Ortiz 1

Jennifer Ortiz

English Composition

Ms. Hunter

17 February 2022

How should sex education be taught in schools?

Teenagers' development is greatly influenced by sexual education. School-based sexual

education consists of two main types of learning approaches: comprehensive sexual education

and abstinence-only education. Historically, sex education in public schools has been

controversial; there is disagreement on topics such as structure, distribution, presentation of

information, and at what age it is relevant and effective. Many people believe that such

information should be taught at home and not in schools, while others, have a notion that the

earlier sex education begins, the better it is for teens to maintain abstinence and use protective

measures when they decide to become sexually active. Inaccurate methods such as abstinence-

only education has demonstrated to only focus on teaching teens to wait until marriage to

become sexually active; however, comprehensive sexual education is the most effective method

of teaching teens about sex by informing them about: their changing bodies, STI’s (sexually

transmitted diseases), contraception options, safe-sex practices, consent, healthy relationships,

and sexual orientation.

Abstinence only sex educations prevents future generations to build their communication

skills and ability for decision making. Without educating students about their options and how to

communicate effectively with their partners, we deny them the knowledge they need to make

informed decisions and the confidence they need to implement them. The following quote, in the
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article "What Consent Means and How to Teach It.”, support this claim; “Abstinence-only

programs… fail to address contraception, safe-sex practices, sexual orientation, sexually

transmitted infections, affirmative consent, and healthy relationships.” (Newman).

The main disadvantage of abstinence education is that it does not allow students to understand

the fundamentals of sex; it sums up to, when you are married, then you can engage in

sexual relations. Through abstinence education children, are not taught what sexuality is, what it

means, how to understand it, or how to integrate it into a life, despite marital status. Sex is a part

of every individual's life whether they are married or single. Abstinence education hinders

students' understanding of sexuality; it teaches them to deny a core component of their identity

by demeaning an essential part of human nature.Unfortunately, abstinence education doesn’t

allow students to understand the fundamentals of sex, it just simple tells them it’s something they

shouldn’t do and they should be scared of Sex is a part of life weather an individual is married or

not, and its something everyone in their life will be exposed to weather they agree with it or not.

The current system in place mostly emphasizes all the negative aspects of being sexually

active, but pregnancy is not the main concern; it's the sexually transmitted diseases. ''Teens today

get much more information about sexually transmitted diseases in school health ed classes than

they do about pregnancy prevention,'' according to Dr. Philippa Gordon. Unfortunately

transmitted sexual diseases are not the only role in the consequences of having sex, it is so easy

for a girl to become pregnant. “Girls are told over and over in abstinence-only education that sex

before marriage will make them dirty and worthless.” (Alexander) It sounds very sexist

unfortunately it is a true reality many women faces, including myself, which actually prevents us

from asking for help or even asking questions. Unfortunately, there are many double standards

when it comes to sexuality and being sexually active. Girls on one hand have to deal with labels
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such as being dirty or worthless and even to some extends a hoe/slut. Unfortunately, girls aren’t

able to fully express their sexuality as freely as men. Overall, girls should be allowed to explore

their sexuality, but also, they need to know the risk that come with being sexually active to make

the best informed decisions for themselves and their bodies.

.In comparison, boys are strongly influenced by the stereotype that they are not

physically vulnerable, even though they desire intimacy and closeness. In the article “Why boys

need to have conversations about emotional intimacy in classrooms” by Amy Schalet states,

“Parents portrayed boys as slaves to their hormones. One… mother said, most teenage boys

would fuck anything that would sit still. A conservative father stated: I’m a parent of a teenage

cheerleader. I’m very concerned: ‘Dirty little boys! Get away!!’(Schalet). Through abstinence

education, we see that many assume teenage boys only want to have sexual relations and aren't

really interested in having healthy relationships, when in fact, it is quite the opposite. There are

many stereotypes that’s boys have to act a certain way in order to seem that they are masculine;

they must act a certain way when dating others and they shouldn’t let their feelings get in the

way. I mean we complain and talk about rape, sexual assault, and how men teach girls like

objects. For a moment stop and think about the fact that we subconsciously delivered those

messages to boys in our society; but the best way to address that is to talk about consent and

what that means and looks like.

