[Mini Task #4] Should sex ed be taught in schools?

Should sex ed be taught in schools? Why or why not?

You can get three points for this task.. it depends on how much thought you put into your reply.




~ James

 

Good Lord, this task sucks.

Anybody remember in the previous Big Brothers when the tasks were semi-interesting and/or entertaining?

AYBABTU

 

I swear this task was brought up for Seldon. He loves semi-serious discussions for some odd reason. Anyway, here's my shot at it:

It's a proven fact due to national research that our society builds around sex. According to that research, popular entertainment is responsible for setting off the teen sexual hormones. That is naturally too dangerous to let teens go off having sex with little to no education on it. Because there is little education on this issue in schools, most teens turn out pretty immature when it comes to sex and if we don't get Sex Ed back in schools, it's going to come back to bite us in the ass for years to come. My anwer to the question is a definate yes.

 

I don't know who this task was for but I will give it my best shot.

First off, I don't like John Stuart Mills but these are his words,

The following is from On Liberty by John Stuart Mills.

?The object of this essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control, whether the means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties or the moral coercion of public opinion. That principle is that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant.
If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. Were an opinion a personal possession of no value except to the owner, if to be obstructed in the enjoyment of it were simply a private injury, it would make some difference whether the injury was inflicted only on a few persons or on many. But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is that it is robbing the human race, posterity as well as the existing generation--those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth; if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth produced by its collision with error.?

To put some of the ideas in that passage in a simpler way, the government must protect the individual and beneath the government the individual has some rights.


Well anyway that has little to do with this. However the state has to secure that it't citizens are well cared for. The state requires that the citizen wear a safety belt in an automobile. They pass many laws to protect the citizen and promote the general welfare of the state. This concept is no more evident then in the preamble of the American constitution. It has become so trite that I see no need to quote it and will assume you all know what I'm refering to.

It is in the best interest to educate the public as much as possible. Following this basic principle, It becomes necessary to educate the public and by doing so to better promote the general welfare of the citizen. By teaching the children of safe sex, you are bettering the society. Less children will be put up for adoptions, the abortion rate will decrease, many factors will come into play which will increase the common good of the society.

Education is the path to a better society. If they know more, they can live better. To put it as concise and simple as possible, I support the teaching of sex education within public high schools.

-Seldon

 

Good Lord, this task sucks.

1) Why don't you, instead of just saying "this sucks" and walking on, don't you actually get involved? Or PM me with your feelings because I'd be damned happy to hear you out if you have problems with a mini task.

2) It's a mini task worth a few points. Big flipping deal.

3) If you don't like the game and how it's going, then you know where the door is. You joined this game; you have the choice to leave.




~ James

 

I know I'm a hypocrite for saying this, but people judge Christians (whether in real life or online) by their actions and their words, Rhett. A pessimistic attitude (even if it's a sarcastic one) isn't furthering the enjoyment of the game for anyone.

 

Geez seldon is he supposed to give the points to you or mills?

Anyways my own thoughts will be posted as an uncited collection of lines from intelligent posts in the senate when I'm not just off work.

 

You're welcome to question my Christianity if you'd like, Rev, but the point stands that this is a boring task that the rest of the JC has little interest in paying any attention to at all. I'm not sure how declaring my opinion on the matter casts a poor light on my Christianity, but I'll be sure to be more mindful and try not to get bored with mundane, uninteresting tripe in the future.

AYBABTU

 

Well, you're obviously not taking this anywhere interesting whining about how it sucks. If you want this to change, bring up a discussion about something that would "entertain" you. Otherwise, as RMC has said, you know where the door is.

 

I personally feel it should be taught in schools. Simply because if it wasn't teens with no knowledge of the dangers of having unprotected sex and everything would be doing it and getting random sickness and dying from them. And then their parents would want to know why, and it would be well they didn't know the dangers of unprotected sex.

Another reason, it has helped keep teen pregnancy down because more teens use protection. And more and more girls are realizing why its not a good idea to have unprotected sex. Plus if we didn't educate teenagers about sex we would have really stupid adults. Because it would become a well what do we do now. Or guys with no respect for girls whatsoever just doing it to do it.

I mean yeah guys probably only have one thing on their mind half the time. But so do girls believe it or not. And I know for one thing my parents never once stopped to tell me about the birds and bees. I learned it all from school and t.v. Let me tell you I much prefer the things I learned at school about sex then what I've seen on t.v. Because if thats the case I would be even more messed up and unknowing on sex and things.

