Abstinence and education have been in partnership for a long time. Ever since I can remember, even in grade school, we were taught specific ways to act around the opposite sex. Girls and boys, men and women have a strong sexual attraction towards one another- its natural for the two to mix, mingle, and love. In jr. high I remember the health teacher preaching that we must restrain ourselves and not participate in sexual intercourse...ABSTINENCE! and then the teacher made us watch this horrendous film of a women birthing a child, as if they were saying if you have sex this is what happens no matter what! well it scared me, not going to lie, but the real truth is kids, and young adults are going to do whatever they want. This is just what happens when young people and hormones unite. This idea of no sex education in school could be linked to the idea of religion. Could schools silently be preaching an abstinence free lifestyle in regards to the church?
Rather talking about what kids shouldn't do, maybe they should actually educate them about sex, and what they should do if they are going to participate in sexual activities. Such as using protection, and when you shouldn't have sex in regards to menstrual cycles. This may sounds a bit outrageous, but at the same time it makes plenty of since to educate young adults about how to protect themselves and be smart way.
1. Do you think that religious views are being pushed in school class rooms?
2. Do you think sex education should be more realistic, in regards to how many young adults have sex ?
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Issue 18 Abstinence and Edu
Whether or not the school only teaches abstinence until marriage or other messages about sexuality and contraception there needs to be messages be taught to kids. To me this issue of only having one message and thats abstinence is kind of wrong but also I see why they would just want to teach that one message. The reason why it is wrong the way they teach it is because the dont really go in depth with it and why we should wait. This is just my personal experience with sex education I had when they were teaching us. Most of the time if you tell kids what they shouldn't do they are going to end up experiencing it for themselves any way. The message should also be taught how to have safe sex as well. But implying this means it is okay to have sex with whoever you want with totally goes against my beliefs but thats another story in its own.
The real problem here is this education should not only be taught in the schools but at home with the parents. The parents should raise their kids with valuable information about this issue more than he school. I know i wont be a perfect parent but i will try my best to raise my kids to what the bible says i know most people are disgusted or don't care for what it is says but the bible has the absolute truth about every situation take a look for your self if u don't want to take my word for it. i will let my children choose the course they want to go but i will try ti instill truth in them also if not with the bible just with stats and things that are happening with people who abstain from sex or are practicing. the school i think just need to go more in depth with information and helping students understand.
1) Are schools now a days spending more time on this subject teaching it better then, when i was in school ?
Abstinence Only Edu.
Of course there will always be two sides to the argument, it's a no brainer. I don't know about everyone else but abstinence was not the only thing taught in my school. We can go out and say that we want schools to each children that sex before marriage is wrong and they they will be likely to get STD's, pregnant, etc... But are we really being realistic? It's not realistic to believe that if you tell children not to do it, that they will listen. I think it's more important for children to be taught abstinence in school as an option. They should also be taught how to practice safe sex along with the side effects. Of course for some abstinence will be the answer but it is more important to teach both sides.
Apart from this how can you teach kids abstinence is the only answer when the can go home and watch t.v. and see it 24/7. Many shows even go as far as to glorify sex. It's contradicting to tell a kid that sex is wrong but then they go home and watch a show like Gossip Girl where sex is seen all over the place and between multiple people. Today's society is a lot different from the past, expectations are different and many parents are a lot more open about sex with their kids. So why shouldn't sex education be more open as well? Telling a kid what not to do is just going to make them want to explore it even more. By teaching both sides of the argument and teaching kids about the dangers they will be able to make the decision themselves and will be more likely to be safer about it. In the end safety comes first when it comes to sex, so that's what should be emphasized in sex education.
DQ:
1) Did your school teach sex education as abstinence only? How do you think this made you view sex?
2) If your child (in the future or now) were to be taught that abstinence was the only answer would you be o.k. with that?