Consent is a very important concept that teenagers should focus on as well. “Consent is

about giving permission …to much more than sex. It's about communicating what contact is

wanted and unwanted, understanding where one's boundaries are, and recognizing that each

person has the right to make their own decisions… concerning their body.” (Newman) this is

definitely and important concept that teenagers should focus on in their sex education, because as
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students are growing up and interacting with others, they need to understand the concept of

boundaries. It is important to the student’s development to explore their sexuality; however,

students must learn that everyone is different, and many people might not like the same things,

and we need to teach them to respect those differences. I also really enjoyed reading the new

slang “yes means yes,” because this emphasizes that sex is a great thing in life and that both

parties involved must be okay with everything that it is happening; they must also accept the

possible consequences that comes with it, just like everything else in life. Overall, we should

focus on empowering students to have healthy relationships with others.

It is important of course to also focus student’s curriculum on healthy communication not

only with sexual relations but also within their relationships. This will boost students’

confidence, and it will give them all the means to have a healthy relationship in the future, even a

healthy and happy marriage. By teaching students about building their confidence, we ensure

that the students will have the right decision skills. This will ensure that students will have the

opportunities to make their own decisions, while keeping in mind that their decision will have

possible consequences. “Consent… it's about communicating what contact is wanted and

unwanted, understanding where one's boundaries are, and recognizing that each person has the

right to make their own decisions, especially decisions concerning their body.” (Newman). For

many students, including myself it is very difficult for me to talk to someone at home about this

topic. In my personal experience as a girl there was a lot of unwanted attention and touching but

from my experiences, I thought it was normal and there were social norms I had to adjust to in

fear of rejection. Once I started growing up and I started taking responsibility for myself, I

realized what I wanted and what I didn’t want, and that felt so empowering. Having these

resources available to everyone at a young age before becoming sexually active will ensure that
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students make educated choices. Knowing the consequences of any decision will help students

make any decisions, that best works for the type of future they are trying to achieve. Overall

comprehensive sex education should be the primary form of sexual education within the United

States because it will give students all the tools, they need to live a long and happy life.

Abstinence-only educational methods focus on teaching teens to wait until

marriage to become sexually active; however, comprehensive sexual education is the most

effective way to teach teens about sex by informing them about a variety of sexual issues. The

differences between both education systems, how it affects the students as they start to grow up

and start to make decisions out on their own, we talked about the methods other countries used

and how we should combine them with our current education system. Students should be aware

that sex is a normal thing in life, they must know the consequences and how they should protect

themselves once they choose to proceed with that stage in their life. As a society we can only

guide them, we can’t choose for them.

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Work Cited

Alexander, Calah. "Abstinence Education Programs Incorporate Shame and Guilt." Do

Abstinence Programs Work?, edited by Christine Watkins, Greenhaven Press, 2014. At

Issue. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010603221/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-

OVIC&xid=55f9d2fc. Accessed 9 Feb. 2022. Originally published as "Sloppy Seconds

Sex Ed," Patheos, 14 May 2013.

Brody, Jane E. "Contraception, With Teenagers in Mind." New York Times, 20 Feb. 2018, p.

D5(L). Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A528156627/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-

OVIC&xid=6c85efe9. Accessed 9 Feb. 2022.

Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. "Sex Education Has Failed." Sex Education, edited by

Kristen Bailey, Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010023213/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-

OVIC&xid=9fb72277. Accessed 9 Feb. 2022.

Newman, Emily. "What Consent Means and How to Teach It." The Humanist, vol. 78, no. 3,

May-June 2018, pp. 6+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A537405291/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-

OVIC&xid=79766fe3. Accessed 9 Feb. 2022.

Schalet, Amy. "Why boys need to have conversations about emotional intimacy in

classrooms." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2022. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/TYYIKA605863349/OVIC?

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u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=d5f59f0b. Accessed 9 Feb. 2022. Originally

published as "Why boys need to have conversations about emotional intimacy in

classrooms," Conversation, 25 Feb. 2016.