I really would rather todays youth learn from a trained professional then the Friends crew or Dawsons Creek. Because if thats the case watch out some unspecting teenager could be going through your neighbors window or yours (if your teenager only) for some not good things. Because kids shouldn't be having kids.

Another reason Sex Ed in schools is a good thing is it makes teenagers feel more like adults. Because your health teacher doesn't treat you like a baby about the subject. They lay out the hard cold truth about everything. Helping alot of teenagers realize that hey if you realize your not adult enough now for this maybe in the future you will be. And if you realize now that you aren't adult enough to raise a kid then maybe you shouldn't be having sex. Giving them the facts so they can make good choices and not wrong ones.

~PK~

 

To make a long story short, sex ed should be taught in school, and while I'm 15 years removed from those akward, "special" health classes, if it's still similarly taught, it needs a complete overhaul to make it more informative and more relative. I mean, here's how I was "formally" taught about sex....first, my mom sits me & my brother down with a 1960's family health book, shows us some abstract vivisection of the female anatomy and in about 2 minutes explains something, I don't know because I was in the middle of playing GI Joe or something and couldn't have cared less.

Jump ahead to 6th grade and some 1/2 long guest speaker who talked about sex, but I don't recall anything about that other than the boys were in one room and the girls were in another and everyone was giggling the whole time at the "sex" word. Skip a few more years to another guest speaker, this time in my shop class of all places, who talked a bit and showed a film. Film did the same thing my mom tried to explain, except it was animated and then all the sudden we see a women give birth, and even that was the faster birth known to man, as the doctor had a catcher mit the baby came out so fast. All I remember from that class, besides the film was some kid asking about hearing his mom scream and wondered if it hurt, and then the lady trying to explain she was really enjoying it. That was that. I think today they might give you a condom at the end.

Somehow I turned out alright, but a lot of other kids I knew didn't...whether they got pregnant or the got sick or whatever. Schools need to start teaching this and related material earlier and consistently throughout a kid's school years, and while they're at it, they need to teach teen moms & dads how to take care of their kids, their money, and their time properly so they don't flunk out and otherwise over complicate their lives further.

 

Now listen up, because I'm gonna try to relate sex ed with Socrates here.

Said Greek philosopher categorized people into four categories- those led by ignorance, opinion, intellect, and understanding. Considering that no elementary, middle, or high school student could possibly reach the level of absolute understanding, especially on the matter of sex, we have to categorize our theoretical students into three groups: the 'ignorant', the 'opinionated', and the 'intellectual'. We must consider the affect that sex ed has on each of these groups.

We'll start with the 'intellectual'. These are the kind of kids who see sex as a fairly distant prospect, and are certainly not dominated by their hormones nearly enough to engage in frivolous sexual activity. Self-control isn't an issue, because their minds are most often focused on other things (usually in the intellectual realm). These are generally not the kind of kids towards which sex ed is geared, because their chances of engaging in unprotected sex and having unwanted pregnancies are far lower (plus, they happen to be the smallest of the three groups). However, there is always a possibility, and it is in this case that perhaps the 'intellectual' benefits most, by absorbing and retaining most of the information taught in a sex ed class, whether it need be applied in the near future or not. If they're anything like me, though, they quickly get bored with memorizing the names of anatomical features and are far more interested in memorizing the symptoms of trichomoniasis vaginitis to amuse themselves.

Next, we have the 'opinionated'. These are the kind of kids who are in fact heavily influenced by their sexual hormones, but not to the extent that they're utterly rash and drooling for sexual activity. Most of these kids probably have sex after high school. Thusly, this is a group to which sex ed is geared particularly in regards to preparation for safe sex and knowledge of STIs and STDs. It's not clear to me how much, on average, this group absorbs and retains in sex ed class, but it seems to me that it's enough to make them at least slightly more prudent when dealing with sex. This is the conduit through which useful information taught in sex ed class flows into common knowledge, which is a very important function of the subject. Granted, it depends largely on the nature of the course itself and probably on the region in which it is instructed, but for the most part it is in this category where we see the best results with students (i.e. lower STD rates, lower teen pregnancy rates), as many of the 'opinionated' group can't seem to help but give into their hormones and have sex anyway.

Finally, we have the 'ignorant'. Frankly, these are the kind of students who are going to have sex as teenagers, probably several times or frequently, no matter what they're told in school. I'd assume that most, by this age, would logically understand that pregnancy is a direct consequence of having sex, and therefore understand that abstinence is the best way to prevent said consequence. However, they lack self-control, and are going to have sex because it feels good. Still- there is a chance for them to be educated in some regards, whether through sex ed or through common knowledge produced therein, providing them with a better grasp on safe sex, in particular.

