Should children be taught sex education in schools

Should children be taught sex education in schools?

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Introduction

Sex education is the focus on the educating teenagers on the different genders, relation between the genders, sexual orientation, safe sex and abstinence. Sex has several meanings in the present society. These meanings vary from culture to culture due to the different ideologies that communities follow. Sex simply refers to the gender of a human being in terms of being male or female. The two genders are the principle genders in that 95 percent of human beings either belong to one of the categories. There is however some cases nowhere a human being displays both qualities making them hermaphrodites. As stated earlier culture plays a significant role in the definition of sex in the community. Most of the cultures follow their traditional norms making the community subject to the cultural practices. Culture is a way of life. Sex is an essential part of culture in that sex is used for different reasons in society. It is thus significant to create awareness on sex and sex education so as to remove the ignorance in the community (Campos, 2002).

Sex can also be defined as the act of consummating a relationship a marriage. This involves the display of feelings toward a member of the opposite sex. This definition has changed over the years due to the embracing of homosexuality in society. Homosexuality involves sexual relations between people of the same sex. This alone displays the complex nature of sex in the life of an individual. It also reaffirms the need for the community to educate their members on sex and its repercussions.

Significance of sex to human beings

Sex is used for various needs by members of society. Each person has their reason for engaging in sexual activities. Sex is one of the oldest activities known to man. All the communities are in existence due to procreation. It is thus essential to learn about the significance of sex in any community. Sex was traditionally meant for the creation of children in the family. Most of the marriages are initiated so as to create grounds for procreation. Over the years, the dynamics have been changing due to the change in culture. Most of the communities have changed their perception of the meaning and significance of sex making the word take on a completely new meaning. Culture plays a significant role in the way human beings engage in sexual relations (Irvine, 2004).

Perception of sex in the past and in present day

In the past sex was a private matter reserved for a certain time and situation. Talk about sex was minimal due to the sacred nature of the trade. It was taboo to talk about sexual matter in the open. Most of the discussions on this matter were conducted in parables so as to maintain the privacy that it was accorded. As time went by, most of the communities began to interact with each other. This led to the exchange in different ideologies and notions across the globe. People were more open to all things sexual changing the dynamics of the way people related to the topic (Magoon, 2010).

One of the times that display the contrast of the traditional perception of sex and the modern perception is the1980s. The 1980s are a pivotal time for the entire society. The lifestyle of the country changed due to the introduction of globalization, education, communication and events such as the world wars. Individuals changed their stance on a majority of the ideologies that they had initially had. This created a new environment that changed the lifestyle of the country for ever. One of the factors that were associated with this time was the introduction of discos age. At this time, anything was acceptable making the society lose its culture and views on sex. Another factor that completely affected the view of sex was the discovery of the HIV virus. The virus brings forth the contraction of AIDS that has no cure to date. This was an indication of the lack of observation of protective sex during this time. Sex has therefore got a different meaning and perception making than before (Campos, 2002).

Sex education in schools

Sex education has been previously conducted in the households by the parents and guardians. This is credited to the sensitive nature of the topic. The society has continued to change over the years making children more exposed to sex and sexual activities. This is owed to the change of the media and the culture. Media plays an effective part of concerning the change of culture. Most of the films, shows and documentaries provided are reflective of the activities of the society. The productions aired have a high content in sexual activities which as a result exposes children to sex and sexual discussions. This is one of the primary reasons for the behavior of children in the present society. Children presently are well aware of all an enormous amount of information concerning sex. This is not ideal due to the repercussions that come with sexual relations (Magoon, 2010).

One of most common repercussion is getting pregnant at an early age. The rate of underage teenage pregnancies in the country continues to rise due to the lack of protective sex. The society is thus caught between a rock and a hard place due to the fact that children have the ability to procreate at an early age. It is difficult to control the activities of a teenager because of their tendencies to rebel against their parents. One of the ways that they do this is by taking part in sexual relations at an early age. A parent cannot control the activities that a child performs when not in the house. The only way of controlling this situation is instilling the quality of responsibility at an early age. One of the ways of doing this is by educating children on sex education. Sex education is an initiative of the government to control the spiraling rate of sexual relations in the country.

Children have found different avenues of having sex due to their exposure to information in this area. Over 50% of the students have been reported to take part in sexual activities in high school. This is alarming in that they are not ready for the responsibility that comes with sex. This percentage displays the amount of pressure that students have as a result of their peers. Most of the students in school result to engaging in sex due to pressure from their fellow classmates. This in turn increases the number of sexually active students in the schools. The concept of sex education has been met with a high level of opposition form a number of institutions. Most of the institutions are religious making them stick to the traditional methods of raising children. The present society does not allow for adults to distance children from sex talk. This is due to the extensive exposure the students have of all forms of sex. The introduction of sex education should be encouraged so as to ensure that students are aware of sex and its repercussions (Irvine, 2004).

Sex education involves defining sex and leaning about all forms of sex. As stated earlier, students are knowledgeable a considerable number of topics involving sex. Despite this, they are equality ignorant about the topics making them vulnerable to the early pregnancies and STDs. This alone makes sex education important in the curriculum of teenagers. The principle feature of sex education is to address the options when in a relationship. Students get into relationships without knowing how to handle different situations. This makes it harder for students to cope when confronted with pressure situations. One of the reasons for sex education is to educate students on the how to approach having sexual active relationships. Some students resort to having sexual active relationships at an early age. This is a pivotal time in life due to the emotional and physical development required. Sex education should thus be provided for students in this situation. This helps students in this category take part in safe and responsible sex. It also reduces the chances of having unwanted pregnancies at an early age. Another danger that sexually active children face is the infection of a sexually transmitted diseases. Most of the diseases are curable making them manageable. Some of the diseases on the other hand are life changing in that they do not have a cure. It is thus up to the authorities to ensure that students do not fall into these statistics (Magoon, 2010).

The economy of the United States is not in a good place presently. This is due to the lack of employment in the community. The deteriorating economy is brought about by the unequal distribution of resources. Teenage sex is a contributing factor to the low standards of living in the economy. Most of the teenagers who get pregnant resort to leaving school so that they can fend for their children. This makes them loose out on the basic educational skills needed to get a quality job in the future. Sex education is ideal in that it prevents these situations indirectly. Society should recognize the significance of the sex education programs so as to address the current situation at hand (Campos, 2002).

Conclusion

Sex education is the creation of awareness of the sex and its implications. The program has been idutrodced to the educational curriculum so as to reduces the educate teenagers having a responsible approach to sex. Sex education in schools continues to receive an immense amount of criticism from a portion of the public. One of the reasons for the protest is the exposure of children to more sexual content. This notion is however misleading in that children in this society are more exposed to sexual content compared to children in the past. One of the ways of addressing this situation is by confronting the issue. This will in turn reduce the disadvantages that come with the rising rate of teenage sex in the country.

References

Campos, D. (2002). Sex, youth, and sex education: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif. [u.a.: ABC-CLIO.

Irvine, J. M. (2004). Talk about sex: The battles over sex education in the United States. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press.

Magoon, K. (2010). Sex education in schools. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub. Co.