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?
It’s misleading to support abstinence-only education by simply stating that parents believe that teens should be taught abstinence. While it is the case that many parents want their children to wait until they are adults to become sexually active, these same parents want to ensure that their kids are prepared to make good decisions when they do decide to initiate sexual activity.
According to data from the NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy School National Survey on Sex Education, only 15 percent of Americans say they want abstinence-only sex education in the schools. Most parents believe that sex education should encourage young people to delay sexual activity but also prepare them to use birth control and practice safe sex once they do become sexually active.
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