Kendall Eaton

Mrs. Fielding

WRTC 103

10-4-17

Sex Education

Albert Einstein states, If you cant explain it simply, you dont understand it well

enough. Parents and schools do not understand how important sex education is to young

people of both genders. In the article, Sex Education Should Be Taught at Home as Well as in

Schools, by Christine Watson, argues that sex education should be taught in schools as well as

at home. Watson gives reasons and examples on the subject of why it is more important to get

taught at home and in school, rather than just from one or the other. Her evidence persuades

the audience to reconsider his or her choices by using pathos, ethos, and logos appeals. This

article makes the readers choose wisely about his or her opinions toward teaching sex

education at

In her article, Sex Education Should be Taught at Home as Well as in School published

by Greenhaven press in 2014, written by Christine Watson argues that sex education should be

taught at home and in school. The author uses ethos by arguing why parents and schools

should talk to the children about sex education. Watson uses the logos appeal by stating factual

evidence that proves that sexual education programs do not increase sexual activity. Hopefully

as the readers look thoroughly through the evidence, they will believe that they have nothing

to be afraid about when it comes to talking to their children about this topic. Lastly, the author

uses the most important type of appeal, logos. She uses this appeal by using strong, emotional,
and comfortable words to the readers that would make them change their mind about talking

to their kids at home or just at school. Therefore, Watson concludes that sexual education

should be taught at home as well as in schools.

The writer using ethos appeals by representing herself when making strong and

powerful statements about her opinion on sex education. She lives in the United Kingdom and

works for a charity for HIV and AIDS treatment care called AVERT. Christine argues that, By

making our own contribution and valuing that made by others, and by being guided by these

principles, we can provide more sex education that works and improve the support we offer to

young people (P. 32). This is important because the adults are the people that have been

through sex education and know what they are talking about. If they use their knowledge to

their benefit, they could teach the children at a young age about sex education at home so that

kids are not misguided by internet sources and other non-beneficial resources on this topic.

Along with emotional appeals, there are also a lot of logos appeals that give factual

evidence of how gender plays a big role in sexual education. Watson states that, In a review of

48 studies of comprehensive sex and STD/HIV education programs in US schools, there was

found to be strong evidence that such programs did not increase sexual activity (P.16). This

quote is very important because parents feel awkward and avoid talking to their kids about sex

education at home because they do not want their kids having sex yet or they do not think that

their little girl or boy is ready. As stated earlier, gender matters when it comes to sex education

because a dad talking to his son is not going to matter as much to him as it would if he was

talking to his daughter about the topic. However, what protective parents do not understand is
that just because they talk about sex education, does not mean their children will be having sex

at the age of thirteen. Studies have even proven that theory to be wrong.

Sex education has a very strong pathos appeal on people because it is an emotional and

important topic to talk about with children at home and at school because it is not only about

using condoms to avoid pregnancies, it is also about figuring out who people want to be.

Christine Watson gives her opinion by saying, Young people should have the chance to explore

gender differences and how ethnicity and sexuality can influence peoples feelings and options

(P. 9). This quote is very emotionally powerful because Watson gets her readers to feel the

emotional connection as they read. This quote also allows the people who are scared to come

out, to feel like they have someone by their side. It gives them reassurance that it is okay to be

different if that is who they want to be. Everyone deserves the chance to be happy, even if it

means being the different gender that they were born as.

Sex education is a very relevant topic because it teaches kids how to protect themselves

from diseases, pregnancies, and other problems. It is also important to teach sex education at

home and at school because children need the advice of their own parents or caregivers, rather

than just at school. Children need their parents knowledge because they would go more in

depth and it would be a more comfortable environment to ask questions if he or she was

confused. Learning about sex education is good especially if his or her parents do not talk about

this topic with him or her. However, school is not the best place to learn about sex education

because they only teach the basics. As stated previously, school is still a place to learn about sex

education if the parents are not comfortable with their kids like that.
 Works Cited

Albert Einstein Quotes. BrainyQuote, Xplore,

www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins383803.html.

AVERT. "Sex Education Should Be Taught at Home as Well as in Schools." Do

Abstinence Programs Work?, edited by Christine Watkins, Greenhaven Press, 2014. At

Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/E

J3010603223/OVIC?u=viva_jmu&xid=2ec0f0ee. Accessed 8 Oct. 2017. Originally

published as "Sex Education that Works,".