

American students spend 6.64 hours a day for 180 days out of the entire year in school (NCES). That amounts to one thousand, one hundred and ninety-five hours a year. To teach information about sexual risk-preventing behaviors to both male and female adolescents of various races and backgrounds, sex education topics should be taught in the classroom. The most effective way to teach the subject of sexual health among American students is to provide a comprehensive sex education program. By executing a comprehensive sex education method in all secular American schools, an engaging but direct sex education method where students are trained to develop the skills, attitudes and personal values to make appropriate and health-conscious choices regarding their sexual behavior, there would be a steady increase in the safety and self-efficacy of high school-aged students (Sanoff). Through this method, young people acquire the information they should know about their bodies and natural behaviors, as well as dicuss the risks of unhealthy behaviors that can negatively alter their wellbeing and environment. 

The main problem American schools have implementing this type of educational program is that educators are not willing to do it or change from previous methods, such as Abstinence-only programs. Furthermore, the already existing programs can be unimpactful due to problems with the teacher’s approach of the information, often due to the lack of research on the area’s demographics. Bustle writer Rachel Sanoff in her article "7 Problems With The State Of Sex Ed In America Today, And How We Can Make It Better” explains that as a result of this fear, “only 22 states mandate sex education,” and only 13 require the information taught to be “medically accurate” (Sanoff). Unfortunately, this not only affects the quality of information given to students and their knowledge of what health programs exist to benefit them, but it also deceives to the public of how serious these issues within our nation’s youth are. 

As a result of not being taught healthy sexual behaviors, there are approximately 70 teenage pregnancies per 1000 in today’s youth, a 21.6 percent report of drug usage before sex, and only a two-thirds report of condom usage nation-wide (Kalina). “Despite having declined, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate continues to be one of the highest in the developed world. At 52 per 1,000 women aged 15–19 in 2011, it is approximately double the rates found in France (25 per 1,000) and Sweden (29 per 1,000)” (American Teens). As shown, there are common sexual issues found within communities in the United States. A 1999 national survey analyzed by authors Valerie J. Huber and Michael W. Firmin showed that “41 education courses taught about puberty, STDs, and pregnancy prevention, with at least a mention of abstinence,” but, “Birth control methods, abortion, and homosexuality were topics that were more scattered in their coverage by most public schools” (Huber, Firmin). Each of these sexual risk-taking behaviors  can be tracked back to the decentralized nature of the U.S. sex education system as a whole and the inconsistency of the topics taught. In addition, there are not enough school-based programs in place to teach the prominent issues of today’s sexualized society nor enough educators willing to teach the gritty topics. For example, Leah Weisgal, an educator with Planned Parenthood reflects on a topic that is still commonly left out, “Queer sex — I’m gay and have been out for years, but that was a real information gap. I felt comfortable talking about heterosexual intercourse, condoms, HIV/AIDS, and STIs, but I had no idea about the kinds of protection queer couples can use” (The Fader). Today’s educators have to approach sex education with an openess to the new frameworks that exist within society. Our society’s outlook on sex is different than it was twenty years ago, but with the changes brought by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights movement, feminism, the Civil Rights movement, and religious conservatism we can not afford to overlook a type of sexuality and the information that applies to each group (Marsh, Fields).

The history of sex education shows that training educators to use a comprehenise-sex education method makes a difference. In 1967, SIECUS leader Patricia Schiller formed the American Association of Sex Educators and Counselors and Therapists to offer training and standards for sex education providers (Huber, Firmin). This group supported the values behind comprehensive sex education and the right of the students to hear this information. These SIECUS consultants were asked to assist the development of sex education classes, which was a radical idea at the time, and within only six years, more than 450 people applied to the association for certification as professional sex educators (Huber, Firmin). During this time, other organizations sought to promote reproductive health and rights “through the use of research, analysis, and education” (Huber, Firmin). So if educators are more willing to participate in a comprehensive style of education, why haven’t most sex education courses been impactful on unhealthy trends of student behavior? These same three factors: research, analysis, and education are the reasons certain programs outlast others and leave a greater impact. All three are characteristics of the comprehensive sex education method. But there are other factors that are proven to be successful for sex education courses. As AIE’s article “School-Based Programs to Reduce Sexual Risk-taking Behavior” suggests, there are 9 characteristics of an effective sex education program. These factors include programs focused clearly on reducing one or more sexual behavior that leads to unintended pregnancy or HIV/STD infection; involve teaching methods appropriate to age, sexual experience, and culture of students; based around theoretical approaches to influence health-risk behaviors; last a sufficient length of time to allow for more activities; employ a variety of teaching methods designed to involve the participants and have them personalize the information; provide basic and accurate information about the risks of unprotected intercourse and methods of avoiding it; include activities that address social pressures on sexual behaviors; provide modeling of communication, negotiation, and refusal skills; select teachers or peers who believe in the program they are implementing, and provide training for those individuals (Kirby, Coyle). Since the 60s, groups like Planned Parenthood are advocating for better healthcare and new ways to get health information out to all kinds of people, but unfortunately, secular school districts have not progressed nearly as far in improving their educational programs to be both engaging and informative to students.  

