A recent study of 4 federally funded abstinence only education programs has shown that, surprise surprise, the programs are relatively unsuccessful.
"Students who took part in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex as those who did not, according to a study ordered by Congress.
Also, those who attended one of the four abstinence classes that were reviewed reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend the classes. And they first had sex at about the same age as other students -- 14.9 years, according to Mathematica Policy Research Inc" (CNN.com, 2007).
Does this really come as a surprise to anyone? We live in a highly sexualized society. What worked 40 or 50 years ago rarely ever flies today.
40 or so years ago, it was perfectly normal to get married at a young age, to have babies at a young age. Today, that's taboo. 40 or so years ago, wearing revealing clothing was taboo. Today, it's perfectly acceptable. 40 or so years ago, abstinence only education worked relatively well. Today? Not so much so.
See a trend here? Society has moved on.
If we want to fix the problem, we have to get serious and face facts. Abstinence only education doesn't work on the scale necessary to combat the problems the programs hoped to fix. Unless society does a complete about face and changes the view of sex and sexy, abstinence only education isn't going to work. Instead of funding programs that aren't working, (and the government currently spends about 176 million per year on abstinence education, according to the article) it seems the money would be better spent on programs with a higher probability of success... say teaching kids how to protect themselves when/if they do decide to have premarital sex.
And another thing, how do we expect things to work when we 1) arm them with abstinence only education that isn’t anywhere near successful, 2) refuse to give them birth control, 3) don’t fix the adoption and foster care system and 4) decide those who have abortions are murderers? This is a crisis waiting to happen.
If we don’t want the kiddies having kiddies of their own, we need to make some rational decisions. Now that I have ranted, here is what I propose we do.
First, we offer sex education classes and perhaps even make sex education mandatory (either the parents sign an agreement that they will teach their children responsible sex education or they will allow the schools to do so). Obviously, teaching that abstinence is the best protection against pregnancy, STDs, etc, etc, etc will have it’s place. But so too will plan b, c, d, e and so on and so forth. You know, condoms and other forms of birth control, annual STD testing, abortion and adoption/foster care information.
Secondly, we actually make condoms and birth control accessible to kids. No more of things, birth control is evil and against God crap. No more of this “pharmacists can refuse to fill birth control because birth control is evil and against God” crap. And we make sure birth control is safe.
Next, we fix the adoption and foster care system so that when plans A and B fail and someone decides they aren’t ready for a child; they aren’t condemning a child to the hell that can be the current foster care system or to abortion.
Then and only then can we honestly say we did our best and didn’t royally screw up as we have been doing with the current way of doing things. Obviously, this isn’t the only answer and it’s probably not the best answer, but it’s better than the current contradictory system we do have.
Take (and teach) responsibility, or deal with the consequences.
Reference:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/04/13/abstinence.study.ap/index.html
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Abstinence education is 'ignorance education'. Oxymoron. People know that not having sex will protect them from pregnancy and STDs. That's common sense. However, how do you prepare teens for their raging hormones and urges? How do you prepare them to have a healthy sexuality?
If anything, teach them masturbation! If they're having sex with themselves, they won't be spreading STDs and getting people pregnant/getting pregnant! Everybody wins! ^_^
Oh, but no... sex, dirty. Sex bad. No sex! Unless it's for babies. Which teens unintentionally do when they have sex. It all comes full circle. My head hurts.
It's true that abstinence education doesn't work. Everyone thinks that society has become more and more liberal though, and in some cases it has.
But not in sex. Ever since colonial days Americans have done one thing really well, get funky. In fact a study I saw somewhere indicated something like 80% of the WWII generation having premarital sex.
So yeah, I fully support the idea of actual sex education, of condoms and birth control being the norm. Otherwise we can only expect rising teen birth rates.
Why? Because the emphasis a lot of times in sex ed classrooms is that condoms are not 100% full proof, that they fail and fail often. Though 99% or so isn't often in my book.
So let's do the responsible thing. Have the parents teach the kids about sex education, about safety, about restraint but when restraint fails about what to do.
Why force the schools to teach children the bare and basic facts of life. Isn't that what being a parent is about?
I definitely agree that parents should be the first source of information... unfortunately however, too many parents are too embarrassed or too unwilling to do what needs to be done in regards to sex. If that's going to be the case, I'd much rather the information and fact be taught by another adult (ie schools) than by a friend who likely has just as little knowledge as those he or she is attempting to instruct.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
"May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the warm rays of the sun fall upon your home."
My kids are in high school and have taken sex ed classes. The abstinence programs do NOT work. Kids have so much pressure already and then you add raging hormones to the equation and that can equal disaster. I have an 18 year old who is still a virgin and an almost 16 year old who practices safe sex. As a parent who practices open communication I answer questions and begin conversations on a regular basis with my kids. Do they listen? Most of the time, but not all the time. Sometimes all it takes is one good pregnancy or STD scare and kids will be extra careful. I went online and found pictures of what happened to people who got STDS, the pictures were graphic, and it scared the "$@**" out of my kids. My son said "are you sure that's his penis mom?" And I said yes. He said, "I'm never having sex without a condom." My daughter saw the pictures of warts, etc and still talks about how nasty that looked and how she'd never have sex without a condom.
Instruction and communication is a must. I hated to use scare tactics on my children, but I thought it necessary. It worked.
"A prime part of the history of our Constitution...is the story of the extension of constitutional rights and protections to people once ignored or excluded." ~US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
I'll certainly never forget the first pictures I saw of STD symptoms or the first time I saw the results of a drunk driving accident up close. I was in 2nd grade when I saw the results of a drunk driving accident. They were picking up chunks of flesh for ages... I have never gotten behind the wheel when drinking after having seen that as a kid.
Personally, I think we try to protect kids far too much when scare tactics will do what no amount of gentle persuasion will ever accomplish. Sometimes it's better and more effective to whip out those pictures for a dose of reality than to operate on the "they're to innocent for reality" plane of existence.
I'm glad the tactics worked for you kids and I hope they keep on working!
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -Huxley
"It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err." -Gandhi