Sex Education

Essentially, teens need to learn about sex at some point in their lives. The questions being debated remains whether information should come from their parent or from a qualified professional at school. Some parents feel as though they cannot approach their children about this topic, never mind teach them the details about sexual relationships, so they leave the task up to the schools and there is nothing wrong with that. Sex education should be taught in high schools, as well as in the earlier years of education. Sex education can teach people of all ages the consequences and responsibilities of engaging in sexual activities.(Lindberg,182)

Sex education should be taught in every public school possible. Sex education is a program designed to teach students the process an individual takes throughout life, including information about forming attitudes, beliefs, and values about identity, relationships, and intimacy (SIECUS, 1991). Most goals of sex education classes are the promotion of adult sexual health. Four main goals, according to National Guidelines Task Force, are to provide accurate information about human sexuality, to provide an opportunity for young people to develop and understand their values, attitudes, and beliefs about sexuality, to help young people develop interpersonal skills and to help young people apply responsibility of sexual relationships.(Maynard,215) Such responsibilities include how to defend a teenager against the pressures of prematurely becoming involved in sexual intercourse, encouraging the use of contraceptives, and other sexual health measures.(Manlove,2004)

Without having a course in sex education teens will not fully be aware about human sexuality, which is something all teenagers should be knowledgeable about. It is essential that students know how to properly establish self-esteem and goals for the future, which is also involved in a sexual education course. If students do not have any self-esteem they consider themselves to be subordinate to others and believe they are not pretty enough to even connect with sex. Sex education courses do not teach students to have sex; it prepares them for what can occur when they become mature adults.

Sex education should be taught to encourage teens to either abstain from having intercourse or to use the proper protection at all times. If teenagers are informed about different diseases or the risk of pregnancy it will make them consider the possible consequences of their actions before they hop into bed with a partner. Teenagers should have a sex education program that gives them the facts that they need to know about preventing pregnancy, as well as disease (Elders, 19). The programs have to be appropriate, and carefully planned by each community in order to respect the variety of values and beliefs present in a classroom and various communities (Planned Parenthood, 2002).

Most students are taught about six main subjects in a sex education class. Which are: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture (SIECUS, 1991). The content of each matter should depend on the age and maturity level of the students learning the material, as well as the ...