Problems with the sex education system in the U.S. have taken too long to resolve, yet the urgency is ever increasing with new ways of transmitting diseases and the lowering age of teenage pregnancy. As for those starting up in-school programs, there should be a general criteria as for the information presented, so that students get a basic knowledge of puberty, STDs, pregnancy prevention, various birth control methods that exist, a brief overview of abortion and abstinence, and homosexuality. Thorough research will produce a more effective program, and an engaging class style will encourage students to speak up. In opposition to some states current administration codes, teachers should be able to answer all questions that apply to the students’ sexual health to allow for open discussion. Before beginning a course, educators could conduct an anonymous survey among the students to gain insight on what topics to go more in depth with if needed by students in that particular area. 

Another reason high schools in America need to start teaching their sex education courses in a more direct way, through the use of comprehensive education methods, is so that students feel comfortable to openly discuss important topics, which will ultimately lead to safer habits in the future. Abstinence-Only programs have proven to be unsuccessful and to only lead to rebellion and lower self-confidence in sexually active students, but comprehensive sex education programs for teens have proven effective in multiple studies (Kirby). (Jackson). No one can stop young people from doing what they want with their bodies, but they can be better protected from harm by simply being taught the information they need to know to take care of their sexual health. Teen pregnancy, for example, is frowned upon in our culture with young ages, and lowering this outcome by teaching proper contraception could potentially stop further harassment from peers, reduce abortion rates and prevent major lifestyle changes to an adolescent’s life. Adolescence is a time of experimentation and learning, and the majority of this learning is done during school hours. As researchers Douglas Kirby and Karin Coyle explain in their 1997 Children and Youth Services Review,  “Virtually all youth are attending schools before they initiate sexual risk-taking behaviors, and a majority are enrolled at the time they initiate intercourse” (Kirby). A comprehensive style program does not discourage sexual activity completely, yet it provides a more comfortable environment for students to openly ask questions about the important topics that can keep them safer in those activities. 

Opposed to Abstinence-Only programs that in 1996 under President Clinton’s Welfare Reform Act “A-H Guidelines” reestablished abstinence as the expected standard for school-age youth (Huber, Firmin), comprehensive sex education does not set the same unrealistic goal of stopping sex among teens completely. Today most people believe that as a result of Abstinence-only programs, young people feel ashamed of their body’s natural inclinations. While many people might still choose to practice abstinence, Abstinence-Only programs in general do not address the reality of harmful sexual behaviors or how to handle contraceptive methods properly. In doing so, they also do not account for victims of sexual abuse and people who want to handle their sexual health carefully. For example, in Sanoff’s article the writer explains, “Abstinence-only education also straight-up victim blames, promoting that classic rape apologist mantra, "boys will be boys," which is exactly what a nation in which 1 in 3 women will be raped in their lives doesn't need.” Sex education is simply larger than intercourse, which is the main behavior trying to be prevented by these types of programs. Therefore, many of the students that go through these educational programs are usually uninformed of the resources available to them for sex-related health care. On top of that, teenagers are more likely to rebel. As quoted from Oxford Bibliographies article, 

“And yet, even as abstinence continues to dominate US sex education debates, the term itself evokes ambivalence and conflict among teachers, parents, and health care providers. As Hess 2010 notes in the author’s study of abstinence-only sex educators, adults often navigate tensions between the abstinence-only-until-marriage policies and their own commitments to the health and well-being of youth” (Marsh, Fields). 