Therefore, I can see no reason for sex ed not to be taught in schools. Whether you're having sex in high school, college, or when you're married, education is always beneficial. I do believe that abstinence must be taught as the most effective way to prevent the unwanted consequences of sex and stressed as something that is to be valued by our society. I'm not sure what effect that will have, if any, on sex-crazy teenagers, but it's highly important to teach on principle. Of course, it must not be taught as the only method of birth control, for the very reason why the 'opinionated' and the 'ignorant' are still 'in the cave', so to speak.

My only major gripe with sex ed / health class is the fact that i

 

Yes

 

Oh, wait. You wanted more than that?

Sex ed should be taught in schools, and should be more than just abstinence based. However, parents should have the opportunity to have their kids opt-out; because in the end I think it should be the parent's call as to whether or not and how their underage children are educated.

In addition to just having "sex ed" I think there should be a part devoted to the "Are you ready?" question. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure that a lot of people are going to roll their eyes about that because sex shouldn't ever happen outside of marriage and blah blah blah, but you have to understand that not everyone feels that way. There's a really inclusive "Sex Readiness List" on Scarleteen that I think is a really good place to start from. And from reading this list, I think it's the kind of thing that will really make people THINK about what they're considering doing, and I think that in some cases, from reading that, people who thought they were ready, will discover that maybe they aren't.

Abstinence-only education has been found to be less effective than all-inclusive education in preventing STDs and teen pregnancy. Sure it might lessen the number of people that are having sex, but for the people who were going to have sex anyways, they oftentimes aren't prepared in terms of protection.

I've done a few presentations on this topic, so I'll even give you a rough draft for what I think would be a good format for sex education.

Human anatomy and puberty - talk about the differences between boys and girls, and what happens with each sex in puberty
Abstinence - a non-religious approach to why it's good to wait
Are you ready? - discussion as to what sex can and can't do for you, and how to know if it is a choice you should be making or not (emphasis on having someone older you can talk to about it)
Safer sex - discussion about safe sex, contraceptive options, and myths. Things that I think should be particularly emphasized are what can and can't give you STDs (i.e. - oral sex can, you can still get them if you're on the pill), what can and can't get you pregnant (i.e. - oral sex can't get you pregnant, but you can get pregnant if you're on your period or the first time you have sex), and proper use of contraceptives (i.e. - how to use a condom correctly, what you can expect if you're on BC, etc)

Keep in mind that for each section, parents can chose to have their children opt-out. So if a parent just wants their child to go to the first two sections, that's fine. Also, age is important. I don't think it's that important for most 4th graders to be getting in-depth talks about contraceptives - at that age, the puberty talk is probably enough. But once they reach middle school, it should be considered, and definitely by high school.

 

I think it should be taught in schools because many parents aren't teaching it, however, I believe that it shouldn't be taught with the approach that "all kids are gonna do it", because that leads to the teachers setting expectations that many times the kids will meet.

I also think that one of the aspects that are missing is the emotional side of sex when they teach it in schools--something I think that needs to be included. That's pretty much it.

 

Sex Ed should be tought in schools for the simple reason that they have the wearwithal to scare the living ***** out of teenagers.

Fear won't keep them in line, but perhaps it'll make them more cautious.

Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum

 

The only sex ed I wa staught in school was textbook anatomy. That seems reasonable to me. We didn't learn about oral sex or how to put on a condom or how to masturbate. And yet somehow I haven't gotten anyone pregnant, and I haven't been afflicted with any STDs, and I haven't tried to put in my penis somewhere that it doesn't belong.

Intercourse, masturbation, etc should be kept at home. Anatomy, the process of conception, gestation, and childbirth should be taught in schools.

There is, however, an argument to be made that more emphasis should be placed on birth control. A quick scan of the JCC will reveal that there are many people in this world who should take any and all precautions necessary to never, ever, pass their DNA on to anyone else.

AYBABTU

 

We didn't learn about oral sex or how to put on a condom or how to masturbate. And yet somehow I haven't gotten anyone pregnant, and I haven't been afflicted with any STDs, and I haven't tried to put in my penis somewhere that it doesn't belong.


You are, however, equipped with common sense which much of America's youth today seems to be lacking.

 

Then I guess we should start teaching common sense in schools.

AYBABTU

 

common sense like how to use birth control?

 

How to use birth control is inherrent to common sense and does not need to be taught separate of common sense.

AYBABTU