Josh Fraser

Dr. Sean M. George

ENGL 1010D .6
3 December 2015
Is Sexual Education Taught Correctly?
In the United States, there seems to be an issue effecting teenagers in a multitude of
ways. That issue is how sexual education is being taught, because how they are understanding
the information is not correct and can end up causing problems in their lives. Middle schools and
high schools teach a majority of things that honestly could be taught better, but one subject that
shouldnt be taken as lightly as it is in school is sexual education. Problems such as teen
pregnancy, sexual abuse, and the contraception of sexually transmitted diseases or infections. All
three of these problems are serious issues which can potentially ruin a teenagers life, but if
sexual education was taught differently then there could be a higher chance to prevent these
horrible problems. Currently, a way that schools are teaching about this subject is by teaching
abstinence. Another way is by teaching about protection, which is the complete opposite of the
abstinence approach. Along with that, there is also the issues of sexual abuse and harassment that
happens not just to teens, but adults as well, which could mean that they were not taught very
well on the subject of sex either. If those two issues werent bad enough, there is also the fact of
teen pregnancy and the contraception of sexually transmitted diseases. If taught about these risks,
then there would be more knowledge on how people could avoid these.
As said previously abstinence is a big way of teaching in the country. Abstinence, for
those unaware of what it is, Refers to a group of sexual education curricula intended to teach

children that they should abstain from sexual intimacy with another individual until they become
adults and usually until they are married (WM S, Boozer). If protection was taught instead, then
at least there would be a chance for the teens to know enough about it to stay safe. Doing this is a
better option than not knowing anything and having relations anyways. Teenagers are known to
be rebellious and hormonal which makes it hard to believe that schools would teach abstinence
when they know that there is no way that they can keep everyone from doing bad things.
As said by Donald E. Morisky and Vicki J. Ebin, Peer education is used as a health
promotion strategy in a number of areas, including sexual health. Peer education is yet another
way that teens learn about sex. When the schools are teaching abstinence, students tend to ask
their peers, who are just other students who know the same stuff. A lot of the time, they learn
wrong because of this. Although learning from peers can be bad, they arent the only ones
conveying information. Also, parents have a role in the learning process of this issue. Depending
on what parents tell their children can have a big Impact on their decisions. For example, if a
parent tells their child that they shouldnt have sex until marriage; there is a 50/50 chance that it
will actually work. However, if the parents tell their children about how to protect themselves,
there is a higher chance that they will be safe given the chance that anything happens. Another
thing that can happen when parents talk about things alternative to the abstinence approach is
that the child can be more comfortable about the situation, rather than, fearing something
because they dont know anything about it.

Boozer, Wm S. Abstinence-Only Sexual Eductation. Encyclopedia of the Social and

Cultural
Foundations of Education. Ed. Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr., and Asterie Baker Provenzo.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2009. 2-3. SAGE knowledge. Web.
9 Dec. 2015.
Morisky, Donald E., and Vicki J. Ebin. The Effectiveness of Peer Education in STD/HIV
Prevention. Health Communication: Amulticultural Prspective. Ed. Snehendu B. Kar,
Rina Alcalay and Shana Alex. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2001. 21135 SAGE Knowledge. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.