Navigating the murky waters of puberty and adolescence is challenging enough without the added pressure of navigating sexuality in the dark. Yet, that’s the reality for many young people around the world, Why Sex Education Should be Taught in Schools. While some might shy away from this “sensitive” topic, the evidence is clear: Sex education is not optional, it’s essential. Here are 9 compelling reasons why it should be an integral part of every school curriculum:
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Table of Contents
Reasons Why Comprehensive Sex Education Should be Taught in Schools
The current climate requires that all schools provide their kids with comprehensive sex education. Here are some persuasive arguments in favour of our position:
1. Education focused solely on abstinence does not ensure abstinence
Teaching children to refuse sex when given does not ensure that they will not engage in sexual activity. Over time, studies have shown that education focused solely on abstinence has no effect on the decision-making rates of teenage sexual behavior. While it is acknowledged that the goal of abstinence-only education is to adhere to that standard, it is evident that this approach is ineffective.
Although it’s possible to disagree that comprehensive sex education doesn’t stop children from having sex, it does teach them how to do it safely.
2. Not Every Young Person Would Find Sex Education Appealing
Teaching children to say no to sex alone is a problem because it prevents those who are unable to say no from learning how to have sex properly. While it is true that all parents and educators want their kids to uphold the high norm of not having sex, teens have not been successfully persuaded to abstain from sex through no-sex education. Teaching these kids the best practices for maintaining their health and happiness during sex is our greatest chance.
3. Many Adolescents Are Having Sexual Relations
According to recent statistics, a significant portion of teenagers engage in sexual activity. The Youth Risk Behavioural Surveillance Survey (YRBSS) from 2015 found that 41% of high school students reported having sex at least once. One-eleven percent reported having slept with four people. Just 18% of sexually active students reported using birth control tablets, compared to 57% who reported using condoms during their most recent sex. Moreover, 1/5 of high school students who engaged in sexual activity reported using drugs or alcohol before to their most recent sexual experience. This helps to clarify why sex education is so important.
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4. Having Safe Relationships at a Young Age
According to a 2007 study that was published in the American Journal of Public Health, young people who begin using condoms from their first sexual encounter develop better sexual health practices than those who do not. After observing over 4,000 teenagers for almost seven years, the researchers discovered that the number of sexual partners was same for those who used condoms during their first sex.
On the other hand, there was a 30% greater chance that they had used condoms during their most recent sex. Additionally, the likelihood of them having gonorrhoea and chlamydia infections was just half as high.
5. Help Young Boys Develop into Adulthood
We must instill in young men the value of health maintenance as one of the most “manly” things they can do.
Adolescents who adhere to traditional notions of masculinity run the danger of injury if they neglect to seek medical attention. Getting the right medical care is essential to maintaining your health.
Many young people quit seeking preventative healthcare as they get older. This restricts their access to screening for sexually transmitted infections (STDs) among other things. Boys who have parents who teach them about sex education are more likely to have boys who see the doctor, according to a Paediatrics study. It all comes down to leading by example.
6. Children Don’t Learn to Have Sex Through Good Sex Education
Good sex education does not guarantee that children will engage in sexual activity. Good comprehensive sex education teaches adolescents that abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy and STDs, just as it teaches younger children to merely say “no” to sex. The distinction is that, in addition to providing realistic and factual information on the safety of various sexual acts, sex education also teaches young people about improving their chances.
7. It Is the Parent’s Responsibility to Instill Faith
Teaching children about sex education in school does not prevent parents from instilling in their children their moral values. If anything, letting kids learn the information in school helps parents teach their young charges and concentrate on communicating their own particular religious convictions and standards for behavior.
8. Children Are More Likely to Say Things When They Know More No
When a teacher informs teenagers that the only way to avoid the risks of STDs and pregnancy is to abstain from sexual activity, the teenagers are fully aware that this is untrue. They are aware that they are being misled, at the very least. Adolescents can make better decisions about sex if they receive adequate sex education on the dangers of various sexual behaviors. The better sex education kids receive, the easier it will be for them to avoid certain activities that carry a disproportionately high risk.
9. Abstinence is Encouraged by Good Sexual Education
Many young people engage in risky sexual behaviors as a result of inadequate sex education. Instead of engaging in vaginal sex, you can discover them engaging in oral or even anal sex. Specifically, a lot of youngsters view oral sex as a form of sexual abstinence. Sometimes, no sex education promotes abstinence from sex without even explaining what sex is.
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How to Offer Complete Sexual Education in Schools
Programs for sexual education should be taught by licensed and experienced educators. Students should be able to learn about the cultural, psychological, biological, and social facets of sex from these educators. Teachers of sex education should be certified to instruct students about the spread, defense, and management of sexually transmitted infections. It should be the responsibility of sex education instructors to instruct students on the principles of safe, healthy, and consensual sex.
Sexual health education should be given by a range of teachers, even if sex education should be taught in schools by any competent teacher. In particular, a range of certified educators should instruct sex education courses, such as biology instructors, health educators, sex education instructors, and STI educators.
