Let's Talk about Sex (in Education of course)
Sexual Identity, Sexual Orientation, Sexual Education. These subjects are being discussed more now than in past generations, but not in most schools. Sex is still a taboo topic across America. It could be due to religious reasons or just misinformation.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, "In 2011–2013, more than 80% of adolescents aged 15–19 had received formal instruction about STDs, HIV, and AIDS or how to say no to sex. In contrast, only 55% of young men and 60% of young women had received formal instruction about methods of birth control." This means that the risk of STIs and refraining from sex are taught more in schools than ways on how to prevent pregnancy. Abstinence-only education is also common in many states. People believed it was the best way to lower the teen pregnancy rates and reduce the risk of STIs, so the US government funded this in schools. It ultimately had a negative effect due to lack of information being taught on birth control and other things a part of sexual health. A resounding amount of people say they learned about sex and things that entail through online resources, not from their parents or from the school (like a health class in P.E.). This may be largely helpful for teens who feel like they are uneducated in what sexual health is and feel like they are not representing in sexual education, but some of this sources could be "medically inaccurate."
There also little information taught in school about sexual identity and sexual orientation and how relates to sexual health. According to the CDC , LGBTQ teens are of a risk contracting "negative health outcomes" like STDs. Since sexual orientation is not really discussed during schoolwide given sexual education classes, it is harder for the teens to know how to practice safe sex. There is also report done by the National Institutes of Health that touches on this. "Study found that high school courses require, on average, 6.2 total hours of instruction on human sexuality, with 4 hours or less on HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and pregnancy prevention [15]. Moreover, 69% of high schools notify parents/guardians before students receive such instruction; 87% allow parents/guardians to exclude their children from it [15]." Elizabeth Nash, a Senior States Issues Manager in the Guttmacher Institute believes the reason for this is that some states believe that all of this would be talked about at home with their parents. This may be true some, but most teens feel uncomfortable talking about their sexuality with their family.
So if I were to take a believing game view of this post, is it that you're exploring why people believe in abstinence-only education even though it doesn't seem to be effective? I find abstinence-education fascinating but quite confusing because the data is pretty clear. This topic really does belong in the "belief in science" debate that is raging in America right now--look at how people respond to Global Warming; the data is there, but so many in America choose not to believe it. In the case of AOE, it might be that they do believe the responsibility belongs in the home, and I can understand that argument. However, maybe one can make an economic argument out of it eventually--if that family chooses not to educate their children and the children get pregnant, then the costs to a community go up in social services. Everyone pays, esp. the children...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate this topic. What sticks out from my P.E/Health school days is the word "Abstinence" and maybe a few cringe-worthy warning pictures regarding STD's.
ReplyDeleteMany adolescents are growing up feeling like a stranger inside their own bodies. I agree with you when you emphasize that sex-education has been limited in so many ways. Sexuality, anatomy, birth control, and other taboo topics are often neglected because school districts often worry how the parents will react.
Telling adolescents to do one thing will most likely make them want to do opposite. Just saying to "stay" away from sex will do little in the future of sex-ed. Also, to broaden your topic, you could find statistics on the amount of schools that teaching and emphasizing consent! This would make your topic even stronger.
Yes, we expect parents and guardians to teach their children to be respectful and we expect them to be open about their children's sexuality, but that isn't always the case. I appreciate how you mentioned that fact because many parents tend to steer away from any talk of sexuality! That is when sex-ed in schools should come in and be a backbone for these individuals.