It seems as though sex education has gained a lot of media attention lately. There is much controversy over whether sex education courses should be offered to students. In many cases, parents must give parental consent before their children can take part in such lectures or courses.
Recently The United States House Appropriations Committee examined the teaching of sex education. It was determined that much more effort is placed into teaching children about contraception and “safe” methods than actual abstinence. The committee voted to increase funding in order to provide more abstinence based education.
In 2005, nine of the most used sex education curriculums were evaluated. The curriculum that gave the most balance between abstinence and contraceptive methods out taught contraceptive methods verses abstinence by seven times.
Some programs evaluated such as “Making Proud Choices” mention condoms 650 times and abstinence only 18 times. The program “Be Proud! Be Responsible!” was found to have a medical error.
The goals of most of the curriculums was to teach the youth to lessen the risk of disease rather than to avoid sex at all. None of the programs taught the children how to lessen the risk of emotional stress that accompanies premature intimate relationships.
It is important for our children to be well educated on serious issues. We want them to know the facts rather than the “street talk”. However, as I stated when we discussed the Crib Notes classes being taught at a middle school level, we want to make sure that the children get the right message.
Many of the courses examined only add dangerous knowledge. Children are learning only enough to feel confident. This is definitely not a goal that I desire. I know that some adolescents will participate in acts such as these regardless of their education about the subject. Therefore “safe” methods should be discussed. However, the main focus of any program such as this should be preventative of the act occurring.