Pederson 1

Anna Pederson

Mrs. Draper

English 1020

20 April 2010

Part Four, First Draft

The potential effects of teaching comprehensive sex education within schools can start

from the basis of merely reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies among teenagers and, as

these teenagers grow older, adults, which can have the positive result of a drastic decrease in the

number of abortions. Other potential positive effects include reducing the number of new cases

of STDs and increasing a student’s knowledge about how to maintain sexual health, which can

include teaching about abstinence and how sex can fit into a relationship.

Federal funding is currently available for States that wish to implement abstinence-only

sex education programs within public schools. This federal funding is not available for the

teaching of comprehensive sex education. Indeed, in order to receive this funding, the curriculum

must be abstinence-only, so, if a state wants to actually teach comprehensive sex education, it

must give up the funding. According to Todd Zwillich, a reporter who has written for

publications such as Reuters and Science magazine, seventeen states, including California, have

already done so (Zwillich).

With regard to comprehensive sex education programs, the wheel need not be reinvented.

There are already numerous programs that are teaching comprehensive sex education with great

results. Some of the most successful programs can be found in countries such as Holland, which,

according to a report from UNICEF on teenage pregnancy rates in the world’s richest countries,

boasts the one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates, 6.2 per every 1,000 women aged 15 to 19.
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This statistic is in stark contrast to the United State’s teenage pregnancy rate, which is 52.1 and,

according to the same report “ is the highest in the developed world – and about four times the

European Union average.” (A League Table of Teenage Births in Rich National)

Article written for a prominent British newspaper explores why the British, who have the

highest teenage birth rate in Europe, should embrace the Dutch model of sex education. Within

Holland, children as young as five are reading books and learning “why their mothers have

breasts and shave their armpits, how smiley-faced sperm travel, how human beings prefer to lie

on top of each other but dogs mate from behind, and what their father's penis looks like. The

book for 11-year-olds shows a girl examining her genitals in a mirror, and explains about periods

and the Pill” (Thomson). When children reach secondary school, “ the sex education is

formalized and children are shown how to use various types of contraceptive, how to have “safe

and pleasurable sex”, the importance of responsibility and how to recognize the symptoms of

sexually transmitted diseases” (Thomson).

However, even if the Dutch model were to be followed entirely, the results would not

likely be quite as successful as those within Holland itself. This is the result of the vast cultural

differences between the Dutch and American people with regard to sex and sexuality. The Dutch

are extremely open with their children, from a very young age, about all aspects of sexual

reproduction, sexuality, and relationships. However, in the United States, sex and sexuality are

generally considered taboo subjects, something parents should be embarrassed to discuss with

their children.

Only 18% of parents favor abstinence-only sex education and are opposed to their

children being taught comprehensive sex education within public schools, and a common

objection among this minority of parents involves the parent’s right to choose what they want
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their child to learn about sex (Dailard). However, many most comprehensive sex education

programs give parents the option of removing their children from the program. This, along with

the teaching of abstinence within comprehensive sex education curricula, would seem to provide

parents with ample options for their children.

If parents did decide to leave their children in a a given sex education program, then the

responsibility of teaching about sexual health, relationships, and the mechanics of sex falls on the

teachers. There would likely be very little objection from teachers if a shift occurred to the

teaching of comprehensive sex education because “nine in 10 teachers believe that students

should be taught about contraception (and half believe that contraception should be taught in

grade seven or earlier), [but] one in four are instructed not to teach the subject” (Dailard). They

would, however, require extensive training on how to teach the subject.

Students are overwhelmingly in favor of sex education within their schools. According to

a fact sheet written by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States,

“72% of parents of junior high school students and 65% of parents of high school students stated

that federal government funding “should be used to fund more comprehensive sex education

programs that include information on how to obtain and use condoms and other contraceptives”

instead of funding programs that have “abstaining from sexual activity” as their only purpose”

(On Our Side)

Introducing comprehensive sex education programs within public schools could

drastically improve the United State’s high teenage pregnancy rate, reduce the number of

abortions, lower the occurrences of STDs, and greatly improve the student’s knowledge of sexual

health and reproduction. All of this could go a long way toward bettering the general well-being

of our country as a whole.

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Works Cited

A League Table of Teenage Births in Rich National. Rep. UNICEF, June 2001. Web.

18 Apr. 2010. <http://www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf>.

Dailard, Cynthia. "Sex Education: Politicians, Parents, Teachers and Teens." Guttmacher

Institute. Feb. 2001. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/04/1/gr040109.html>.
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"On Our Side: Public Support for Comprehensive Sexuality Education." Sexuality Information

and Education Council of the United States. Web. 18 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.siecus.org/_data/global/images/public_support.pdf>.

Thomson, Alice. "Sex Education: Why the British Should Go Dutch." The Times Online. 24

Nov. 2008. Web. 18 Apr. 2010.

<http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article5208

865.ece>.

Zwillich, Todd. "Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Loses Steam." WebMD. Web. 18 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/news/20080423/abstinence-only-sex-ed-

loses-steam>.