship and strong self-esteem. The final

approach to sex education within public schools is no education. The avoidance of sexual

education only increases the adolescents’ risk for STDs and pregnancy which further hinders the

country as a whole. Public schools are the only, “formal educational institution to have

meaningful (and mandatory) contact with nearly every young person, they [public schools] are in

a unique position to provide children, adolescents, and young adults with the knowledge,

understanding, skills and attitudes they will need to make and get upon decisions that promote

sexual health throughout their lives” (“Sexual health education”). Public schools throughout the

country must enforce a comprehensive sexual education curriculum because it will expand the

students’ knowledge of healthy sexuality and contribute to the adolescents’ development and

well-being.
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Today, youth in the United States receive information about sex and sexuality from a

number of difference sources which all affect the youths’ perception of sexual relationships,

STDs, and pregnancies. Adolescents throughout the U.S. spend roughly seven hours per day with

a form of media such as, television, music, magazines, internet, and cell phones. These forms of

media have become sex educators to our youth and can be widely misleading and according to

the article, “Sex, sexuality, sexting, and sexed: adolescents and the media”, about one fourth of

teens throughout the country access the internet to get information about sex, STDs, and

pregnancy. The lack of accurate sexual information being distributed to teens via internet and

other media sources and the decrease of information abstinence-only programs provide are

reasons for the increase of STDs in the United States and increase of teen pregnancies.

How To Bring An End to the War Over Sex Ed from TIME magazine states, that

in the year of 2006 there were about 49.1 births for every 1,000 teens in the United States. This

statistic is three times the teen pregnancy rate among Canadians, which is not surprising due to

the enforced comprehensive sexual education in public schools in Canada. Among all,

“industrialized nations, the United States has the highest teen birthrate” (Castleman,

galegroup.com), this has cost U.S. tax payers more than nine billion dollars in healthcare, foster

care, public assistance, and lost tax revenue. The problems of poor sexual health and increase of

adolescent pregnancies negatively affecting the United States must be fixed within the public

education systems. Many public schools throughout Canada teach sexual education through the

comprehensive approach because statistics show that the average rate of intercourse for males

and females begins at age 16.5, therefore it is important that these adolescents are knowledgeable

of safe ways to conduct sexual intercourse (“Sexual health education”).

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The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, says, abstinence-only programs,

“show little evidence of sustained (long-term) impact on attitudes and intentions. Worse, they

show some negative impacts on youths’ willingness to use contraception, including condoms to

prevent negative sexual health . . . none of these programs demonstrates evidence of longterm

success in delaying sexual initiation . . . or any evidence of success in reducing other sexual risk-

taking behaviors”. With the failure of abstinence-only programs it is fair to say that many of

these programs violate human rights of young people, because they withhold potentially life-

saving information on STDs and fail to develop the whole person (“Sexual health education”).

Therefore, comprehensive-based sexual health education programs are more effective in

reducing STDs and teen pregnancy and increasing the adolescents’ self respect, maturity, overall

knowledge, and development (Albert at National Campaign to prevent Teen Pregnancy).

Yet the problem lies within the funding of these programs. With many budget cuts

occurring in public schools throughout the country it is difficult to enforce such a program.

President Barack Obama signed an “Appropriations Bill” in 2010 that ended federal funding for

abstinence-only programs. One hundred dollars million will support this bill and $75 million is

intended to go toward replicating pregnancy prevention programs and $25 million is going

toward programs that show a promise for success (Kliff). Tax payers end up paying more money

to support those teens who have children and are unable to support their kids. With the threats to

cut this funding because of health care reform it is crucial that citizens fight for government

funding for these programs. Comprehensive sexual education programs must be funded by the

government to secure this generation and generations to come for safe and healthy sexual health.

With a government funded comprehensive sex education program enforced in all public schools,

teen pregnancy will reduce, therefore tax payers’ money will be going toward helping develop
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the adolescents of America on safe sexual health. Through government funding public schools

can implement and enforce a sexual education curriculum.

In order for sexual education to be administered in public school settings, school

committees and administration must present the course as a, “dignified and academic approach . .

. complete with test(s) and grades . . . and impress upon children . . . Should view sex as a serious

part of their human development” (spparents.net). If the sexual education course is treated as a

true academic, the courses should be taught by professionals because with sexual health courses

instructed by professionals the comprehensive course will be based upon values that have proven

to help the development of the students. These values stated by the Public Health Agency of

Canada include, “focus on self-worth, respect, and dignity of individuals’ . . . age appropriate,

culturally sensitive manner that is respectful of the individual sexual diversity, abilities, and

choices [which] helps individuals become more sensitive and aware of [the] impact of [their]

behaviors [and] doesn’t discriminate based on age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual

orientation, socioeconomic background, physical/cognitive abilities, religious background”

(“Sexual health education”). Through these values the schools in the United States can provide

the youth with a wide range of information on sexual health topics that contain: puberty,

reproduction healthy relationships, STDs/AIDs prevention, birth control, abstinence, sexual

orientation, and sexual abuse (“Sexual health education”).

With the lack of support of sexual education in public schools across the country it can be

certain that each generation will deteriorate to unhealthy and ignorant sexual beings. Therefore, it

is in the best interest of the United States to adopt and enforce in all public schools, a

comprehensive sexual education program that allows the adolescents of America to further their
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knowledge about healthy sexuality, which in turn will allow them to develop as positive and

acquainted individuals.

Work Cited

Brown, Jane D., Sarah Keller, and Susannah Stern. “Sex, sexuality, sexting, and sexed:

adolescents and the media.” The Prevention Researcher 16.4 (2009): 12+.

Academic OneFile. Web. 9 April 2011.

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Castleman, Michael. “From ‘dangers-of--sex’ education to joyful sex education: how both

liberals and conservatives get it wrong and how adult education can help parents get it

right.” Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality 9 (2006). Academic OneFile.

Web. 9 April 2011.

Kliff, Sarah. "Obama's Smart Sex Education Fund." Newsweek 28 Dec. 2009. Web. 9 Apr.

2011. <http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/the-gaggle/2009/12/28/obama-s-smart-sex-

education-funding.html>.

“The Caliber of Sex-Ed instruction in Public Schools.” The Public School Parent’s

Network.Web. 9 April 2011. http://www.psparents.net

“Sexual health education in the schools: questions & answers (3rd edition).” The Canadian

Journal of Human Sexuality 18. 1-2 (2009). Academic OneFile. Web. 9 April

2011.

Sullivan, Amy. “How to Bring An End to the War Over Sex Ed.” TIME 19 March 2009. 10 April

2011. http://www.time.com