As a result of ill education and education from practicers of the Abstinence-Only lifestyle, many young people are made to feel ashamed of their natural inclinations and are taught to not ask questions about their sexual health or sex related behaviors. So they turn to unreliable sources and people for direction. Magazines like Cosmopolitan and Teen Vogue are two most popular sources widely known to give relationship and sex advice to their young, targeted audience. As a result, there becomes a normalization of sexual risk-taking behaviors. “Teen Vogue has published multiple articles regarding STDs.  Most recently an article dated 7/21/16 talking about the most common STDs in teens. Their statistics were spot on, however, in the course of the article they left out some important facts. When talking about “safe sex” they failed to mention that condoms must be used 100% correctly 100% of the time and 100% without defect...Nowhere in this article was stated that if a person is infected with one STD they are at high risk for acquiring HIV” (I’m Waiting). It would be more beneficial for students to receive the both the pros and cons to sexual behaviors from adults that they trust with every other topic of their education. The truth is, most students are not going to ask their parents for direction on these topics, so it’s time for the other role models in their life to step up. In 1988, true parental opinions came out. A Harris poll revealed that, “73% of American adults favor making contraceptive information and contraceptives available through school-based clinics (Louis Harris and Associates, 1988)” (Kirby, Coyle). So it is more likely that teenagers will not hear this information from their parents, at least not about the methods that would protect them from behaviors their parents disagree with and would rather ignore. But this does not solve the high rates of infection, teenage sex, pregnancy or sexual experimentation from happening. So adolescents are still engaging in these behaviors, but in a less safe way than if they were being given more information. It is now 2017, and although a majority of schools have still not responded, data shows that parents are increasingly on board to have sex education topics taught at their children’s high schools. Society has become more sexualized than ever and there are some questions that parents just do not know how to or do not wish to answer. 

Educators’ desires to teach our young people the information they need to know to take care of their sexual health should trump the fears they have of negative reactions by the community. As history shows us, “Educational progressives and social hygienists prepared the environment for sex education. Advocates argued that sexual problems prevailed because there was an unwillingness to address the problems openly by even the teachers. ‘Mystery and silence’ were not effective in keeping young people sexually abstinent” (Huber, Firmin). If educators remain silent and the topis of sex remains hushed, students will not seek the help they need to take care of their bodies. By informing our nation’s youth on the proper contraceptive services and care seeking methods they can use in regards to their sexual health, the rates of transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies among adolescents in our country are likely to decrease. Ultimately a student’s health, as well as their right to by taught the information, should be more important than a teacher’s fear of rejection by the community. Change is often seen when leaders step forward for people who cannot speak for themselves, and when it comes to educating others there are certain ways to go about it consciously and effectively. Authors Huber and Firmin share their findings that, “Changing the direction of sex education classes to economic and relational subjects also helped them become much more palatable to the public (Carter, 2001).” Since sex education standards are set by district and the approach of the information depends on the teacher delivering it, often it can be difficult to set up a program that is immediately effective. A teacher Weisgal explains, “There are so many laws in the U.S. that restrict what words can be used, what demonstrations can be done, and whether we can talk about different sexual orientations. Under Utah’s Administrative Code, you cannot advocate for homosexuality or the use of contraceptive methods or devices,” however he goes on to explain that this will not stop his goal of being a part of bettering the education process, “That’s the basic education I’m fighting for: the right to use proper language, tell people about their bodies and rights over their bodies, and how to get resources” (The Fader). 

A majority of Americans do not realize how bad the lack of sex education is to our adolescent youth with sexual experimentation and risky sexual behaviors on the rise today in America. As these behaviors are being more widely accepted, the probability of disease and negative habits increase. The most amount of time a young person spends each day is in school, proving to be the best place to reach the majority of our nation’s adolescents with this risk-preventing information. Our country’s educators hold the majority of young people’s time in their hands, providing them with a unique responsibility to care for students’ academic knowledge and behavioral awareness, especially when parents fail to do so. Although some states have been successful with their sex education programs, many have failed to address the most needed information to the younger population. The goal of implementing comprehensive-sex education programs is that the rates of unhealthy sexual behaviors will decrease among teens, and thst students would no longer be afraid to discuss the topics that are relevant to their sexual health.  