Apart from this how can you teach kids abstinence is the only answer when the can go home and watch t.v. and see it 24/7. Many shows even go as far as to glorify sex. It's contradicting to tell a kid that sex is wrong but then they go home and watch a show like Gossip Girl where sex is seen all over the place and between multiple people. Today's society is a lot different from the past, expectations are different and many parents are a lot more open about sex with their kids. So why shouldn't sex education be more open as well? Telling a kid what not to do is just going to make them want to explore it even more. By teaching both sides of the argument and teaching kids about the dangers they will be able to make the decision themselves and will be more likely to be safer about it. In the end safety comes first when it comes to sex, so that's what should be emphasized in sex education.
DQ:
1) Did your school teach sex education as abstinence only? How do you think this made you view sex?
2) If your child (in the future or now) were to be taught that abstinence was the only answer would you be o.k. with that?
Abstinence Only Education
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?
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?
Abstinence and Education
My experience with education and abstinence may be very different than some. I went to an all girls catholic highschool and before that to a catholic middle school. Since in the catholic church they like to teach abstinence until marriage that is all I was taught in school. Basically what happened in highschool if a girl was pregnant they were not allowed to talk about their baby, bring pictures of any sort, and just act as if they were not even barring a child. It was as if my school was turning the other cheak and was trying to be blinded by the situation that people do participate in sex before marriage. This then to me resulted in more of my classmates and other students in my highschool to get pregnant. So, just teaching us abstinence was clearly not working because today about twelve of the girls from my class have children and a few are on their second child. I believe just because I went to a catholic school does not mean that our education system has to ignore the fact that this is happening in the world. I think if they would have taught us more about protection and maybe even had a course that was mandatory to take more girls would have made smarter choices and used some sort of protection. It is dangerous in the world today to be ignorant and blind to this situation because I believe it is only going to continue to get worse until something changes. Another thing though that people need to understand is that the parents of children need to educate their children too. As for myself, my mom is a nurse and has been for 30 years. She has seen as young as a 11 year old come in to deliver a baby. Since my mom is a nurse and has seen this going on for years she was able to educate my sister and I about what could happen to us. She was open about everything and told us that if we were engaging in these actions that steps needed to be taken in order to prevent a pregnancy from happening. She then also, told us about STDs and how this would affect our lives long term. She was very blunt and upfront with us which was smart because I feel that, that is the only way the point will get directly across. So my questions for you all are: 1) Did anyone else go to a catholic school and was only abstinence taught to you? What effects did this have on people that went to your school? Negative or Positive? 2) Should the school system recieve all the blame for not properly educating students about sex and stds? or should the parents be to blame also?
Abstinence & Education
Abstinence until marriage is something that will always be taught to students at a young age in schools. With the way our culture is today, sex and sexual images are everywhere from television and music videos to billboards and other forms of advertising. While students are being taught to not have sex until marriage in school they are finding out in the real world that it might not be as easy as they say to wait. In today's popular culture, one of the most watched shows on MTV is "Teen Mom", a show about the lives of teenage kids who engaged in sexual activity before marriage as 16 and 17 year old kids. MTV has portrayed sex in so many ways over the years through music videos, movies, and their everyday shows like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant. Bridget Maher talked about in her side of the argument that each year 3 million teens or 25% of sexual active teens are infected with a STD. She went on to talk about how the teens engaging in this pre martial sex experience fear of STDs, regret, guilt, low self-respect, fear of commitment, and depression. When I was in high school, if a girl was to become pregnant just about everyone in the school would notice it and talk about it. While some people might not think its a huge deal it is affecting that girl in one way or another.
The reading talked a lot about how sex before marriage campaigns are everywhere and how there is so much money being poured into it.But in my opinion I really don't see a great deal of it, instead I see more things advertising sexual things or sexual images being posted. Every time you turn on the TV you are most likely going to see something related to sex as you flip through the channels. I think another big part of abstinence comes from where you live or what type of culture you live in. Coming form the midwest you really dont get the big picture on things, most often things are scaled down to a smaller image where as someone living in maybe California or New York might get a much bigger understanding of this whole thing.
