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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Explanation:
Lifeway points to a RAND Corp. study that shows how effective abstinence pledges can be. From the author of that study (in the article Lifeway linked in their response): "'But that's not to say virginity pledges should substitute for comprehensive sex education, because a majority of teens do have sex, and even among teens who take virginity pledges, many of them have sex,' Martino says."
For those who know best how effective abstinence education can be, it's not sufficient. Comprehensive sex-ed is much more important than simple moralizing.
- jhstutzman July 31, 2008 12:33PM
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Abstinence-Only Programs Don’t Work
- From APHA
By American Public Health Association - Protect, Prevent, Live Well
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In a perfect world YES, but we don't live in a perfect world
In a perfect world it would be wonderful to teach abstinence-only and to believe that this would work for all children. Unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world and we much education young adults about the need for safe sex. We can put our heads in the sand and pretend that our abstinence teaching works wonders, but it's just not the case. Look at the statistics. So what are we to do? Teach abstinence first, but also, we must teach children about safe sex.
- marloma July 15, 2008 11:58AM
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Side: No
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