Society expects sexual empowerment to be an individual responsibility; therefore, sexual education in schools does not aim to empower students about sexuality but rather to educate them on the basics and expect them to learn other information on their own. The way in which sexual empowerment is portrayed today makes it appear “as an individualistic notion of self-improvement and personal responsibility” (Grose, Grabe, & Kohfeldt, 2014), making it about the individual rather than an institutional problem. Comprehensive sexual education that empowers students should be implemented into every school in the nation because adolescents in the United States account for nearly half of the 18.9 million cases of sexually transmitted infections each year
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“Comprehensive sexual education should include, reproductive anatomy, physical and social growth changes through puberty, responsible relationships, sexual decision making, pregnancy and child birth, parenting responsibilities, abstinence, sexually transmitted diseases, contraception, sexual abuse and assault, homosexuality (and other non-traditional sexualities), and abortion” according to Lindley, Reininger, Vincent, Richter, Saunders, and Shi (1998). By involving all of these in comprehensive sexual education and spending time on covering the subjects completely, students would gain more knowledge that would in turn empower them. One of the topics that are often left out of abstinence only programs is non-traditional sexualities and non-traditional …show more content…
One of the greatest challenges is determining the subjects that should be taught within comprehensive sexual education. People argue weather or not controversial topics such as abortion, nontraditional sex/sexualities, etc., should be taught. Another challenge is determining what age comprehensive sex education should be taught. Proponents of sexual education believe that “sexuality education should be comprehensive, meaning instruction should begin in kindergarten and taught each subsequent year through the 12th grade” (Lindley et al., 1998). Although this may be ideal, the problem in determining what is or is not appropriate to be taught and what age is it appropriate to be taught is the real challenge. This is a major challenge because sexuality education is controversial and many have different opinions. If comprehensive sex education were to start as early as kindergarten, children would become accustomed to the vocabulary around sex. For example, a comprehensive sexual education among kindergarteners would involve safety and using correct terminology when addressing “parts.” According to Lindley et al. (1998), the “arguments are not about whether it should be taught but what the content of sexuality courses should include, the grade/age of the students, which certain topics are taught, the amount of time students should receive sexuality education, and the
“Comprehensive sexual education should include, reproductive anatomy, physical and social growth changes through puberty, responsible relationships, sexual decision making, pregnancy and child birth, parenting responsibilities, abstinence, sexually transmitted diseases, contraception, sexual abuse and assault, homosexuality (and other non-traditional sexualities), and abortion” according to Lindley, Reininger, Vincent, Richter, Saunders, and Shi (1998). By involving all of these in comprehensive sexual education and spending time on covering the subjects completely, students would gain more knowledge that would in turn empower them. One of the topics that are often left out of abstinence only programs is non-traditional sexualities and non-traditional …show more content…
One of the greatest challenges is determining the subjects that should be taught within comprehensive sexual education. People argue weather or not controversial topics such as abortion, nontraditional sex/sexualities, etc., should be taught. Another challenge is determining what age comprehensive sex education should be taught. Proponents of sexual education believe that “sexuality education should be comprehensive, meaning instruction should begin in kindergarten and taught each subsequent year through the 12th grade” (Lindley et al., 1998). Although this may be ideal, the problem in determining what is or is not appropriate to be taught and what age is it appropriate to be taught is the real challenge. This is a major challenge because sexuality education is controversial and many have different opinions. If comprehensive sex education were to start as early as kindergarten, children would become accustomed to the vocabulary around sex. For example, a comprehensive sexual education among kindergarteners would involve safety and using correct terminology when addressing “parts.” According to Lindley et al. (1998), the “arguments are not about whether it should be taught but what the content of sexuality courses should include, the grade/age of the students, which certain topics are taught, the amount of time students should receive sexuality education, and the