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Akiem

Ms.Fells

British Lit

12 March 2019

Outline

Title: Should schools invest more in sexual education courses?

Thesis: With an adequate sex education course young people will learn precaution on how to

protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases as well as date rape and which will lead to

a healthier sexual and emotional relationships.

Should public schools invest more in sexual education courses?

Introduction

With an adequate sex education course young people will learn preventative methods on how to

protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy as well as the social and

emotional aspects that play a role in relationships.

II. What are the prerequisites of having sex and how will young people benefit from it?

III. Why is it important to have consent sex no matter how long you and someone may have

been together?

IV. What is a healthy relationship?

V. How can date rape be prevented?

IV. What are the main benefits that young people will get from a sex education course?

VII. Conclusion

Should public schools invest more in sexual education courses?

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The great William Edward Burghardt Du Bois once said, "Education must not simply teach

work - it must teach life." With an adequate sex education course beginning in middle school,

young people will learn preventative methods on how to protect themselves from sexually

transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy as well as the social and emotional aspects that play a role

in relationships. An adequate sex education course is defined by not just teaching abstinence but a

class that deals with real-world ongoing situations. For example, if someone is having sex already

they need to know the ways to protect themselves from the dangers of sex and perhaps the

resources they could use. Dangers are to include date rape, for date rape is when someone goes on

a date with the intention of having sexual intercourse with someone that has an altered mind from

being under the influence of a controlled substance. Sex education is a hot topic among young

people in today's society due to the overwhelming concerns about sexually transmitted diseases,

date rape, concent, and know how to maintain a healthy relationship. With a satisfactory sex

education course, the number of rape assaults could decrease dramatically and may lead to more

males willing to come forward about rape allegations and assaults. Teenagers today are wanting

to have a safe place in schools for expressing themselves and simply talk about what could happen

to them if they were to have sex and how to maintain a healthy sex life.

According to Sex Education Timeline " sex education originated in 1880 when Dr. Prince

Albert Morrow translated Alfred Fournier's Syphilis and marriage into English, thus commencing

an American campaign against venereal disease as a threat to the family." This was the first time

Americans found out about sexually transmitted diseases and infections. It took nearly 30 years
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before America started the talk about sex hygiene. Then two years later The National Education

Association suggested that sex hygiene should be taught by a qualified teacher to ensure that the

class would be taught from an open point of morals. This is also known as abstinence. Fast forward

to present time as stated by Sex Education Timeline "in 2010 President Obama launched a $110

million campaign that will support a range of sex-education programs, including those that teach

about the risks of specific sexual activities and the benefits of contraception and others that focus

primarily on encouraging teens to delay sex." Sex education should be on the bias of what's going

on in today's world not yesterday it is now the time of the essence to educate the youth into being

self-sufficient well and informed citizens.

Meanwhile, we have a lot of teenagers who are sexually active and do not know how to

protect themselves from the dangers of sex. I conducted a survey among peers, most people are

under the age of 18, in which the results I found were shocking. Of the 42 people that answered

the survey only twenty-one percent of the respondents were in a relationship but forty-three percent

were sexually active. If we have all of these young people single and having sex, but don't know

how to protect themselves from the pros and cons of sexual activity it could increase the sexually

transmitted disease rates which do not benefit the economy. This is where sex education is needed

because three percent of the people surveyed have been placed in a situation whereas they felt as

if they could not tell their loved ones they did not want to take part in sexual intercourse. With an

adequate sex education class, the persons involved would have been more aware of how to express

their feelings to keep everyone safe. Responses of the survey say "Sex education is the education
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on sexual intercourses and all its application" in which young people are telling educators what

they are in need of.

As mentioned in "Daily Science" sex education is used to talk about anatomy, sexual

reproduction and sexual intercourse related all related to the sexual aspects of human. Sex

education courses give an overview of what could happen in the result of having sex and safety

measures that are in place that anyone can use. Survey Says (Again): People Overwhelmingly

Support Sex Ed says "people of the community feel as if federal grants could be used to fund

programs that teach about sexual education which would lead to teen pregnancy rates decrease."

The community is also looking for guidance on birth control, STIs and HIV, puberty, consent,

healthy relationships, sexual orientation, and abstinence. These resources are lacked in the

minority community and research shows that this is a gap between the school system and the

community needs to be fixed so that more students know the proper way of handling their sex life.

For example, I have taken a sex education course and we could not ask certain questions due to

that fact they can only talk about absence. Pregnancy rates are continuing to rise to leave and the

community confused. There are numerous prerequisites that should be taught to young adults who

may lack the knowledge of knowing how to handle certain situations with regards to sex education.

