The Edutopia Poll
by Sara Ring
When it comes to teens and sex, recent studies show that "Just Say No" isn’t working. In fact, students who receive abstinence-only sex education are no more likely to refrain from sex than their peers. In response to these reports, fourteen states have stopped accepting federal funds to run abstinence-only programs that were intended to eliminate pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among teens. Rather than tout the virtues of virginity, these states now emphasize the importance of condoms and birth control to minimize, if not eliminate, the risks involved with sexual activity. But many parents and educators maintain that chastity is the best and only message adults should send to kids about sex. Can abstinence-only education work, or is sex between teens inevitable? Tell us what you think.
Should sex-education classes teach abstinence only?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on May 7, 2008 - 07:04.
Your sharing makes me proud as a mentor, educator, parent and yes, a minister. When adults present BOTH sides of any truth, you come out making smart choices. Most of all, better able to think for yourself and then be a meaningful contribution to others. However, most adults function from fear, control and judgment. Therefore, we create oppressive systems that don't embark on "touchy" subjects (race, religion & sex). I do NOT believe in teaching abstinence for a variety of reasons. Blah mention most of them well. I'll add that to me sexuality is natural and should be embraced from a place of value and sacredness. When we teach/model to our youth how to be whole, intelligent and aware of consequences, they will choose based on that model. That doesn't mean NO mistakes or stumbles. It also doesn't mean that they are BAD and Sinful, either. There is to much mis-education out here and abroad, not to give all sides of the sexuality issue.
Should sex-education classes teach abstinence only?
Submitted by sex is for when your ready and is your right to choose (not verified) on May 1, 2008 - 19:05.
i do believe in saving yourself for the one you
want to spend the rest of your life with but face the facts people. that day dream has come and gone and is very rare to find. I believe that all young teen should learn all about sex. How it is good to wait and how to protect them selfs. If you are the parent then teach them the goodness in waiting and let it be to them to choose. cause if you teach them well and you know right and wrong then they will do as they see from you. If they come to a time where they choose their choice of yes or no i want my child to know what can protect them from getting STDs or know that she is responsible for her choice and should understand that. Keeping it from them is your way of knowing that you are responsible for all that happens to them if they dont know about sex fully. Are you ready to handle that you might put your child in harms way thinking you are helping them?
not me!! i will teach my children all the options and also hope that my godly morals will help them along the way! i have faith in god and it will always come to the end of their choice of saying yes or no. not me.
They should teach both safe sex and abstinence
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 29, 2008 - 11:24.
As much as we would all like to believe, abstinence is the way to go but it isn't true in some cases. If only abstinence is taught then the students aren't prepared if they choose to go against their teachers and will most likely have to face the consequences. Abstinence does reduce STD's and the emotional truama of having sex but it won't always work but it should still be stressed.
most kids don't know that
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 24, 2008 - 12:26.
most kids don't know that having sex under the age of 18 a crime. It doesn't matter to most of them because most likely they won't ever be caught. Some teens are very capable of making intelligent decisions and therefore this law is completly absurd. I also believ that other birth control methods need to be taught in schools because it is the one way kids can obtain information about sex. Most parents avoid the issue and don't talk about it with their kids and therefore keep them in the dark.
Sex between minors is illegal
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 12, 2008 - 13:51.
None of these articles address the fact that sex is illegal for children under 18 in most states. Students should definitely be informed about consequences of sex and told that it is illegal because society has decided that they are not responsible enough to make decisions which can ruin their lives. Obviously not all students will follow the law, but teachers must nevertheless encourage a program of abstinence.
Abstinence-only education does not work
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 30, 2008 - 18:40.
Yes, it IS illegal for children under a certain age to engage in sexual intercourse. But that doesn't mean children/teens are going to refrain from doing so altogether. If that were the case, there would be no such thing as teenage drug use or vandalization, for example. This is not an adequate argument in favor of abstinence. Parents have the right to teach their children however they choose, but is teaching them only about abstinence really working? If it were, there wouldn't be SO MANY teen pregnancies and contractions of STDs. We need to inform children/teens about contraceptives and STD protection. It is time for parents, schools, religious groups, etc. to realize that abstinence is not the only way.
They shouldn't teach abstinence only
Submitted by Cheksea (not verified) on March 11, 2008 - 17:54.
Teaching kids abstinince is okay if you go to a private religious school, but at a public elementary/middle school, I don't think it should be allowed. Besides, telling kids that plain out, "You can't have sex, because I said so," never works. Whether they want to or not is up to them and their beliefs. I believe that teaching them the dangers and results of having sex should be the most important thing taught, because that is all that you can do to prepare them. (Speaking as a teenager myself, though I have never had...I still stand by what I say.)
Sex education classes
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 25, 2008 - 12:42.
ok seriously...
dont talk trash about people who have had sex and teaching it if you are a virgin
i'm not a virgin...
i dont have a kid...
or...
std's...
or...
anything like that.
i'm safe with sex...
thats what should be taught
Should sex-education classes teach abstinence only?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 3, 2008 - 09:36.
Thank you! I complete agree.
I am doing a project about
Submitted by Summer Hershey (not verified) on February 21, 2008 - 10:36.
I am doing a project about the debate on if we should teach our youger peers to have safe sex or if we should teach them abstinence. Personally, I believe in abstinence but there are kids who don't agree with my view and don't care what a school tells them. These kids should know how to have safe sex or there lives could be ruined from STDs or teen pregnancy. I am not saying that they should tell them to go off and have sex and while you do it, use a condom, but they should be informed since it is their choice not their teacher's.
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