Abstinence only education is the curriculum that instructs young adults to wait until marriage to engage in sexual encounters. In the early 2000’s this type of curriculum gained many supporters and raised billions of dollars in funding for educational purposes. There were a few studies that showed this type of education was indeed working as fewer teens were engaging in sexual encounters and the average age of the first sexual encounter for students with this type of education was increasing.
Lately many studies have come out supporting the claim that this type of education does not in fact make any difference in the decline of stds and teen pregnancies but rather increased in these two areas because children were not properly informed of the consequences of their actions. These researchers suggest that students are taught a more comprehensive curriculum in which they are taught both the danger of unsafe sex and how to practice safe sex. Many believe that better education of what is really out there will help to combat the situation.
In all reality a hybrid of these two techniques is probably best. Children need to know what is really out there so they can face some of the dangers that will be staring them straight in the face as they get older. In an age where sex sells and big companies are marketing sex more and more children are being influenced sometimes even unconsciously being taught that they need to be having sex. With an increased knowledge on how to practice safer sex students will be able to decipher good practice from bad practice, and with a message of abstinence also being taught maybe more young adults will decide to wait to have sex either until their married or until they are really ready for sex.
With an abstinence only curriculum in every school nationwide would modern views of women being seen only for their sex appeal finally start to diminish?
Would teaching sex education at an even younger age, say 4th grade help to fix some of the growing problems in today’s society?
I think that teaching sex education in 4th grade would fix some of these problems. In my grade school sex education started in 5th grade. Of course parents were invited to take part in the course but it was mandatory. The earlier the better especially when the age of kids partaking in sex getting younger and younger.
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