The legendary Jimmy Dean says “Love is an ice cream sundae, with all the marvelous

coverings. Sex is the cherry on top.” He is simply saying you should not allocate your relationship

on the bias of sex but love is more important. There are four prerequisites that every teen should

know before getting into relationships and before having sexual intercourse with someone. This
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includes precaution methods, trust, consent, and must also take into consideration of how this

situation could help or hinder you trying to reach your goals. Many teens do not like talking

prevention methods such as birth control methods due to the lack of education on the topic.

Birth control is any method used to prevent pregnancy and has been around for decades.

According to Birth Control Timeline, "the first form of birth control were condoms and it was

created by the Italian anatomist Fallopius back in 1564. Condoms are made from a thin

polyurethane material that is worn by males. There are two types of condoms: female and male

both of which serve the same purpose. The purpose of male condoms is to protect the body from

sexually transmitted infections and to keep semen from entering the vagina to prevent pregnancy.

The purpose of female condoms is to prevent male semen from the inner walls of the vagina. The

primary goal of any condom is to prevent pregnancy by keeping semen inside the latex material.

Condoms, like other birth control methods, are not 100% preventable method for pregnancy but it

still serves its purpose.

Other birth control methods including sterilization and pills which are more pregnancy

preventable. The birth control pills are more effective than condoms but still won't stop the spread

of sexually transmitted diseases. According to medlineplus.gov “birth control pills also known as,

BCP, are a daily medication that contains two man-made hormones which include estrogen and

progestin to prevent pregnancy." While taking these BCP you must still use condoms because birth

control pills are not 100% pregnancy prevention. The only method that is 99.9% prevention of

pregnancy is sterilization. This is the only almost pregnancy preventive because it involves a
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surgical procedure. In order to use the precaution methods known to mankind, you must have

consent, trust, and happiness.

Consent is one of many topics that should be gone over in depth in a sex education class.

When you think of consent you should think of FRIES. Planedparenthood.com states "F is freely

given, R is reversible, I is responsible, E is for enthusiastic, and S is for specifics which all are

components of having consent. Sexual consent is when you are in agreeance with someone to have

sex and the acronym fries is everything you need. According to Good Sex "Many people have

been burned by current sexual practices--such as hook-ups that create emptiness, or cohabiting

relationships that go nowhere…." which is not what sex should be about this is due to lack of

knowledge on what sex education and the social and emotional aspects of a relationship. Many

teens do not know the correct way of getting consent to engage in sexual intercourse. Sex education

should not just be in schools but it should start at home. Teenagers parents should start

conversations about sex at home. As claimed by Consent: Lessons Beyond #MeToo ".......research

suggests it is more effective for schools and families to teach consent as part of a broader set of

positive skills for adulthood, rather than just examples of what not to do in social interactions."

Sex education should not just be a class but should be considered more of a life skill. In keeping

with Consent: Lessons Beyond #MeToo "Making understanding and negotiating consent a life

skill gives children and adolescents ways to understand and respect both their own desires and

those of other people. Consent would be a topic and skill that you discuss at different levels of sex

education due to the fact this is not a skill you may master by just talking about it just once. It
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would be like an English class each year you learn different skills to apply to other subject matter

and to live with the hopes of being self-sufficient.

The survey I conducted showed that a few students were a victim of date rape by having

sex with their loved one when they really were not in the mood of having sex. Many teens think

just because they may be in a relationship they may have consent throughout the whole relationship

to indulge in sexual acts when that is not the case you must ask your partner every the time you

won't have sexual activity. This form of date rape is minute to others that involves the use of drugs.

Date rape is when someone is on a date and one of the parties has intentions of having sex this

could become astronomical because they involve using different types of drugs.

The famous and incredible Albert Einstein said: "If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of

complicity." According to medicinenet.com the most common date rape drugs are flunitrazepam

(Rohypnol), also called roofies; gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also called liquid ecstasy;

and ketamine, also called Special K. Theses drugs come in multiple different forms and are

typically are used to alter the mind of someone they want to have sex with. Symptoms of date rape

drugs, with agreeance of medicinenet.com, includes relaxation, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea,

problems seeing, loss of consciousness, seizures people not being able to remember what happened

while drugged, problems breathing, tremors, sweating, vomiting, slow heart rate, dream-like

feeling, coma, and can result in death. This could decrease the number of sexual assault victims

dramatically. Date rape or sexual assaults are not gendered bias as it happens to both males and

females. Even though most males are not as likely to report any type of sexual assaults it still
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happens in our society. As rainn.org states "one out six women are victims of sexual assaults."

