Does Sex Education Work?
Regardless of sex education programs in schools adolescents are becoming sexually active at an earlier age, and teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases have become a widespread problem. Some experts question the effectiveness of sexual education while others believe it needs to become more comprehensive. This paper attempts to answer the question why has sex education failed the children of the US? Sex education was first launched into schools in the 1960's by pioneer activist and researcher Dr Mary Calderone who founded the organization Sex Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). As the "sexual revolution" intensified in the mid 1960's, Calderone found her organization much in demand. Parents and school administrators appealed to sex educators to help them turn the "rising tide of teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and general promiscuity" (Moran, 2000). SIECUS coordinated and contributed to "hundreds of programs nationwide, prompting Time Magazine to refer to Calderone, then in her 60's, as the grandmother of sex education" (Moran, 2000).There is no denying that kids need the right information to help protect themselves. How
Teenagers have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) of any age group, with one in four sexually active young people contracting an STD by graduation (Wetzstein, 1994). Knowing these statistics it becomes obvious that something more needs to be done to protect and educate children about these realities. Author Mike Males wrote an article titled "School Aged Pregnancy: Why Hasn't Prevention Worked?" In his article Males points out that although during the mid 1980s when prevention programs of all types were initiated and expanded nationwide, birth rates among school age mothers increased 20%, reversing 25 years of decline (1993). More than a million teenagers become pregnant each year in the United States (Wetzstein, 1994). In addition the authors suggest more reliable data collection methods will need to be used. FindingsWhat have we have learned so far? According to Jacobs and Wolf research suggests certain types of school based sex education programs can be effective in reducing adolescent sexual risk taking behavior however the majority of schools are not implementing the type of comprehensive education that does work (1995). Educators and policy- makers need to take a look at the rates of unwanted pregnancies and STD rates among our nations children and realize we can no longer ignore the need for effective education that teaches how to postpone sexual involvement and how to protect oneself once sexually active. Sometimes a little open dialogue is enough to squash initial curiosity and therefore postpone adolescent sexual behavior. In their examination of the literature that measures the effects of school sex education on student's knowledge, attitudes, and behavior Jacobs and Wolf found inconsistent findings in all areas. In addition a cross tabulation and frequency distribution of adults' opinion about sex education's place in public schools will be studied. Kirby also writes that future plans to attend college are also related to delayed initiation of sex, more use of condoms and contraception, and a decrease in pregnancy, and childbearing (2002). Males suggests this is because 85% of all marital and non-marital births among girls ages 11-18 by the California Vital Statistics Section for 1990 shows that adults, not peers, are fathers in most "school aged" childbirths. One study Jacobs and Wolf looked at closely was conducted by Zelnik and Kim which compared two national surveys of adolescents living in households in Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Overall, the findings suggest participation in sex education is not significantly associated with the decision to engage in intercourse or the consistent use of contraceptives but is associated with a reduction in the likelihood of a premarital pregnancy (Jacobs and Wolf, 1995). "Men older than age 23 are more likely to father children with junior high girls than are junior high boys" (Males, 1993).
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