Should we teach abstinence or safe sex in school?

Question

The school I work at teaches abstinence under the state law. Very little is focused on safe sex, except what the teachers include on their own will.

Your opinions?

Answer 1

It's being taught as early as Grade 7 in Ontario Canada. I understand the high schools are not advserse to distributing condoms and birth control.
It's scary and I'd not want to go back to my teens in this age.
Despite all the teachings and preachings - there are still teenage pregnancies.
Is there really a "right" answer for these kids?

Answer 2

I definately think they should teach safe sex rather than just abstinence. Maybe the school could create a letter to send home and that would help the parents talk with their kids about sex. Right now, some schools are handing out birth control to 11 year olds. That is ridiculous. They could hand out condoms if anything. I doubt if the kids that young know that birth control pills can cause infertility later in life. They don't teach that either. Some kids really do take the pill as a ticket to just do whatever.

Answer 3

I think that both should be taught. No matter how much you teach about abstinence there are still going to be many people that are having sex. A lot of teenagers seem like they know everything but the rate of teen pregnancy and STD's is still incredibly high! Instead of relying on everyone taking abstinence into consideration, its everyones choice on when they decide to have sex and thats not going to change so the more info we can give people in all situations the better off I think we will be!

Answer 4

I heard about that study. The program was different from most others in that it recommended that the children remain abstinent until they were older and able to deal with the consequences of sex; those that ask children to remain celibate until marriage don't work nearly as well. Personally, I don't like the idea of schools indoctrinating children into any particular view of sex. It's such a personal matter. I'd rather them be taught basic facts, including facts about anatomy, fertility, pregnancy, and STDs. Knowing how to prevent STDs through proper condom use is important. This should all be done on an age-appropriate level, of course. Perhaps an eleven year old could be taught basic anatomy, the next year s/he could be taught about fertility, etc. The problem with teaching an eleven year old to use a condom is that it implies that s/he will need this skill within the next year, at least. I certainly would not want this, but nor would I want a teacher to share with him exactly when she thought he should start having sex, whether that's at age eighteen or on his wedding night. My view is that sex is appropriate for those in their very late teens, but it's not something on which I would like schools to take a stance.

Answer 5

Children should be taught that abstinence is the best and safest route and they should be taught why that is the case. However, since pure abstinence education is really not working, there should be included lessons on using protection if one cannot be abstinent. And I think each child in a certain grade, maybe 9th grade, should have one of those pretend "babies" they have to care for over the period of a week. One that needs feeding and care all day and night so the child sees the reality of pregnancy. The best method is complete education so all bases are covered.

Answer 6

I think that the schools should teach both abstinence and safe sex because there will always be someone trying to push the boundaries with abstinence. There are too many young girls at 15 and 16 running around pregnant and I believe it's because they were not taught and it was not pounded into their head enough.

Answer 7

Both should be taught. It's really up to the kids on whether or not they are going to have sex, but they should be able to make informed decisions. They need to know the pros/cons of both. There are too many kids choosing to have sex without fully realizing the imapct their decision can make on their lives.
I know someone who works at a doctors office and they said they get alot of patients/calls from girls thinking they couldn't get STDs from birth control. Or teen couples thinking they couldn't get pregnant after their 1st time,in certian positions, or using the pull out method. Alot of it comes from the lack of knowledge. It's not only up to the school systems, but the parents as well in educating kids about sex. It doesn't do anyone any good by pretending that sex doesn't happen among kids now.

Answer 8

Ideally i say abstinence, but realistically I say safe sex. It would be nice to think that if we give the kids the reasons to wait, they will but we all know better. So we have to teach them the facts and how to be safe.

Answer 9

BOTH, actually, but with emphasis on what each really means. The teachers must be empowered to teach all of it effectively.

Abstinence is ideal because one should not be having sex outside of a committed relationship... and sex brings with it a lot to worry about. The earlier it starts, the more likely it becomes a major detour for one's life.

Boys need to understand that they can be held responsible for child support, and if they don't have the ability to pay child support, their parents can be made to. DNA testing only involves the use of cotton swabs in the cheeks and the cost of it has come way down.

It is NOT normal for teenagers to turn up pregnant or to have abortions. It is not normal to have multiple children before age 20, or before one is able to support their children. Having children too early in life is a major DOWNTURN in life because it forces young people to grow up and be saddled with responsibilities they are not mature enough to handle. It is miserable.

Abortion is NOT birth control. The CDC says that over 80% of all abortions are performed for women who already have one or more children... in other words, they are already at critical mass and can't support any more kids. The procedure itself can only be performed "X-number of times" before it renders the woman sterile... perhaps as few as 4 or as many as 8... because of the scarring inside the uterus. It also leaves emotional scars as well.

Failing that, "safe sex" really MUST be taught so there will be fewer life-changing repercussions to deal with.

Answer 10

It's better to teach safe sex, because nearly half of teens have sex, even when claiming abstinence