Most victims state that they "wish they knew how to protect themselves from date rape" according

to the survey I polled from peers. Male sexual assaults are more likely to happen on college

campuses. According to rainn.org men as five times more likely to be sexually assaulted compared

to females on college campuses. With an adequate sex education class beginning in public schools,

these numbers will decrease dramatically.

Inspirational poet Mark Grooves says "You're worthy of being chosen, fought for, and

loved." An adequate sex education class must also teach young people the importance of having

and maintaining a healthy relationship. The main two relationships are romantic and cordial which

should be interjected in a sex education class. A cordial relationship is when you have relations on

a professional level which includes friends to which is friendly and sincere. A romantic

relationship is when you are sexually active with a partner and also are confined to support your

partner, but also let them be independent. These are skills that all young people need to know to

be self-sufficient and a prosperous young adult.

Life skills are something that most public institutions strive to teach its student but they

become complacent with only a few students acquiring the skills. The students that retain these

skills typically come from a decent home and knows that failure is not an option. If public schools

take on the responsibility of teaching healthy relationships students would be more willing to make

better choices. For example, the Atlanta Public Schools system mission state is "With a caring

culture of trust and collaboration, every student will graduate college and career ready" but that is
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not the case because healthy relationships are not taught. Stated by

https://schoolgrades.georgia.gov about 80% of seniors are graduating from APS but of that 80%,

only 60% are bound into college. Less than 50% of seniors throughout the district are college and

career ready. This data shows a lapse in something and sex education may be the missing piece.

Sex education must also go over the importance of a healthy relationship aspect. Healthy

romantic relationships have both social and emotional aspects that are necessary for any

relationship to last. While in a romantic relationship you should be able open to talking about a

wide variety of things. Some conversations will be easier to have than others, but all conversations

should be comfortable and genuine. For example, my girlfriend and I have been together for nearly

three years, and we usually talk every night and I remember when all conversations were easy and

pleasant to have. Every once and awhile we have to talk about difficult conversations on topics

that we disagree with. Sometimes heated disagreements lead to one of us to have to spend time

apart and so that we can evaluate the whole situation in order for both of us to get both perspectives.

With us having these open lines of communication we do not fall for peer pressure. Peer pressure

is when you take advice from people in your age group. Not all peer pressure has negative

connotations. Everyone is presented with different paths that they can choose to take and with peer

pressuring it can be a sound choice. I had to learn different ways of handling my peers from my

uncle and mother due to the fact this is not talked about in schools. It took me several years to

master the life skill of peer pressure. As my survey says "we need a class where we can talk about

the pros and cons of having sex.

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Ms.Fells

British Lit

12 March 2019

With an adequate sex education course, young people will learn precautions on how to

protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases as well as date rape and will lead to a

healthier sexual and emotional relationship. Sex education is something that the community

supports but school systems are overlooking. Atlanta is the HIV and human trafficking capital and

with a sex education class, we could help need more. The life skills that would be acquired from

this class would give students the social and emotional support they need to make better choices.

STDs and teen pregnancy rates may start to decrease due to the fact that students would know the

outcome of most situations. A sex education course would also coach young people into healthier

relation whether it is sexual or emotional. Young people would also acquire the life skills that they

can apply to everyday life.

Annotated Bibliography

"Concern about 'Sexualised' Children often Misses the Point." Economist, Jul. 2018, pp. 49-50.

SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

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Ms.Fells

British Lit

12 March 2019

This article will help my topic by giving me examples of indirect and direct ways that young

adults are being portrayed. They get sexually portrayed by the internet, among their friends and

social networks which leads to them having unknowledgeable sex intercourses.

Goldston, Linda, and Kathleen Hendrix. "Date Rape: Beyond Violence, A Battle of Words."

Miami Herald (Miami, FL), 02 Aug. 1991, pp. 1E+. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Date rape is something that anyone can be a victim of that will impact the rest of their lives.

This article focuses on what happens in an abusive relationship which leads to someone not

knowing how to say no.

LeTrent, Sarah. “Against His Will: The Reality of Male Rape.” CNN, Cable News Network, 10

Oct. 2013, www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/living/chris-brown-female-on-male-rape/index.html.

This article focuses on the effects rape has on men. Men are not as likely to report rape due to

the overwhelming criticism they may receive. This makes this man feel embarrassed and

ashamed so they rather hold it in and keep it to themselves.

Morse, Jennifer R. "Good Sex." American Enterprise Vol.17, No.3, Apr. 2006, pp. 18+. SIRS

Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

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Ms.Fells

British Lit

12 March 2019

Good Sex focuses on the benefits of a good sexual education course and the outcome. Everyone

wants some who loves them, supports them and is providing great sex. It is important for

everyone to know the right way to love and what a healthy relationship is.

