Revolutionizing sexual education in America’s schools
By Chris Barone
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
April 8, 2009
There's an epidemic going on in our country. Rates of teen sex, pregnancy, and STDs aren't merely going up; they are skyrocketing. We can point fingers and blame parents, schools, the media, and anyone else we choose – but where does that get us? It does us no good to say what we COULD have done, or what we SHOULD have done. We need to focus on the present, not the past, in order to protect our children.
My views may be radical, but I feel that's precisely what we need: radical change to cure this country-wide outbreak of teen sex, pregnancy, and STD infection. I think, very plainly, if teenagers are not receiving sufficient sex ed, we need to revamp the program. What if we took away the stigma associated with sex ed by restructuring it as a human relationships class?
Starting as early as kindergarten, students could start to learn about relationships. In elementary grades, the focus would be on where it's ok to touch or be touched by friends, family, strangers, teachers, etc. The hope is that we can deter children from putting themselves in such situations while also encouraging those who have been sexually abused to come forward in a safe, caring, and private environment. Older elementary grades could focus on aggression and try to limit specifically male aggression, another epidemic this country has. Our class has already discovered how prevalent and dangerous it is.
In middle school, the human relationships class would focus on friendships and peer pressure. There could be units on peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, dating, and more. In addition to cautioning students against these actions, we can also encourage positive behavior and tell them what to do if they or anyone they know has a problem. Many instances of peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, and sex begin to arise during these years, and we can teach these students how to live 'above the influence.'
High school could be the home of what we currently see as sex ed. Topics could include sex, STDs, teen pregnancy, date rape, abusive relationships, and more. Again, this class would encourage positive behavior while also providing safe places for outreach if a student has a problem with any of the above topics. Will it be a hard class to sit through? Absolutely. But it needs to be done.
This extreme problem requires an extreme solution. It's radical, but it will serve to make sex a less taboo subject. It won't increase the rate of teen sex; teens have already shown us they know how to do it quite well — or, if not well, at least frequently. The current sex ed curriculum leaves them vulnerable and forces them to rely on untrustworthy sources like the Internet for their sexual education. This necessary program would revolutionize the curriculum and, most importantly, arm our students against unsafe sex, drugs, alcohol, STDs, pregnancy, violence, and so much more.
Long Island University, C. W. Post
April 8, 2009
There's an epidemic going on in our country. Rates of teen sex, pregnancy, and STDs aren't merely going up; they are skyrocketing. We can point fingers and blame parents, schools, the media, and anyone else we choose – but where does that get us? It does us no good to say what we COULD have done, or what we SHOULD have done. We need to focus on the present, not the past, in order to protect our children.
My views may be radical, but I feel that's precisely what we need: radical change to cure this country-wide outbreak of teen sex, pregnancy, and STD infection. I think, very plainly, if teenagers are not receiving sufficient sex ed, we need to revamp the program. What if we took away the stigma associated with sex ed by restructuring it as a human relationships class?
Starting as early as kindergarten, students could start to learn about relationships. In elementary grades, the focus would be on where it's ok to touch or be touched by friends, family, strangers, teachers, etc. The hope is that we can deter children from putting themselves in such situations while also encouraging those who have been sexually abused to come forward in a safe, caring, and private environment. Older elementary grades could focus on aggression and try to limit specifically male aggression, another epidemic this country has. Our class has already discovered how prevalent and dangerous it is.
In middle school, the human relationships class would focus on friendships and peer pressure. There could be units on peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, dating, and more. In addition to cautioning students against these actions, we can also encourage positive behavior and tell them what to do if they or anyone they know has a problem. Many instances of peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, and sex begin to arise during these years, and we can teach these students how to live 'above the influence.'
High school could be the home of what we currently see as sex ed. Topics could include sex, STDs, teen pregnancy, date rape, abusive relationships, and more. Again, this class would encourage positive behavior while also providing safe places for outreach if a student has a problem with any of the above topics. Will it be a hard class to sit through? Absolutely. But it needs to be done.
This extreme problem requires an extreme solution. It's radical, but it will serve to make sex a less taboo subject. It won't increase the rate of teen sex; teens have already shown us they know how to do it quite well — or, if not well, at least frequently. The current sex ed curriculum leaves them vulnerable and forces them to rely on untrustworthy sources like the Internet for their sexual education. This necessary program would revolutionize the curriculum and, most importantly, arm our students against unsafe sex, drugs, alcohol, STDs, pregnancy, violence, and so much more.
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