Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Government Role in Abstinence Education
By the time they graduate from high school, unfortunately, 65% of our students have already engaged in intercourse," stated Lloyd J. Kolbe, director of the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite this realty the government continues to fund ill-fated abstinence only programs. However, Claude Allen Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services a proponent of abstinence only programs concedes "We have not made a clear, concise message to them about the benefits of abstinence." Supporters such as Mr. Allen of such programs conveniently ignore the fact that there has been an inherent break down in our institutions, which are supposed to shield the innocent from growing up too fast. The church is having problems controlling the twisted desires of its own priests, young single mothers, head many families and sex remains a closed topic of discourse in many households. The result is a generation of misguided children that are seeking to emulate what they believe to be appropriate behavior. Sadly, the only advice that our government can give is "don't do it." Either President Bush is as disconnected as the comedians on Saturday Night Live make him seem or he needs a new set of advisors. The proposed abstinence until marriage initiative will prove as successful as efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. Instead of preaching abstinence, President Bush should refocus efforts and funds to tackle the problem more realistically by enacting programs that will teach comprehensive sex education to today's youth.
One must seriously question the morality and ethics of the tactics used by abstinence only programs. According to the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act abstinence education teaches "abstinence from sexual activity outside of the context of marriage as the expected standard for all school -- age children" it further...
In almost all states marriage between individuals of the same sex is illegal. Since homosexuals are forbidden to get married, according to this act, they should not engage in sexual activity. Further, those who choose not to marry at all should abstain from sex for the rest of their lives. Abstinence only education unjustly imposes a set a values and beliefs on others, which not only unethical it is unconstitutional. The Republican National Coalition for Life disagrees, citing that comprehensive sexual education "teaches youngsters how to engage in sexual activity, equipping them with condoms and contraceptives, which do not protect them against STD's." Furthermore, the Republican National Coalition for life concludes that if a youngster develops a disease or becomes pregnant such education "treats them or provides counsel for abortion, after which they go back to the revolving door of sexual promiscuity, disease, eventual sterility or death from cervical cancer." While the rate of teenage pregnancy and number of teenagers contracting sexually transmitted diseases is troubling, there is no evidence to support that abstinence only education will help to remedy the problem. A recent article by the American Medical Association revealed that in the Southern part of the U.S., half of the school districts have abstinence only policies, yet, youth have extremely high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In essence, abstinence education does nothing more than alienates teens whose life plans do not include marriage and those who are not heterosexual. Additionally, such education misinforms youth by conveying the notion that safe sex does not exist. The teaching approach used by abstinence only programs is unethical and discriminatory.
Proponents of abstinence only education naively believe that teaching abstinence will prevent unwanted pregnancies, thereby saving taxpayers millions of dollars. However, the contrary is true, as 35 million dollars of America's hard-earned funds will be allocated for abstinence only education programs that…
Works Cited
Connolly, Cici. Abstinence Moves to the Head of the Class. The Washington Post. 24 Apr. 2002. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on June 29, 2002. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A37464-2002Apr23¬Found=true -- )
Morse, Jodi. Mixed-Reviews for Abstinence Only Programs. Time.com. 10 Aug. 2001. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on June 29, 2002. (http://www.time.com/time/columnist/morse/article/0,9565,170687,00.html)
Shelton, Deborah. Does Sex Ed Focused Abstinence Work? The American Medical Association. 17 Jan. 2000. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on June 28, 2002. (http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_00/hlsa0117.htm)
Vulliamay, Ed. Bush Promotes Virgin Values to Curb Teen Sex. The Observer. 28 Apr. 2002.. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on June 26, 2002. (http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,706482,00.html)
Put another way, abstinence advocates hope that saying "abstinence is the only method which is 100% effective in preventing pregnancy and STIs" will be misinterpreted by the public and politicians to mean the same thing as "abstinence-only education is the only method which is 100% effective in preventing pregnancy and STIs." This is akin to pretending that the fact that never using silverware is the only method which is
Education being the act or process of imparting or acquiring knowledge, development of the art of reasoning and judgment to the environment, and widely the preparation of a person or others intellectually to live peacefully with each other. This process helps in the acquisition of particular knowledge or skills in a particular profession such as engineering, social sciences and doctors. Education being an interactive affair calls for people's interaction. The society
Public schools' incorporation of sexual education and family planning courses have led to a decline in teen-age pregnancies. Sexual education curriculum Background of history of school incorporation Who takes the classes What is taught Perceived effects on teenagers thoughts about sexuality Knowledge of sexually transmitted disease Impact on self-esteem Peer pressure to engage in sexual acts Forms of preventing pregnancy Abstinence Forms of birth control School's role in providing information Family's role in providing information Comparison of number of teenage pregnancies from 20, 10
Charitable Foundations and Discrepancies Between Ideology and Needs There are ten steps that have been defined as critical components of community development: defining the professional's role; researching the community; entering the community; raising consciousness; assessing needs and assets; defining goals; building strategies; strategizing; taking action, and evaluating. While enacting these steps, engagement with the community is just as necessary as the community activist acting as an initiator and a teacher. The
The subject is now part of a national political task force, with the goal of eliminating the problem within one generation (Ferran, 2010). Formally, teen pregnancy is based on a woman who will not reach her 20th birthday by the expected birth of her first child. This definition does not assume marriage, nor if the woman is legally an adult (depending on the country). The idea of marriage and birthing
" (Anon.) Sentiments, such as these, are widespread. Philosophies such as behaviorism assert that the environment compels the nature of a child. Biological perspectives believe that the child may be evolutionarily ingrained to act in a certain manner. My philosophy is that the educator is a necessary component in a child's life and that, as remarkable educators have taught us again and again -- such as Marva Collins who created her own