More than Abstinence Should Be Taught in Schools
...o be realistic and admit to ourselves that many people have sex before they are married. Although it is most hoped for, not all teenagers are going to remain abstinent until they are married. Most teenagers began sexual intercourse between the ages of fifteen to nineteen, about eight years before the average age of marriage. Over half of the victims of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) contract the virus before the age of twenty-five (Pardini). That statistic alone shows that teenagers are having sex before marriage. Withholding that information by only teaching about abstinence instead of condoms and other forms of protection will only be harmful to the students. Teaching all aspects of sex education will educate students on the issues and once the students know all of the facts they can make more educated decisions about sex with their knowledge and morals from their family, religious, and moral beliefs. The rise of teen pregnancies and sexual transmitted diseases are blamed on sex education by many religiously conservative groups. They believe and want to promote abstinence as the only moral and safe choice. Many Christian and religious groups are the main supporters of “abstinence-based” sex education. Although the religious groups are separate, the same ideas are shared about sex (Sears and Carper 3). Sex is only for the married couple and should not even be a topic of discussion for children. Religiously conservative groups’ most prevalent argument is that sex education promotes sexual activity (Sears and Carper 129). They believe that the information that is given about “safe sex” is a false statement and that it should not be taught. Information about the condoms and contraception are thought to be only myths. Another argument is that sex education may promote suicide by teaching children that they were conceived by random than by choice, and that may make them feel that there is no value in their life. Critics of comprehensive sex education say that it is “…too explicit, for discussing sensitive material in coed settings, for “promoting” homosexuality, for discussing masturbation, for discussing condom use and AIDS, and for presenting abstinence as only one choice rather than as a moral absolute”. Abstinence based sex education programs such as Sex Respect (the most popular), Teen Aid, and Facing Reality are greatly promoted by their supporters (Gaddy, Hall, and Marzono 130-131). Normally when students take sex education classes the parents can send in a letter saying that they do not want their children to participate. This “opt-out” process is allowed for those parents. Supporters believe that parents should have to give permission for their children to participate in sex education, and that instead of “opt-out” they should have to “opt-in”. They want the children to learn the information from the household (Hagelin). Parents have the right to monitor their children’s education so that their children’s moral values are not undermined by the school (Gaddy, Hall, and Marzano 56), but the information is taught not to undermine moral values but to give the students only health facts. Not teaching about sexually transmitted diseases and contraception will not make teenagers abstinent, that is a decision that will have to be made on their own, whether they hear the information from parents, peers, or educational resources. Abstinence based sex education program are said to be “… inaccurate, are religiously biased, and keep vital health information from young people” (Gaddy, Hall, and Marzono 131). In 1992 the state court of Louisiana ruled that the Sex Respect curriculum violates state law by “promoting religious beliefs and disseminating medically inaccurate information” (Gaddy, Hall, and Marzono 132). In the Sex Respect curriculum it is stated that “There is no way to have premarital sex without hurting someone”, and also “Sex before marriage… a quick way to lose at the game of life”(“A Look at the…”). Sex Respect also names those who have sex before marriage “stupid” (Irvine 121). There are also gender and racial stereotypes; they only refer to homosexuality in a lesson on acquired immunodeficiency disease (AIDs). In a report by the Public Media Center and the Applied Research Center in Oakland on Sex Respect stated that the curriculum suggests stereotypes such as: “African Americans are promiscuous; that African-American men are uncaring, unfaithful and irresponsible; and that African-American women have grown up in troubled homes, aren’t physically attractive, and need male attention for self-esteem” (“A Look at the…”). Critics of the abstinence-only programs say that they try to scare them out of having sex and that sometimes include inadequate and inaccurate medical information. If the students that were taught only about abstinence and are uneducated about the other issues become sexually active they will be at a greater risk for getting pregnant or getting a sexually transmitted disease because they will not know enough information (Pardini). As children get older they will began to figure out if they were conceived out of wedlock or out of a marriage by puttin...