Pros and cons of sex educations in school system - Essay Example

‘If they know about they will do it; knowledge is dangerous.’ It’s no surprise that the far right fanatical religious factions are advocating this concept much the same as it has for many centuries. Fortunately, the vast majority of Americans have taken the responsible viewpoint that not teaching sex-ed in schools would be indefensible as knowledge is power and the lack of it, especially in this instance, would be harmful to the children all parents wish to protect. According to the World Health Organization, there is no data suggesting that such courses promote increased levels of sexual activity.

In addition, abstinence-only programs were substantially less effective than wide-ranging sex-ed classes which include safe-sex practices along with abstinence. These conclusions came at the end of a study conducted on 35 sexual education programs throughout the world. Nationwide research by Planned Parenthood and the Guttmacher Institute produced the same deductions. Most parents understand that increased awareness promotes only increased responsibility as, according to a 1999 study conducted by Hickman-Brown Research, 93 percent of the American population wants sex to be taught at least during high school while 84 percent say it should be taught during middle school.

Most parents acknowledge the reality that young people are sexually active at an earlier age than previous generations. Today, two-thirds of U.S. high school students have experienced sex by their senior year. These teenagers are contracting and spreading sexually transmitted diseases, in part, because of their lack of knowledge. People under the age of 24 are responsible for 65 percent of all sexually transmitted infections contracted in this country according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control (Masland, 2006).

The factions opposed to sex education have imposed at least some of their will on the rest of society and the children have suffered for it. Sex education classes in America’s public schools have been scaled back so as to not offend the vocal minority. What parents want and think their kids are learning falls well short of what is actually being taught. Parents simply want their kids to know the dangers and how to avoid them, just as in any other aspect of their lives. “Contrary to common wisdom, when it comes to sex education, parents want it all, from abstinence to homosexuality,” said Steve Rabin, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation (Levine, 2000).

The study by the Kaiser Foundation surveyed over a thousand secondary school kids, parents and sex-ed teachers along with more than 300 school principles. The majority of parents, according to the study, believe that discussions regarding rape were essential in sex-ed curriculum and that teaching about homosexuality is imperative as well. In addition, parents also want schools to discuss abortion, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and the use of contraception. Rape is a reality and parents, it has been proven, realize that the more information their girls acquire regarding prevention and how to deal with the psychological aftermath can be nothing but helpful.

As with the other subjects parents wish to be covered in school, the more knowledge, the better off their kids will be. Unfortunately, these important aspects of sexual education are sorely lacking in schools despite parental wishes and in opposition to what research has