SEX EDUCATION AT HOME, SCHOOL OR BOTH?

Should Sex Education be Taught at Home, School or Both?

Lindsay J. Fairbanks

James Madison University

WRTC 103

Professor Fielding
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Abstract

My research question discusses whether sex education should be taught at home, in schools, or in

both places. I chose this question because I was taught sex education at home at a young age,

before I was exposed to it at school. I found this experience to be very beneficial as I have

moved throughout high school and into college. It is very important that children are being

exposed to these topics at home and in schools, because what parents do not realize is that their

children are less likely to engage in these behaviors if they are provided with the information.
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Sex education is important, and should be taught in the home as well as schools.

According to Planned Parenthood sex education is, high quality teaching and learning about a

broad variety of topics related to sex and sexuality, exploring values and beliefs about those

topics and gaining the skills that are needed to navigate relationships and manage ones own

sexual health. People have different views on how sex education should be taught to their

children. Many believe parents have the responsibility to teach it, and that children should

participate in comprehensive sex education courses in schools. Others have beliefs that sex

education is too awkward to teach and teaches sexist views.

Kaufman claims in, Sex Education for Children: Why Parents Should Talk to their Kids

About Sex, that sex education should be taught by parents (2015). She says that if parents do

not take the responsibility to teach their children about sex, they will learn it from somewhere

else, which is never better. Parents will have little control over what and where their children are

getting their information if they do not step up. Children will get the knowledge from their

friends, siblings, and media, which many times misrepresents actual sex. Formal sex education

does not lead to promiscuity, while seeing images of it in the media increases the chance that

they will engage in sexual behaviors earlier. Having open conversations with children is much

better and safer for them in the long run, it might be an awkward conversation, but will open

children up more.

Another view, proposed by De in, Pros and Cons of Sex Education in Schools, says

that it should be taught in schools. It is estimated that 34% of people infected with HIV are

between the ages of 12-19 (De, 2015). Teaching sex education in schools can likely lower that

rate, by teaching how to go about being safe during sexual activity. Several studies have shown

that effective sex education in schools can prevent teens from experimenting with sex and using
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protection when they finally do. Sometimes children are curious and wonder about the other

gender or pregnancy. Children will get much more accurate information if it is being taught in a

closed environment with scientific information provided, rather than using the internet or

pornography.

The final view taken on by Oaklander in Sex Ed is Negative, Sexist and Out of Touch:

Study, says that sex education is that it should not be taught in schools because it teaches

sexism and is out of touch (2016). In a new study, it was found that at least in 10 different

countries, kids hate the way theyre being taught about sex. Two major issues were mentioned by

Oaklander. First, schools arent acknowledging that sex is not like any other subject taught in

schools. Sex can be very embarrassing for students and even teachers to talk about. It is not as

easy to teach sex education as it is to teach English. The second issue is that students and parents

deny that fact that teens are sexually active. With this mindset, the information can be out of

touch and pretty irrelevant to students. If a teen is already sexually active, teaching them about

abstinence is not helpful in the least. They need to be learning how to stay safe during sexual acts

as well as how to use birth control. The best way for sex education to be improved is for it to be

taught by a sex expert, who would not make the topics cringey.

Both Kaufman and De believe that sex education should be something that is taught to

children. Kaufman emphasizes that children will become curious and that sex education helps

them feel positive about their bodies. De agrees but takes a more factual approach by using

studies and statistics to prove her point. Both pieces get the same point across about how

important it is to teach children about their sexual health. Kaufman makes her point about the

importance by saying, Discussing sex is also part of starting open communication with your

child. Early, honest, and open communication between parents and kids is very important,
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especially when your child becomes an adolescent (2015). De has a similar perspective, but has

a more scientific approach, According to the WHO, sex education should be imparted on the

children who are 12 years and above. It is estimated that 34 percent of the HIV infected persons

are in the age group of 12 to 19 (2015). Both authors make the point that sex education is

important and needs to be taught to children for their benefit in the futures.

Kaufman and De agree on another point, that if sex education is not taught at home or in

schools, that children will find some other way to get the information. Kaufman mentions that

children if not given proper information will turn to their friends or the media, neither of which

can provide them with the most relevant information. De agrees with this and adds that they will

also turn to the internet and pornography as means of learning about sex. Both pieces mention

how important it is for children to get some sort of formal sex education to prevent them from

going to new sources. In Kaufmans opinion, What a child learns from friends and in the

schoolyard, will be incomplete and incorrect. It may also be demeaning or even dangerous.

Although the media is full of sex and sexuality, it is mostly depicted in the most sensational and

superficial sense (2015). De states something similar but mentions the internet by saying, It is

much better to teach children about sexual health in school rather letting them use other

resources, such as pornographic material and the internet (2015). The internet can have a huge

store of information that might be misleading. Both sources outline that information about sex

from sources other than parents and school can be very misleading and give kids the wrong

impression about sex.

Kaufman and Oaklander disagree that sex education is beneficial for children to learn.

Kaufman shows how beneficial sex education can be and talks about what can happen if children

are not given a proper education. Oaklander makes a conflicting point that sex education is
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negative and does not teach children relevant information. Kaufman mentions that, Children

who receive sex education at home are actually less likely to engage in risky sexual activity

(2015). Oaklander makes a very different point about sex education, There was little practical

information: telling students about community-health services, for example, what to do if

they got pregnant or the pros and cons of different kinds of birth control (2016). She

points out that the information taught in sex education classes is many times irrelevant.

Overall, some sort of sex education is better than no sex education (Kaufman), even if the

information can at times be slightly irrelevant.

De and Oaklander have conflicting opinions regarding sex education being taught in

schools. De advocates for sex education to be taught for many reasons and how important it

is for children. Oaklander disagrees because she believes it is irrelevant and that kids hate it.

De brings up the point that Sex education in schools can help children understand the impact

of sex in their lives. It dispels myths related to sex and broadens their horizon (2015).

Oaklander has a very different view and says, A new study has found that in at least 10

different countries, kids hate the way theyre being taught about sex in school, and the

worst parts of sex education for students was that it was too often delivered by their

teachers (2016). Both authors make their respective points well.

In conclusion, teaching sex education to children and teens is very important. It is

most effective to teach these topics in the home and at school, as the environments are

different and can each teach important lessons. My views have not changed after doing this

research. I believed prior that sex education is important and needs to be taught. The

research conducted was very effective and will be useful in the future. It might be necessary
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for me to use the original source used for my rhetorical analysis to add more background

and statistics.
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References

De, A. (2015, April 08). Pros and cons of sex education in schools. Retrieved from

http://www.onlymyhealth.com/sex-education-in-schools-pros-cons-1310535352

Kaufman, M. (2015, January 12). Sex education for children: why parents should talk to their

kids about sex. Retrieved from

http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/HealthAZ/FamilyandPeerRelations/Sexuality/Pages/Sex

-Education-for-Children-Why-Parents-Should-Talk-to-their-Kids-About-Sex.aspx

Oaklander, M. (2016, September 12). Time Magazine. Sex education is negative, sexist and out

of touch: study. Retrieved from http://time.com/4488013/sex-education-sexism-abstinence/