Saturday, November 28, 2009
By Carina Melanson "Sexual Education"
I think that sexual education has failed to inform students about the reality of sexuality and should be changed in the school systems. It is a very important issue because children at a young age are being influenced by the media. Most of the television shows, magazines, and music videos are filled with representations of physical attractions. Children’s development seems to need a good understanding of the righteous ways for a male and female to act. Most sexual educations are like two hour lectures or ensembles that pass out condoms and list all the STDs. They show all the negative consequences of unprotected sex but never reach the topic of when to have sex, why it may benefit someone spiritually, or the psychological affects that becoming sexually active at a young age can have. All the times I experiences sexual education it was always a repetition of information that did not inform me of the positive outcomes of waiting to be sexually active with a partner that you love. I think sexual education should start spreading awareness of how important it is that people be selective with who they have sexual intercourse with because ultimately it is saying you would have that person’s babies. The meaning of sex and why it is a major aspect of life should be discussed. The way condoms are passed out just perpetuate the cycle of belief that having sex as many times as you want with whoever is accepted as long as you wear a condom. Sexual education needs an upgrade so that it makes children feel how powerful and life changing sexual intercourse is. All the contraceptives that are introduced just contradict the intention of teaching children about sex. After most of the ensembles kids would just walk away laughing or making jokes about how many condoms they have. I feel like sexual education is not as helpful because kids are starting to have sex at extremely young ages. The false motives to have sex and how it can become an addiction just like food, drugs, and alcohol. An interesting fact is that 19 percent puff people said that schools should not teach about oral sex. I also agree with this because it is introducing the ideas of other ways to receive pleasure without actually having the real thing. Abstinence- only education is another big issue. Should the curriculum be limited to teaching students to wait or should they also be taught how to make smart decisions when having sex like using protection. The whole idea of bombarding kid’s minds with all the different kinds of contraceptives is bizarre because contraceptives contradict the purpose of sex and make children think they can have their cake and eat it too. They walk away thinking “wow now I can still have sex if I use a condom, birth control pills, or dental dam and I won’t get an STD or make children.” I do think that safe sex is needed but it seems to be the biggest part of sexual education. The importance of the value of sex needs to be combined into the curriculum. Ultimately think the sex ed programs have failed and changes should be made.
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Kate Rivard to Carina
ReplyDeleteI believe that sex education needs to be taught in schools, but I believe it is primarily the parents’ responsibility to teach their children about that issue. In public schools, there is an array of different children coming from different cultural and religious backgrounds. I do not believe that teachers should be held accountable for educating children on everyone’s view points. I believe that would be a little overwhelming for children to learn. I believe that parents should teach their children about abstinence, different types of STDs, and contraception. I believe children need to be well-rounded in a sexual aspect, as weird as that sounds. Kids are partaking in sexual activities at a younger age, and I know that I did not have a class in school until sophomore year in high school about sex. I really believe that this is too late for kids to learn about sexual education. I believe this should be implemented earlier, but the topic should be generalized, and not targeted on what to do and what not to do. Children should be somewhat informed of their bodies.
Kate Loughlin to Kate R and Carina
ReplyDeleteI agree with many aspects of what you both said. I agree with Kate that sex ed classes will probably not be able to handle all the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of having sex. I don’t really think that it is necessarily the schools place either. I do think there should be more sex ed taught and it should be taught at a younger age before too many misconceptions are developed. I think as a minimum sex ed should make sure that all students have an understanding of their bodies, the possible consequences of having sex and what can be done to limit unwanted consequences. I personally do not agree with abstinence only education. Young people are going to have sex and being unaware of what precautions to take just increases the risk of pregnancy and STDs. The federal government’s sex ed rules are actually changing with the Obama administration, with abstinence only education the teen pregnancy rate has actually increased. I think there are actually benefits of teaching about things like oral sex because they are very common and it is important to realize there are lots of other ways to please yourself and your partner without having to rush into intercourse.