Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Prevention Through Education- Sexual Education
Prevention Through Education
10072294
Coms 369-03
Words: 1,395
Written with the intention to be
presented to parents of young to adolescent age children.
Adolescence is a difficult time
for both new teens and their parents. Often confused about some logistics
themselves, many parents find themselves at a loss when it comes time to talk
to their precious baby boys and girls about the birds and the bees. At this
stage of development kids stop being kids and begin to identify more with their
friends than their parents, making connecting, and especially awkward
conversation, that much more difficult. Sexual education, when provided at an
adolescent stage in life and when made available to everyone, has a much higher
probability of preventing teens from going through the life altering results of
teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and the like. Sex Ed can act preemptively
when talking to teens; naturally curious beings interested in what is going on
with their bodies and minds, and those of their peers. The core of sexual
education is to prepare these kids for the natural, essentially inevitable
presence of sex in their lives; what it is, what it isn’t, how to say yes, how
to say no. Adolescents act on impulse, often unaware of the consequences.
Sexual education provided in all public schools will ensure that kids are in the
very least knowledgeable about sex, its importance and its consequences: physical
and emotional.
The most effective way to prevent
a negative outcome is to be educated about ways to prevent it. Sex ed does just
that, it provides information for adolescents, enlightening them as to what sex really is, that is, the physical
dynamics of it. What these classes also do is prepare the curious beings for
the emotional aspects of sex. This is where most parents struggle when
explaining coitus to their children; many don’t want to expose their ‘babies’
to the mature and confusing world of human sexuality, and most really just
don’t know how to go about doing it. What sexual education provides is a forum
for kids to learn about the biology and psychology of the matter in school,
taught by a teacher, in a fashion they are accustomed to. As a result of this formal
education, it is ensured that everyone is given the correct information,
circumventing the subjectivity provided by many awkward or concerned parents. Complementary
to the foundational information surrounding the physical aspects of sex is the education
of its consequences, often an afterthought for those going through the drastic
changes of puberty. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are, in most cases,
foreign and unheard of up until this stage in many people’s lives, as are their
life altering and sometimes life threatening results. The dynamics of
pregnancy, another result of sex, are also explained. Again, for many of these
young people, babies came from storks or a variety of fictional characters up
until this point in time. Essentially, and more and more frequently, sexual
education is the leading source of information regarding sex for most new
teens.
It is becoming less and less taboo
to openly talk about sex as the decades roll on. Contrasting the norms of
earlier years, sex is now not restricted just to the bedroom on the honeymoon.
In reaction, it seems, to the increasing amount of teen pregnancies and
shocking numbers of contracted STDs, education regarding sex and its
consequences as well as how to prevent them is becoming more readily available.
TV shows such as 16 and Pregnant and
the spinoff Teen Mom follow pregnant
teens throughout their pregnancies and into the weeks and months following, and
show the not so glamorous side of having a baby at such a young and unprepared
age. It is evident that following the inauguration of these shows, the presence
of a teen pregnancy epidemic has come into the spot light and so has
conversations about the results of sex at an age where teens are unprepared to
deal with the consequences. A byproduct of these shows, and those similar to
them, is the idea that halting the teen pregnancy epidemic is possible. Through
education, a teen mom can prevent her child from having to endure a situation
similar to that she went through. For many, the threat of pregnancy alone is
scary enough to prevent them from having sex, but for those who aren’t entirely
scared off, as it also is for those who choose to wait, information regarding
preventative measures is a necessity. What sex ed provides for teens is
information about the existence and proper use of contraceptives. As described
in Teen Mom and pop culture
equivalents, the use of these things is useless if done improperly. Awkward as
it may be, in class instruction regarding condoms and various birth control
options is essential for those who plan to have sex and avoid pregnancy. The
avoidance of STDs also falls on the use of contraceptives. Many kids by the
adolescent stage know what condoms are, but their proper usage is lost in
translation. The worldwide AIDS/HIV epidemic is evidence enough that such a
disease is not restricted to a certain geographical area or demographic; any
one of any age in any place can contract an STD and knowledge of their
existence and how to avoid them is essential. Unlike previous decades notion of
‘don’t ask don’t tell’ regarding sex and very prominently contraception, the
sexual education approach is aimed at being proactive, and stopping these
incidences from happening before these you kids are faced with such a harsh reality.
Similarly to earlier decades,
though, is the topic of sexual education being viewed in a negative light. Many
parents maintain a level of concern, worrying that teaching children about the
existence of sex, STDs and contraceptives will be opening a door that can not
be closed, a door leading to sexual exploration. The goal is drastically to the
contrary. The rebellious attitude of many young teens often finds them ignoring
the warnings of authority. The mandatory attendance of classes in school requires
children to be in there desks during the school day, even if their minds are
elsewhere. What sexual education classes within the school day provide is a
mandated attendance to the informational sessions. Even for those students who
refuse to behave or those made uncomfortable by the information being provided,
they are still in an environment where the topic of human sexuality is being
discusses, with correct facts and important information being presented. The
desired result: an education despite their attitude. Sexual Education provided
in public schools is not there to condone sex at an early age nor recommend
abstinence, which is where many parents find their concern. Its sole purpose is
to provide the necessary information for adolescents to be able to understand
what is going on with their bodies, as well make sense of what they are
feeling. It is also provided to supply information regarding the consequences
of sex and alternative preventative measures.
For many young adults, the sudden
sexual urge they experience while going through puberty is as much of a
surprise to them as the hair sprouting out of unmentionable places, and as a
result many are confused and scared. Essentially what sexual education, when
provided in public schools, aims to do is provide accurate information to both
boys and girls in hopes it will prevent them from relying on the often mistaken
advise of their friends and pop culture. The goal remains the prevention of
diseases, pregnancies, and other life altering impacts that making the often
uninformed decision to have sex at an early age often result in. Sex ed classes
provides a safe environment, away from the often judgmental and uninformed gaze
of a parent, to ask questions and receive information and support. Most parents
aim to give their children a stable, healthy, and long childhood without grown
up worry and responsibility. The role of sexual education is to aid in this
effort, not contradict it. We all want the kids of today and tomorrow to have
the privilege of an untroubled childhood, and it is through prevention of grown
up problems that parents, with the help of sexual education and its teachers,
will be able to provide this for their baby girls and boys.
References
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