News flash: Right now, somewhere in the world, people are having sex. There are too many young people having unprotected sex and it's not necessarily wrong for them to have sex, they just don't know the consequences that can happen to them. The education system is failing young people because in most schools there is no sex education or even a health course and if there is then the teacher is not a real sex educator or the methods that the teacher is forced to teach they are outdated and inaccurate. Sex education is extremely important to have in the school system because in today's society there are many young people who are open to having unprotected sex and are not educated about the consequences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayFor decades a debate has been brought into the classroom about the pros and cons of sex education that people on the opposite side have always tried to denote sex education by saying that the course is not beneficial and that it will make teenagers want to do more sex. According to the article 'History of Sex Education,' 'opponents argued that schools should not be in the business of teaching young people about an intensely personal matter that belongs exclusively to families and churches. They also argued that sex education encouraged sexual activity too early, that schools encouraged parental rights and authority, and that these lessons were nothing more than "obscene education." People sincerely thought this until the 1980s, when the spark of teen pregnancy increased dramatically and more and more Americans began to leave these topics in the past. At this point it was better to bring sex education into schools, especially with the AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s. With the (AIDS) epidemic came even more calls for sex education... by 1989, 23 states had passed mandates for sexuality education, another 23 states strongly encouraged sex education, 33 mandated sex education. on AIDS and 17 others said they recommended it. In June 1989, SIECUS released "Sex Education 2000: A Call to Action," which outlined 13 goals that would ensure that all children received comprehensive sex education by the year 2000. At this point in history many people were open to the idea of comprehensive sex education, but there were still many people who were still against it. "The Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) supported the development of curricula like Teen Aid and Sex Respect, two of what would become many abstinence-only-until-marriage programs designed to control young people's sexual behavior by instilling fear and shame". Abstinence only until marriage programs won't work because telling young people not to have sex won't make them stop having sex, it's like telling a murderer not to kill. Causing fear in young people about sex is not the way to go because everyone has sex at some point in their lives and making them fear and feel ashamed about something so common will only make things worse for them in the future. Instead of being informed about sex and practicing safe sex, there are young people who are afraid of something so normal. Unplanned pregnancies are preventable, the key is how to prevent them, especially with teenagers. Heather Boonstra wrote an article titled “Legislators Create Alternative Vision of Sex Education to Counter Abstinence Drive.” where he states, “About two-thirds (63%) of U.S. adolescents have hadsexual intercourse by their 18th birthday...despite significant reductions in the rate of teen pregnancy in the United States over the last decade or so, nearly 900,000 teens become pregnant each year – and nearly four in five (78%) of these pregnancies are not intentional." There are 900,000 unwanted pregnancies, 900,000 teenage girls get pregnant. There are 900,000 girls' lives that have been changed forever due to their lack of education. “Recent evidence suggests that these programs and strategies – including virginity pledges, which have been shown to help some teenage girls postpone intercourse for up to 18 months – may actually increase young people's risk of pregnancy and disease by discouraging use of contraceptives, including condoms, when they become sexually active.” Even if abstinence-only-until-marriage programs have put girls off having sex for a while, it doesn't mean they will stop them from doing it incorrectly in the future Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are everywhere and tend to spread like wildfire. Contracting a sexually transmitted disease is easy, preventing it is not adolescents and sexually transmitted diseases" which states that the following adolescents between the ages of 15 and 24 account for almost half of the 20 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases each year. Today, two in five sexually active teenage girls have had a sexually transmitted disease that can cause infertility and even death. Additionally, although HIV rates are very low among adolescents, males account for more than 80% of HIV diagnoses among boys ages 13 to 19. STDs often have no obvious signs or physical symptoms, so regular screenings are key. The most effective way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from sexual activity; if teenagers have sex, they should use condoms correctly and during every sexual act. Teens are at greater risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease due to their lack of education on how to prevent one. With comprehensive sex education courses these teens will be less likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases, will be able to spot symptoms more easily, and will be able to understand the importance of getting tested for themselves and their partners. Many people believe that a comprehensive sex education course will make young people have more sex, but research says otherwise. A researcher with the National Campaign to End Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, Douglas Kirby, analyzed the study of prevention programs and found that two-thirds of the 48 comprehensive sex education programs had positive effects. These programs analyzed by Douglas Kirby have had positive effects, in the sense that they help young people more than the abstinence-only-until-marriage programs they are following now. 40% delayed sexual initiation, reduced the number of sexual partners, or increased the use of condoms or contraceptives. 30% reduced the frequency of sexual intercourse, including returning to abstinence. 60% reduced unprotected sexual intercourse." This research debunks many of the past arguments made by skeptics in the 1980s and today. Sex education is beneficial for young people. When youth advocates did an in-depth analysis of these existing programs to create a list of programs that have proven effective, they found 26 effective programs. Many young people are.
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