Sex education is a very touchy subject. However, it seems to be the hot topic in the news lately. Not only is sex education controversial in our education system but also in our political system. In addition, it is not limited to the United States. Other countries, such as India, are struggling with battles over if, how, and when to teach sex education. Therefore, I feel that I would be doing Families.com viewers a disgrace by not addressing the issues at hand.
In a previous article, I suggested that sex education needs a change. Instead of teaching children how to have safe sex, we should be teaching them not to have sex at all. In that particular article, I pointed out the flaws of the current sex education programs in our middle schools and high schools.
Recently, I came across data supporting abstinence programs. In this article, I would like to share my findings with you.
There have been over thirty studies that show positive results of abstinence programs. One such study revealed that about 70 percent of students who participated in pledges of abstinence remained faithful to their pledge to at least the age of 18. Only 37 percent of the students who did not make the pledge remained pure. The students who made the pledges were about twelve times more likely to remain faithful until their wedding night compared to the students who did not make the pledge.
Another study found that ninety-three percent of students wanted to hear a strong, positive backing of abstinence. When an abstinence program was introduced to low-income eighth grade students in Atlanta, the results were significant. The percent of active students dropped 60 percent for boys and 95 percent for girls.
So should sex education or abstinence programs be taught in our public schools? Honestly, my answer is probably not. However I feel that it should be taught, preferably at home. Abstinence and sex education is another one of the parent roles that education has taken on. Students need to hear it and many parents are reluctant to address the issue. Therefore, it is left to teachers. Because it is a parent responsibility taken on by education, I think that parents should always approve student participation in programs such as these. This way parents can make the decision to teach their children the subject at home.
Crib Notes for Middle School Students