Sex Education ALHE 4060 Brandie Dinkel

§What is our youth being taught in public secondary schools? §Are teachers using the most effective methods to teach about sex education? §How does our government feel that sex education should be taught? §How does our youth feel that sex education should be taught? §Is our youth getting sex education from other areas other than school? Questions I Wanted Answered

My hypothesis §I feel that sex education should be taught comprehensively. I believe that schools should teach that abstinence is the most effective way to prevent pregnancy, STDs, and HIV, but I also think they should be taught about other alternatives such as: birth control, condoms, and other contraceptives.

My Findings §Schools in the South teach more abstinence-only based education than other areas in the United States §This method is also the most ineffective as compared to comprehensive sex education §The government also only provides funding for abstinence- only sex education §Our youth is more comfortable hearing about sex education from a peer educator rather than a teacher §Our youth is not only educated in schools, but also through the media, peers, and parents

Statistics §90% of teachers believe that students should be taught not only about abstinence, but also about contraception §Out of that 90% of teachers, 25% of those teachers are not allowed to teach their students about contraception §In the South, 29.7% of teachers teach abstinence-only based education. This method is only 10.2% effective §67% of teachers believe that teaching about contraception does not encourage students to have sex §56% of television shows have some form of sexual content. Teens rank the media as 2nd leading form of information about sex.

Conclusion §Teens need accurate and conclusive information in order to make responsible decisions regarding sex §Teens must also be taught well enough to distinguish between accurate and inaccurate information from other sources §Teens are having sex regardless of what they are being taught, but I believe the teens that are receiving comprehensive sex education are better equipped with the knowledge to practice safer and more responsible sex §I believe that children should be taught accurate information in schools, so that they can make better-informed decisions when dealing with sexual issues

The End!!!!!