In Favor of Sex Education in Schools Essay example -- Education, Sexua

Sex education is a major subject of interest among teenagers mostly during the puberty period. The puberty period is usually characterized by increased sexual desires and maturity of the sexual organs. Sex education is of most importance during this period in order to avoid deadly mistakes. The argument over sex education started in the early 1960’s when the government sponsored a sex education campaign in schools worth $176 million (Lemken 2). This innovation aroused the interest of many prestigious American citizens and the debate on the legalization of sex education became more intense. It is noted that towards late 1960, after the pros and cons of sex education had been analyzed, it was finally legalized in the U.S. An American reporter, Cindy Patton evaluates that â€Å"about 40% of the total high schools in the United States introduced sex education as a free elective for students.†(26). Hence, it is seen that sex education became part of the curriculum of high s chools. Despite the fact that sex education has been frowned at by a lot of parents, it should be encouraged because it teaches teenagers how to live a healthy sexual life; thus reducing the rate of teenage pregnancy, rape and sexually transmitted diseases in the society. The human body is a very complex structure and as such, the understanding of the delicate parts of the body should be fundamental among teenagers. Bailey Kristen, the author of Sex Education, notes that the trend towards sex education is backward. He states that most people feel that sex education gives teenagers wrong information about their bodies. Moreover, they believe that it is the duty of most parents to educate their children on their sexual lives and not outsiders. This assertion is actually v... ...ation(NEA). New York: NEA.org, June 2008. Print. Manfredi, L. "Sexual Urge among teenagers". SeXis Magazine. New York: copyright 2009 SeXis Magazine Corporation, 4 May 2009. Page4. Print. Ogunleye, Kingsley. "Open sex communication/education and HIV/AIDS prevention among Nigerian Adolescents and Youths." Guardian Newspaper. Abuja: Copyright 2003-2009 Guardian Newspaper Limited, 18 March 2005. Page 12. Print. Patton, Cindy. Fatal Advice: How Safe-Sex Education Went Wrong. Durham NC: Duke University Press, 1996. Pages 23-26. Print Ridini, Steven. "Health and Sexuality Education in Schools." Journal of Social Change. Westport, CT, London: Bergin and Garvey, 1998. 31-42. Print. Sprecher, Susan. "Perceptions of Sources of Sex Education and Targets to Sex Communication: Socio-demographic and Cohort Effects." Journal of Sex Research 45 (2008). Pages 32-47. Print.