Within the United States of America there is a large controversial topic in debate that has been around for over one hundred years, sexual education in schools. There are two main sides within this debate where people are either for comprehensive sexual education or for abstinence only sexual education. Each type of curriculum has its own support for why it should be taught; one of these two methods has had terrible results to show for its teachings. Informing teenagers of sex can include abstinence while providing more comprehensive education. The sexual education in the United States should be based upon facts and statistics instead of a “just say no” curriculum.
Abstinence only education has developed as a public school mainstream curriculum …show more content…
According to Doctor Kathrin F. Stanger-Hall and Doctor David W. Hall, abstinence only education contains many flaws in its teachings. This could result in misinformed teenagers participating in high-risk behavior due to misunderstandings about what happens with sex, instead of teaching teenagers about safety precautions.(9). These flaws would help explain the fact that states with the highest levels of abstinence also have the highest teen pregnancy rates. Dr. Stanger-Hall and Dr. Hall discuss how the teenage pregnancy rate was directly related to the degree of abstinence only education the teenagers had received. They also discuss how more intensive abstinence curriculum means teens are more probable to become pregnant instead of abstinent(4). Women 's issues expert Linda Lowen says that “For one, there seems to be an ironic correlation between states with conservative politics around sex education and contraception and high rates of teen pregnancy and birth”(“States with” Para 8). If teaching kids to simply say no was effective, then abstinence only education would be fine, but professionals are saying otherwise. Does ignorance of statistics provide just compensation for keeping information from kids to help protect themselves? Doctor Sharon Lamb says how“A focus on science seems a reasonable response in the face of AOUM[Abstinence Only Until Marriage] curricula that originally taught that students can get HIV/AIDS from swimming in pools and that condoms are ineffective..., CSE[Comprehensive Sexuality Education] advocates took the position that it is unethical to withhold information from students that would benefit their health and well-being...implying that the information itself has no ethical standpoint but simply exists as ‘the facts’” (449). When methods are ineffective or outdated the human race progresses forward. Parents know that kids can
Abstinence only education has developed as a public school mainstream curriculum …show more content…
According to Doctor Kathrin F. Stanger-Hall and Doctor David W. Hall, abstinence only education contains many flaws in its teachings. This could result in misinformed teenagers participating in high-risk behavior due to misunderstandings about what happens with sex, instead of teaching teenagers about safety precautions.(9). These flaws would help explain the fact that states with the highest levels of abstinence also have the highest teen pregnancy rates. Dr. Stanger-Hall and Dr. Hall discuss how the teenage pregnancy rate was directly related to the degree of abstinence only education the teenagers had received. They also discuss how more intensive abstinence curriculum means teens are more probable to become pregnant instead of abstinent(4). Women 's issues expert Linda Lowen says that “For one, there seems to be an ironic correlation between states with conservative politics around sex education and contraception and high rates of teen pregnancy and birth”(“States with” Para 8). If teaching kids to simply say no was effective, then abstinence only education would be fine, but professionals are saying otherwise. Does ignorance of statistics provide just compensation for keeping information from kids to help protect themselves? Doctor Sharon Lamb says how“A focus on science seems a reasonable response in the face of AOUM[Abstinence Only Until Marriage] curricula that originally taught that students can get HIV/AIDS from swimming in pools and that condoms are ineffective..., CSE[Comprehensive Sexuality Education] advocates took the position that it is unethical to withhold information from students that would benefit their health and well-being...implying that the information itself has no ethical standpoint but simply exists as ‘the facts’” (449). When methods are ineffective or outdated the human race progresses forward. Parents know that kids can