Sex Education, Comprehensive and Abstinence-Only

Introduction

In the early 20th century, schooling played an increasingly large role in the lives of growing numbers of American children and adolescents, and the scope of curricula widened accordingly. Compulsory education and child-labor laws brought unprecedented numbers of children into the schoolhouse, and Deweyite notions of educating the “whole child” expanded the purview of curriculum to address vocational and broader developmental questions. The presence of these children, often hailing from working-class ethnic families with unfamiliar social customs, the concurrent “invention” of “adolescence” as a sexually fraught and even perilous time, and this expanded pedagogical purpose, gave rise to the first sex education curricula (Luker, 21).

Over the course of the 20th century, sex education became a contested but consistent feature in the American schoolhouse, its emphasis evolving from social hygiene; to courtship, marriage, and the family more broadly; to comprehensive programs including homosexuality and contraception; to the most recent curricula that teach abstinence from sexual activity as adolescents' only reliable recourse against pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Unlike many contemporary education initiatives that rely primarily on federal support, sex education has largely emerged from local, state, and private impetus (Altman, 115). For this reason, this controversial curricular question proves a rich site from which to explore the reformist impulses that animate everyday citizens to engage passionately in the construction—and often dismantling—of educational policy and practice.

Thesis statement

Comprehensive and Abstinence-Only sex educations are important parts of curricula in United States.

Comprehensive sex education

Comprehensive sex education is a common form of sexuality education curricula taught in U.S. elementary and secondary school systems. These programs teach youth about social, physiological, and psychological aspects of sexuality. Comprehensive sex education also incorporates information about contraception and sexually transmitted disease prevention. Additionally, sex education frequently includes information about sexual orientation, sexual desire, and abortion. Public opinion about comprehensive sex education is divided. Proponents assert that students need a wide array of sexuality-related information to make informed choices and protect themselves from potential consequences.

Critics argue that comprehensive sex education is overly permissive and fails to discourage teenagers from engaging in sexual intercourse. There are many sex education curricula characterized as comprehensive (Bailey, 78). While individual lesson plans differ, curricular goals are often shared. Comprehensive sex education typically includes multiple components. Many aspects of the curricula are not controversial, including discussions of factual information about psychological, social, and biological human development from puberty through adulthood. Students are taught about body changes associated with adolescence, including menstruation. The curriculum also highlights information about conception, pregnancy, and sexual-refusal skills. This factual information is similar to the lessons included in abstinence-only programs. Comprehensive sex education also incorporates information that is not featured in abstinence-only curricula. The curriculum acknowledges that some students are sexually active or will become sexually active during their teenage years. Lessons include information about ways to lessen risks of sexual activity, including use of contraceptive devices and condoms (Zimmerman, 75).

Abstinence-only sex education

Abstinence-only sex education promotes sexual activity in the context of marriage. In the United States, ...