Sex Education - Skyla

            At what grade level should sex education be taught?  In Should sex education be taught at home or in schools? This is a question that has been debated for years and we still do not have a definitive answer to it.  There are schools that require sex education as a required class and have a parental consent form that must be signed before students can participate. While some parents are supportive about sex education in school other parents believe they are the ones who should be teaching their Child about sex at home. “The environment of the home presents many opportunities for instruction that would have to be manufactured artificially in the school situation” (Kilander 15). There are also parents/guardians that aren’t educated enough on the subject of sex education; or as knowledgeable on every topic to expect the child to learn everything they need from home. Schools tend to play a large part in informing kids on sex education.  Whether it is formally in a classroom, or within the discussion of peer groups in the hallway throughout the day.   Just because the school informs and teaches student’s about sex does not mean that they are taking over your role as a parent or guardian, or that they are trying to teach them certain beliefs and may not coincide with what you think is right and wrong. There is also a lack of information given about sex; “studies through objective tests by the author lead to the conclusion that the public- high school students, college students, and adults of various socio-economic groups are not adequately informed about human reproduction and hold numerous misconceptions in this area”(Kilander ). Those parents who have a high school and college education are more informed with the topic and have a better attitude about teaching it to their children. Many parents are happy when the teachers offer to teach sex education to their children so they don’t have to.   Some kids won’t listen to their parents and tend to think that their parents are being hard on them and aren’t explaining or answering the questions their children are asking them. It’s also sometimes embarrassing to discuss the topic of sex with your parents and easier with a stranger.  This is why some children feel more comfortable in a group of their peers to learn and ask questions they may not ask their parents.most schools it isn’t taught until middle school and high school. But what most parents don’t understand is that their child is being exposed to sex earlier then middle school.  Studies show that kids are getting exposed to this topic as early as kindergarten or sooner.  During the primary grades sex education should be taught on the subject of a physical or emotional change.  There are a lot of questions younger kids may ask if they see a student or peer doing something.   Like why are those two kissing? or why are those two holding hands? Younger kids may ask these questions if they see a high school kid doing them for example they may become curious or want to do the same thing as the older kids.  Every kid has someone older they look up to and thinks is cool.  If they see their idol holding hands it may be something they want to try.  During elementary school,  sex education is based off of trying to let the kids understand the difference between a boy and a girl, learning the different names of the body parts, and to understand that all babies come from the same place. In elementary school kids should be taught the correct names for body parts.  How and what is appropriate to do with you body and what inappropriate touching is.  “Familiarizing children with the correct vocabulary and bodily functions will enable them to talk with their teachers and parents more freely and without embarrassment and will free them from a send of false shame” (Kilander 40). In middle schools sex education is a step up from elementary.   It’s an advanced course of body functions, hormones, and emotional and physical behavior.  The health class should have a unit where the kids learn about family life and let the kids ask questions without feeling embarrassed.  Hopefully giving them a place where they feel comfortable and can ask and receive answers within a classroom setting. Middle school is also a time where female students begin to develop, some more than others and being educated will allow students to feel a little more in control of your body.  This is a very awkward time for many and just letting students know what their body is going through is a natural process and is essential to growing up could help a very stressful time.   When entering middle school you start to feel grown up and do start to have feelings for the opposite sex.  However; they just think of the idea of having a boyfriend or girlfriend,  how exciting it is to talk on the phone or text or even say I have a boyfriend/girlfriend to their friends.  Most teenagers don’t realize all the things that come along with dating and having a boyfriend/girlfriend.  Pure pressure can play a huge part in a middle school relationship.  Some students may be more mature than others, have expectations and push their partner into doing something they do not want to do or even understand.   It may be more than she likes you or he likes you, it could turn into should we experiment with one another and do what grownups do?  They don’t understand that there are sexually transmitted diseases out there, how you can catch one by just by kissing someone.   Maybe they have some idea but aren’t as informed enough about the topics so they don’t think it is that big of a deal. At that age kids tend to think it will never happen to them. Scary things such as diseases and illnesses are just something parents say to scare us from having a boyfriend or girlfriend.  That’s when sex education is going to be vital and important.  It teaches the students about all the different types of things that are out there. Not to scare them from doing things with one another but to inform them of what could happen and maybe to wait until a later age so they can understand things a little better. High school is where teenagers start to think they are in love.  That he/she is the one they want to be with forever.  This is the time that some students like each other enough to take their relationship to the next level. Most high schoolers do have some knowledge on what they should and shouldn’t be doing and whether what they are doing has consequences.   They may have questions they don’t feel comfortable asking a parent or teacher about so they go to their friends whom they think are experienced or know enough to give them advice on what to do. More than likely these students have had a required sex education class in their school so they are informed without having to ask. Teachers, parents and faculty need to come together to find a way to make students feel safe, secure and able to come to them for questions they may have about sex.   Each sex education topic should be able to be discussed thoroughly so no one is mislead or confused. All high school sex education courses are different, but all follow a basic format.   At my school we don’t even have a sex education course, just one small unit within the health class and nothing is really talked about in any kind of detail. For most students this course would be very useful and helpful from the time your a freshmen until you graduate from high school.  You should have the opportunity to be informed as possible and be able to ask your health or sex education teacher questions without feeling awkward or embarrassed.  Sex education is something that at one time or another would be useful for each and every student and is a valuable resource.

