benefits of progressive sex education
Sex Education in public schools has been a controversial topic for decades. Since the 1990s, when teen pregnancy rates were at their peak, the federal government encouraged states to incorporate sexual education into their curriculums with a $250 million dollar funding incentive. However, this federal funding encouraged the teaching of abstinence until marriage as the basis of sexual education, with no mention of other sex related topics such as methods of contraception, STD, HIV/AIDS, or LGBT sexuality (2). Though teen pregnancy rates have dropped since then, significant declines have not been seen among states that teach sexual education with an abstinence-only curriculum, causing the American population to rethink just how we should approach such a sensitive and imperative topic in schools.
Statistics on Abstinence-only Curriculums vs. Comprehensive Curriculums
Statistics on Abstinence-only Curriculums vs. Comprehensive Curriculums
Abstinence-only:
|
Comprehensive Sexual Education:
|
Sources
Staff, LiveScience. "Teen Pregnancy Rates By State." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 25 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. Leber, Rebecca. "States With The Highest Teen Pregnancy Rates Lack Adequate Sex Ed Requirements." ThinkProgress RSS. N.p., 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. Donovan, Patricia. "School-Based Sexuality Education: The Issues and Challenges."School-Based Sexuality Education: The Issues and Challenges. Guttmacher Institute, n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. McKeon, Brigid. "Effective Sex Education." Effective Sex Education. Advocates for Youth, 2006. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. |