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What should public schools teach our children about sex? It can be a complex question, especially when dealing with morals, social norms, pop culture, hormones and health. When students sit down for their sex education, should teachers embrace an abstinence-only policy?
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What the American Public Wants
- From National Campaign
By The National Campaign
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Armed with Information
Even if teens have absolutely no moral beliefs regarding sexual purity, the majority of Americas believe that in the long run, it is better and healthier both physically and mentally for teens to wait until they are older to engage in sexual activity. This is why it is critical for public schools to educate teens about the consequences that result after sexual intercourse. It is important to arm them with information regarding STDs as well as safe use of contraceptions.
- trotterk88
January 25, 2009 6:59PM
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Pick Gray.
Finally, here is someone who sees that the two ideas could work together for the greater good. It's not just black and white. It's gray. You can't condemn one idea as right and one idea as wrong here in America. Everyone gets to make that decision on their own. Each student should get to decide, free from pressures at school, what their view on abstinence is. Yes, most adults agree that teenagers should wait. But, most teenagers choose to not listen to adults. So what is left to do? Face reality. Teach teenagers how to be safe, so when they make their decision, they'll be informed either way.
- Emily Barrett
February 11, 2009 9:38PM
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common sense
I agree wit this argument. The problem America has with abstinence-only sex-ed is the only. America is not against abstinence. This is why there should be a mix of information and an abstinence message. That way the bases r covered.
- HAYDEN
February 11, 2009 10:28PM
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Compromise
Don't you believe that in reality, what the American Public Wants is to see teens making good choices? Don't you think that the parents of their children want to see them live a healthy and successful life? I don't think the American public cares whether we take sides about how we are going to teach or kids about sex. We as a nation must put pettiness aside and not only look after ourselves, but look after others. We must make sure that whether it is abstinence only or simply sexual education that the children of America are well informed and well educated about sex before they embark on the personal choice to engage in intercourse. Maybe if we weren't arguing so much about whether programs are abstinence only or not, more programs would already have been implemented into public schools and more teens wouldn't have been un-supervised and ended up pregnant....
- trotterk88
February 11, 2009 10:51PM
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Maybe In A Pefect World
This article caught my attention because of the one quote from "What the American Public Wants" as the author wrote that adults perform sexual activity with agape unconditional love. " ...because sexual activity should be associated with meaning and serious commitment" It would truly be a perfect world if in fact all of the promiscuous lovebirds of the world could show their affection with meaning. Sex today basically comes down to the basis of poor Headenism,or the indulgences of pleasures, especially those of the flesh. Many of you may be appalled right now, grabbing your pitch forks and what not, but to be honest, even some adults do not get love correct.
Why should I be talking as I am a high schooler and not a parent you say? It is because you very people are my peers and my elders, but I am not in the least impressed. Why should I be? Divorce rates are spiking so high that 50% of first marriages fail, and you all thought you found TRUE love, but you were mistaken. Those couples gave themselves to each other and they fail each other as well. Now those very people "fall in love" and marry, have sex, and have a 67% of their marriage failing. These are all statistics proving that serious committed adults in marriage fail too. Sex is no longer the blood covenant of man because people perform the act and break it. Why is it then that teens are shunned for doing the very same thing? You say it is because of marriage, but the parents do not keep the marriage, so sex becomes a more than one person act whether it is performed by a teen or an adult. In a perfect world sex will only be performed with true meaning and maybe perhaps love. I see it that the act of sex has lost its true meaning because of the parents in our generation choosing to divorce and lead their children to think it is ok to move person to person, and the children are mirroring that same trait, but are catching on faster about how it is acceptable to promiscuously debauch from person to person.
My link from my statistics http://www.divorcerate.org /
- Kabunky
February 25, 2009 3:18PM
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