            Would Sex Education help with teenage birth rates? From a study found by Pamela Kohler, a manager at the University of Washington in Seattle “found that 25 percent of teens received abstinence, and about two-thirds received comprehensive sex education, and about 9 percent, particularly teens from poor families and those in rural areas received no sex education at all”. (“Sex Ed”) If more schools were required to teach a mandatory Sex Education class and discuss teenage pregnancy thoroughly it could make a difference in teenage birth rates. No teacher is going to get through to every single student, and just because you take a sex education class no one will ever get pregnant, but if they can at least get through to some of them it would make a difference in a few of their lives. Researchers have found that students who get comprehensive Sex Education are less likely to get pregnant then those who get taught abstinence.

            Knowledge VS. Ignorance is a big part of Sex Education; you have to be knowledgeable in this topic, to teach it correctly or to understand it. There are plenty of teachers out there that teach Sex Education because they have to or the school board has told them to.  They are teaching something that either they don’t want to do or that they aren’t informed enough about it; when this happens the teacher or parent in charge of the class is not helping his/her students out at all.    “The silence of the adult means to the child a silent acquiescence in the child’s confused and often unexpressed misinterpretations of experience”; and “what the adult world fails to talk about to the child becomes taboo.” (Kilander 24)  Each student needs to be challenged in order to discover what he or she wants and what their values are.   What they believe in and what they think would be best to do if they ever got caught up in complicated sexual situations. There are many teens that think they already know what they believe when it comes to sex and what they think is right from wrong.  Even if they haven’t talked to their parents about it, they could believe something totally different from what their parents have been telling them all these years.  That’s okay because they need to be responsible and be able to make their decisions and be able to back themselves up if they were to get into some sort of problem along the way of what they value. Teachers and parents aren’t going to be able to stop teens or even younger then teens to do what they want; especially not the teachers, all the teachers can do is inform them on the topic and help them if they have questions, and if a student feels like they can’t talk to their parents or guardians about it they have someone else to turn to.

            There are plenty of reasons that there needs to be Sex Education taught in schools. I think that one of the main reasons it should be taught is to help mainly the kids who don’t have parents who talk to them about it at home, so they don’t feel so clueless when other kids are talking about it. Or if they have questions they have someone who they know will answer them for them without being judgmental. Most parents feel embarrassed to talk to their kids about sex then the kids do what they think is right even when that choice may not be best for them in the long run. Sexual themed media has a part on what kids think is right and wrong because if that song or certain TV show is the popular thing they will watch it because it’s cool and all their friends are doing it. When comprehensive Sex Education is taught in schools STD rates and teen pregnancy rates go down, because the kids are more informed with the decisions they are making.  Studies show that 63% of kids are having sex by the time they are seniors in high schools; parents need to be more aware of what their children are doing and talk to them about the choices they are making. STD rates are outrages these days because students aren’t getting informed enough about practicing safe sex, or aren’t informed enough about condoms or birth control. Also when parents or teachers tell the kids to say no to sex it usually backfires because it only makes the child that much more curious on the situation because they don’t understand why they are being told this. Sex Education isn’t just about keeping kids from having kids while they are still kids, its helping them understand the physical and emotional part of it all.

           

            In conclusion, I think that Sex Education is a very important topic and it should be taken more seriously in schools. It should be a required class, and be taught comprehensively; kids have questions they don’t feel comfortable asking their parents about, but usually when they get with their friends and they start asking questions they will feel more comfortable with the situation. I think our school should be teaching this topic more thoroughly and not just in your first two years of high school, it should be taught from an understanding age and up. The parents should be involved with this topic, if they don’t feel comfortable with their child being taught this then they can sign a form saying that they don’t want their child attending this class. More than likely parents are going to be relieved that they aren’t the ones having to have this talk with their child and that the school is being more involved with the students life.  A lot of students get close with at least one of their teachers; the student knows he or she can go to them with questions about school work or having struggles outside of school and that teachers tries to help them as best as they can. If more schools got involved and branched out to help students who are having a difficult time it could prevent a lot of teen pregnancies and STD’s. Not that every student is going to listen to what the teacher is telling them but at least they know what is out there and how just one decision can change a lot of things for you, whether it be a good or bad change. There are a lot of students who have no idea what is out there and what the consequences are if you get put into a situation you’re not quite comfortable with. It all comes down to what the school approves and disapproves on with teaching Sex Education, but the communities and parents should have a say as well because it is their children that will be learning about the topic and what is out there that can help you decide what to do.  

Works Cited

Kilander, Holger Frederick. Sex Education in the Schools; a Study of Objectives, Content, Methods, Materials, and Evaluation. New York: Macmillan, 1969. Print.

Washington Post. The Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2008. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.