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Are the sex education classes provided in United States public schools teaching the right things? According to the Guttmacher Institute October 1, 2018 update on State Laws and Policies for Sex and HIV Education, in Illinois public schools sex education is not mandatory, but health education including information on HIV is required and it must include medically accurate information on abstinence. When provided in Illinois, sex education must include information on contraception and the negative outcomes of teen sex and how to avoid coercion, must stress abstinence and the importance of sex only within marriage. The state of Illinois does not require information on sexual orientation, healthy decision-making, or family communication. Many of us know someone who acquired an STD or STI or even got pregnant in their teens. When you were in high school do you wish you knew more about gender identity and sexuality?
In order to decide how to move forward with our sex ed program we will hear from these individuals directly affected by our sex ed program through their perspectives.
We will first focus on the medical perspective and what medical impact sex ed classes have on students’ lives: we will then approach the economic balancing the cost of sex ed classes and the cost of students having unprotected sex; the religious and finally the moral perspective.
We will start our discussion by examining the medical advantages and drawbacks of sexual education classes.
Perspective 1: Medical
For most students, sexual education classes are their primary source of information on medical issues associated with having unsafe sex. Doctor, would you please start our discussion on the medical impacts of sexual education classes?
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee Opinion from November 2016 written by Dr. Joanna Stacy, comprehensive sexual education should be medically accurate, evidence-based, and age-appropriate, and should include the benefits of delaying sexual intercourse, while also providing information about normal reproductive development and contraception. Therefore it is critical that a medical personnel who specializes in female reproductive health, pregnancy, and childbirth is available for public consultation in sex ed courses in public schools, especially when addressing the precise medical treatments for STDs and other sex-related diseases.
I think from a medical perspective, it’s important that my students know about the sexual process and what surrounds it. Many of my students will go and become parents themselves, especially the young women in my classes that may go through pregnancy themselves so they should know what will be happening to their bodies.
In addition to knowing about pregnancy, knowing about dangers like STDs and STI’s important for all students to think about going forward. Young men can also learn about things like consent with a partner which is important following the “Me Too” movement. According to an article on the website Neatoday.org, writer James Paterson states that learning about consent in health class is, “the perfect venue for those conversations, and now is the time to make sure sex ed is taught sensitively, thoughtfully, and comprehensively in every school in our country” (Patterson, 2018).
I agree to that sex education classes at least from a medical perspective are essential. As a pregnant teenager, I was unaware of all the medical struggles and consequences that would come my way. My pregnancy became my life. I didn’t realize how sick I’d feel, or how tired, stressed, and lonely I’d be. My parents didn’t find out about my pregnancy until I was 7 months in. I hadn’t seen a doctor until they found out. I had a lot of catching up to do on my health and my baby’s. My delivery was a struggle. Being a teen left me with a disadvantage. My hips were not wide enough to have a vaginal birth. I was left with the only option of having a C-section. If I ever choose to have more children, I can only give birth surgically with a C-section. Had any of my public schools given me proper sex education, my pregnancy and all the medical struggles I went through could have been avoided.
It’s important for my students to be taught sex ed because it can help teach them how to prevent diseases like HIV, prevent STDs, and unintentional pregnancy. According to American public health, association adolescents are more likely to get STIs and are half of the new 20 million diagnoses of STIs every year even though they only represent 25% of the sexually active population. Teaching them sex ed would help lower these numbers by teaching them how to prevent getting these diseases and being safe while having sex.
Well, even if we were to preach abstinence in health classes, it’s immensely likely that there will be students who have sex. According to an article in the journal Teen Pregnancy titled, “Sexual Health Education from the Perspective of School Staff: Implications for Adoption and Implementation of Effective Programs in Middle School,” they state, “By sixth grade, almost one in 10 students is sexually experienced, and this percentage increases to 32% by the ninth grade” (Peskin et al., 2011). It’s been happening for generations and it won’t stop now. Because of this, I think our students have the right to know what they’re getting themselves into before they’re already doing it.
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