Sex Education: Abstain or Don't?

[Karmei]

Acrticle Against Abstinence Only

Artical For Abstinence Only

If this is a topic that has already been brought up here, forgive me.

I was reading about these tonight and It really just blows my mind that anyone would think that an Abstinence Only sex-ed class would be a good idea. Even more so that it is endorsed by our policy makers with such… vigor! That being said, the second article states that Abstinence Only programs focus both on safe sex practices, as well as relationships and how to pretty much 'Just Say No'.

Thoughts? Opinions? Is anyone FOR Abstinence Only sex-ed?

[kestra]

I don't have an issue with teaching abstinence, however I have an issue with abstinence only classes. I don't think they work, and I don't think it's realistic.
Your links provided didn't work so I can't comment on what the articles discuss.

I've never understood the concept of waiting until marriage before having sex.
Sex, like many other things, is something you can get better at, learn from, and explore.
In the context of teenagers and youth, it's important to teach them the ramifications of sex, but don't demonize it, nor portray it as a shameful act if they do decide to have sex.

[Aristotle]

Originally posted by kestra
I don't think they work, and I don't think it's realistic.

See, I don't think they would work either.

But I've actually read about them a number of times, and shockingly they DO work. I wish I had links and data at my fingertips, but I don't. So I'm just going to have to recall some basic results from memory.

Kids are weird. It is surprising how effective it is to actually tell them in clear, uncertain terms: "DO NOT DO X." Surprisingly, a very significant portion of kids will actually listen when the admonition is presented in a very clear, absolute, definitive way.

The same method actually seems to work for drugs and alcohol abuse. For some reason, a lot of parents don't think to just say straight up: "We do not want you abusing drugs, drinking, or having sex." They get so worried about not being their kids friend, or being perceived as "square", that they pussy foot around the issue and never give their kids a very clear direction.

Yes, it doesn't always work. Some kids will outright defy their parents no matter what. But every analysis I have ever read about indicates that simply telling your kids not to do something in a very concise, clear manner actually has a shockingly high success rate.

[Carrah]

My personal belief is that the best course of action is to give students proper sex ed. I think that trying to drill abstinence only into a kid's head is very dangerous, because while it might deter them from sex initially, sooner or later they'll take the plunge. I think it's important that when they do, they're equipped with proper knowledge and a sound education of what their options are, of what safe sex entails, and where and how they can get help if it's needed. I think abstinence should be presented as one of the many options they have, not the only option. Pushing an abstinence only campaign puts young people at risk of being in situations where the choices they make are uneducated and unsafe, because they've been denied proper knowledge and instruction. I think the choice to abstain is one that young people should make for themselves, not have made for them at their own expense.

[Aristotle]

I think there is a time and a place to teach other stuff also. But someone else posted a thread here recently about some place teaching sex ed at age 5.

WTF?

Maybe in high school (middle school at the earliest) start teaching about birth control and all that jazz. But before that it is pretty ridiculous.

[Malacasta]

I was pretty sure the latest results showed that abstinence only education was an expensive and over funded failure. That's the spin it's getting anyways.

Here's an article that has a lot of good links:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/77254.php

[Aristotle]

It sounds like "abstinence only" is a term of art that is more specific than what I thought it was all about. It is starting to sound like a loaded code word like "Intelligent Design."

I assumed it meant a program that teaches abstinence as the primary means of keeping kids from being sexually irresponsible, and then left contraception issues for health classes at the high school level.

[Carrah]

From what I remember reading, abstinence only programs are mostly built on misinformation and on drilling the idea into student's heads that they should wait until they are married to become sexually active. My main source of knowledge about abstinence only programs comes from what I have read about "True Love Waits," which is a Christian group that advocates no sex before marriage to students. They work with schools to spread this philosophy to students. They also do a thing called the "virginity pledge" which is basically exactly what it sounds like. Students sign a card saying they will not engage in sex before marriage. True Love Waits isn't the only group that does this, as it's popular with church groups as well (like Evangelists). It seems like this creates a ton of peer pressure between students and church congregations and what have you, while eliminating proper sexual education.

A couple studies have been done and I believe that there are stats available that indicate that abstinence only education doesn't eliminate the risk of STDs, pregnancies, etc in the students who are receiving it, but rather that they are more at risk to engage in unsafe sex due to misinformation or a lack of appropriate education.

[Graeblyn]

Originally posted by Aristotle
It sounds like "abstinence only" is a term of art that is more specific than what I thought it was all about. It is starting to sound like a loaded code word like "Intelligent Design."

I assumed it meant a program that teaches abstinence as the primary means of keeping kids from being sexually irresponsible, and then left contraception issues for health classes at the high school level.

The more secular programs tend to call themselves ABSTINANCE FIRST, and these are the programs, as I recall that have the surprisingly good results compared to traditional sex Ed, and are probably the ones you are thinking of in your earlier post. When I was in college, the program I volunteered with did indeed start in Kindergarten, but the kids would have no idea the point of the classes was to prevent them having sex before they were ready later. The abstinance first program wasn't intended to replace the traditional sex ed the kids got in Junior high and high school, but was done in addition to that. It was also highly secular.

[Graeblyn]

Originally posted by Carrah
From what I remember reading, abstinence only programs are mostly built on misinformation and on drilling the idea into student's heads that they should wait until they are married to become sexually active. My main source of knowledge about abstinence only programs comes from what I have read about "True Love Waits," which is a Christian group that advocates no sex before marriage to students. They work with schools to spread this philosophy to students. They also do a thing called the "virginity pledge" which is basically exactly what it sounds like. Students sign a card saying they will not engage in sex before marriage. True Love Waits isn't the only group that does this, as it's popular with church groups as well (like Evangelists). It seems like this creates a ton of peer pressure between students and church congregations and what have you, while eliminating proper sexual education.

A couple studies have been done and I believe that there are stats available that indicate that abstinence only education doesn't eliminate the risk of STDs, pregnancies, etc in the students who are receiving it, but rather that they are more at risk to engage in unsafe sex due to misinformation or a lack of appropriate education.

UGH! I remember that program from when I was in High school. It's the only sex ed my parents would allow, and it was just dreadful. It would have been even worse if I were straight, at least in my case, it largely just seemed like a parody of itself.