Sex Education should be taught in middle schools to make our children aware and helpthem with decisions in the future. When children enter middle school many of them are goingthrough adolescent changes. This school district needs to help educate these hormone ragingteens about sex education. Not only will this program teach sex education, it will also give teensthe chance to ask questions and receive help if they are in a sexual situation. District #150 makesup about three quarters the schools in Peoria and if you make room for a sex education programto help your students, many other schools will follow your example. You can help stop teen sexat an early age with guidance. With a sex education program in your curriculum, you will seesuccess in the students lives and notice a change in attitude toward the opposite sex.
As you walk down the middle school hallways, you see more young teenage girls that arepregnant. Many of these girls knew the chances of getting pregnant without using a condom, butreally they didnt care. According to Faye Wattleton, the staggering rates and devastatingconsequences of teen pregnancy in America are well document (Wattleton 51). It seems clearthat many of the girls are unaware of the results of having unprotected sexual intercourse. Thesegirls and even young men should be given the opportunity to learn about the outcomes of sex. When a teenage girl is making out with her boyfriend and things start to grow intense, most justgo along with sex because they think nothing will happen. With this program you can helpdecrease more than 1,000,000 US teenagers becoming pregnant each year, intentionally(Donavon 28). Helping find the answer to a problem is a start, but solving the task takes time. Pregnancy is a major effect when young teens have unprotected sex but diseases also arebeing transferred between parties. With the HIV/AIDS virus and STDs like Gonorrhea,spreading throughout the state, District #150 middles schools should be aware of the symptoms. When I was in middle school we had a very small discussion on sex education. Truthfully, Iremember very little because the program was very brief When I entered high school we had alittle better explanation about diseases but I was still clue less. Maybe if we taught these middleschool students the effects and showed the pictures of affected people, they might actuallyconsider using protection. Debra Haffner states, 95% of adults want HIV/AIDS education totheir children (Haffner 54). I talked to a teacher, Candace Walrath, at Broadmoor Junior High,and she has her students do an STD activity. Two students, male and female, are given a halfglass of water. Each student pours their half into the partners cup and vice versa, sharing bodyfluids, just like unprotected sexual intercourse (Walrath). Then the student break up andperforms the experiment with a different partner. The more information you teach about thediseases caused by unprotected sex, the more teens will think before having unprotected sex. Diseases can change the minds of young teenagers but there are many different types ofprotection they should be aware of so there is an option if sexual intercourse happens. I know myhigh school health teacher told me about condoms and birth control but most teens are scared toask about these contraceptives. Young teens think that if they ask about condoms or birthcontrol, questions about having sex will come to the adults mind. At Planned Parenthood freecondoms are given to sexually active teens and even birth control methods. Places like these aregood for these teens because confidentiality, is a must with sexual active teenagers. (YM,Love). Your school can help by making the students aware of these places. Even if yourprogram shows a teem how to use a condom, telling them places to get them will lead to a higheruse of protection. A YM survey states that 41% of teens dont know why they didnt useprotection (YM Love). Students need to know their options so they can use protection.
Teach these students that if they do decide to have sex, there are ways to preventdiseases and pregnancy but where is the respect in a sexual situation. Respect is a factor thatteenagers really dont understand. Any girl can say no to sex and a guy should respect thatdecision. He tries to change the girls mind and usually, in the end, the girl gives in to hispersuasion. At Broadmoor Junior High, Candace Walrath teaches her students that respectcomes before sex, and I agree with her (Walrath). If teens give respect, they usually get it back. Also personal hygiene gives a teenager respect for themselves.What we havent done in schoolis talk about the serious reasons for taking care of yourself: This is your body and its wonderful;cherish it and make good decisions for yourself , (Glazer 358). Respect is the most importantpart in a relationship and teachers should promote respect for others and themselves. Respectmakes you feel good inside and helps build maturity. If students are taught aspects of respect,they will start showing respect. Respect is received when someone understands your decision but when abstinence is theanswer, sex education is successful. Everyone knows abstinence is the best answer to sexualintercourse. One girl stated in a YM survey that shes afraid to get pregnant, (YM 51). Whenabstinence is presented as a key to safer sex, many ignore the issue. Abstinence needs to betaught after all the effects of unprotected sex. More teens will think about waiting to have sexafter seeing what can happen to them physically and mentally. Abstinence is the only certainway, to avoid pregnancy and diseases (Shin 28). Even if a teenager has had sex, you can stillconvince them to practice abstinence. Just because a teen has already had sex doesnt meanabstinence isnt a solution. It is! Every program has abstinence, so should yours.
Sex education should be taught in every District#150 middle school to make the childrenaware and help them with future decisions. You can help decrease the pregnancy rate, teach kidsto be aware of diseases, present them with types of protection, show them respect is a must, andalways promote abstinence.Sex education programs are becoming a part of more middle schoolcurricula and if you start a program many will follow. Students who take a sex education courseare less likely to cause a pregnancy, (Donovan 28). The idea of a sex education program in yourmiddle schools is a good decision. Works CitedDonovan, Patricia. Sex Education in American Schools: Progress and Obstacles. USAToday. July 1992, 28-30.
Glazer, Sarah. Sex Education: How Well Does it Work? Editorial Research Reports.
June 23, 1989, Vol. 1, No. 23, 338-339.
Haffner, Debra. Sexuality Education in Public Schools. Education Digest. Sept. 1992,53-57.
Shin, Annys. Abstinence-only Programs Get the Big Bucks. Ms. News. Jan. 1998, 28.
Wattleton, Faye. American Teens: Sexually Active, Sexually Illiterate. EducationDigest. March 1998, 51-53.
Walrath, Candace. Interview February 3, 2000. Broadmoor Junior High, 7th Grade.
YM Magazine. The Love and Sex Report. February 2000, 50-53.Words/ Pages : 1,228 / 24