With kids starting to partake in sexual activity at younger ages all the time I think it is important to continue the ads and campaigns in order for the younger generations to hear the messages. But with the way our pop culture is growing and where our media is taking us it will be hard to continue to preach abstinence until marriage. In my opinion if kids are not waiting until marriage they should at least wait until an age where they are more knowledgeable on the subject and they are mature enough and know how to handle it so STDs and unplanned pregnancy dont occur as often.
Questions:
1. Why has pop culture overtaken all the money and time invested in abstinence until marriage campaigns?
2. What will it take for kids to understand STDs and pregnancy at young ages are not worth it?
The reading talked a lot about how sex before marriage campaigns are everywhere and how there is so much money being poured into it.But in my opinion I really don't see a great deal of it, instead I see more things advertising sexual things or sexual images being posted. Every time you turn on the TV you are most likely going to see something related to sex as you flip through the channels. I think another big part of abstinence comes from where you live or what type of culture you live in. Coming form the midwest you really dont get the big picture on things, most often things are scaled down to a smaller image where as someone living in maybe California or New York might get a much bigger understanding of this whole thing.
With kids starting to partake in sexual activity at younger ages all the time I think it is important to continue the ads and campaigns in order for the younger generations to hear the messages. But with the way our pop culture is growing and where our media is taking us it will be hard to continue to preach abstinence until marriage. In my opinion if kids are not waiting until marriage they should at least wait until an age where they are more knowledgeable on the subject and they are mature enough and know how to handle it so STDs and unplanned pregnancy dont occur as often.
Questions:
1. Why has pop culture overtaken all the money and time invested in abstinence until marriage campaigns?
2. What will it take for kids to understand STDs and pregnancy at young ages are not worth it?
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Abstinence-Only Education
Abstinence-only education (AOE) is not sufficient for today's teens. The majority of teens engage in sexual activity of some sort. For those students that do, schools must equip them with the knowledge and resources to practice safe sex. Furthermore, at some point in their life, likely soon after leaving high school, almost all people are going to participate in some type of sexual activity. If students are given a background on contraceptives, condoms, STD's and risks of sexual activity during middle school or high school, they will have valuable information for whenever they choose to engage in sexual activity, even if that is after high school or when they get married.
I also think abstinence is very much a personal decision that is largely decided upon before sex education of any sort. Religion and parenting play a big role in abstinence, and I don't feel like school sex education classes alter many students' decisions to remain abstinent or not. I think schools should teach comprehensive sexual education which includes abstinence but is not limited to abstinence. Schools should provide a learning environment, and not focus on trying to influence students' decisions. If students believe the facts support abstinence, then hopefully they will abstain from sex. However, for those who will choose to engage in sexual activity, they should be able to learn about safe practices. As mentioned before, I believe parents should be the ones to express their opinion and talk to teens about sex. However, not all students have family environments that provide effective conversation or messages about sex.
1) What type of sex education did you receive as a teen? What is your opinion about that education?
2) Do you think the people delivering the message could alter the effectiveness of an abstinence-only message? What if a relatable, young adult taught sex education classes, rather than a much older adult?
I also think abstinence is very much a personal decision that is largely decided upon before sex education of any sort. Religion and parenting play a big role in abstinence, and I don't feel like school sex education classes alter many students' decisions to remain abstinent or not. I think schools should teach comprehensive sexual education which includes abstinence but is not limited to abstinence. Schools should provide a learning environment, and not focus on trying to influence students' decisions. If students believe the facts support abstinence, then hopefully they will abstain from sex. However, for those who will choose to engage in sexual activity, they should be able to learn about safe practices. As mentioned before, I believe parents should be the ones to express their opinion and talk to teens about sex. However, not all students have family environments that provide effective conversation or messages about sex.
1) What type of sex education did you receive as a teen? What is your opinion about that education?
2) Do you think the people delivering the message could alter the effectiveness of an abstinence-only message? What if a relatable, young adult taught sex education classes, rather than a much older adult?
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