Orenstein, Peggy. "We can't just Let Boys be Boys." New York Times, 30 Sep. 2018, pp. SR.4.

SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

This article says the boys sometimes think they have permission because the girl may not say no.

Even though it may be weird you should always get permission to have sex or to touch.

This will help my paper by giving me the necessary information on how a boy should get

permission.

It will so help guide them on how to get permission and sustain a healthy relationship.

“Peer Pressure (for Teens).” Edited by D'Arcy Lyness, KidsHealth, The Nemours Foundation,

July 2015, kidshealth.org/en/teens/peer-pressure.html.

This website will define peer pressure and the different types of measurements that are involved

to prevent peer pressure. This will help me answer my guiding question on sex education.

I will use this website to master the meaning of peer pressure and how it related to the social and

emotional aspects of relationships.

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Ms.Fells

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12 March 2019

Richardson, John. "Talking about Sex Education: New Generation of Parents Still.." Maine

Telegram (Portland, ME), 14 May. 1995, pp. 1C+. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

This will help my paper by identifying the challenges of parents talking to their children about

sex. Sex is a difficult topic to talk about and the schools should help by teaching kids safe sex.

Rosin, Hanna. “Men Are Raped Almost as Often as Women in America. We Need to Talk About

This. .” Slate Magazine, Slate, 29 Apr. 2014, slate.com/human-interest/2014/04/male-rape-in-

america-a-new-study-reveals-that-men-are-sexually-assaulted-almost-as-often-as-women.html.

This website is helpful to my research paper because it tells stats to male rape and explains why

it goes unreported. Males rape allegations are normally unreported because higher authorities

don’t take the allegations seriously.

For many reasons, men deal with serval double standards issues while in relationships due to

their lack of knowledge on sex education.

"Sex Education." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2019.

This website gives a definition of sex education. This will help my paper go in depth about what

sex education is and giving a perspective on how to overcome the talk about absences.

I will use this information to draw conclusions on sex education.

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Ms.Fells

British Lit

12 March 2019

"Survey Says (again): People Overwhelmingly Support Sex Ed." Targeted News Service, 2018,

pp. n/a. SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

This will help show the data on how many people support sexual education within public

institutions. This also shows explain why sex education is important.

This article will help me by evaluating the risk of not having a sexual education course.

Staff, ProQuest. Leading Issues Timelines, 2019, https://sks.sirs.com.

This timeline will provide me the necessary information in order to give accurate information

about the history of birth control methods.

Sparks, Sarah D. "Consent: Lessons Beyond #MeToo." Education Week, Jan. 2019, pp. 24. SIRS

Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

This article will help my paper by giving me teacher testimonies on how sexual education would

impact their classroom. This also gives expectations on what they expect to see in the course.

Most teachers support the talk about sex rather than to just keep telling students not to do it.

Schmidt, Samantha. "Teaching More than 'no Means no'." Washington Post, 06 Oct. 2018, pp.

B.1. SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.Schmidt, Samantha.

This article focuses on not taking advantage of situations that you may be presented with. No

matter what is happening you must always get permission. This is for men and women and yes

and no should never mean anything different.

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Ms.Fells

British Lit

12 March 2019

This can help my paper by showing the means of no means no. This will help more males

understand the meaning of date rape.

Staff, ProQuest. Sex Education Timeline. Leading Issues Timelines, 2019. SIRS Issues

Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

This source gives me background information on what's was going on back in the day all the

way to the modern day. It will provide me with the necessary information to complete the

background stage of my research paper.

This helps my paper by providing me with dates necessary to give scopes of what sexual

education was and what it is now.

Thibeault, Melanie. "What I Wish I had Learned in Middle-School Sex Ed." Boston Globe

(Online), 11 June. 2018, pp. n/a. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

This article gives evidence that absence isn’t enough when talking about sex. For it not only just

say don’t have sex but also fail to give advice on other types of sexuality.

This will help by giving insights on what people would like to learn and is trying to benefit from

the class.

“Where We Stand.” National Alliance to End Sexual Violence,

www.endsexualviolence.org/where_we_stand/male-victims/.
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Ms.Fells

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12 March 2019

This is a website that shows how men can stand up to sexual abuse. Even though this may be a

difficult topic to talk about we must support men and women that go through this.
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Ms.Fells

British Lit

12 March 2019

Works Cited Page

"Concern about 'Sexualised' Children often Misses the Point." Economist, Jul. 2018, pp. 49-50.

SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

Goldston, Linda, and Kathleen Hendrix. "Date Rape: Beyond Violence, A Battle of Words."

Miami Herald (Miami, FL), 02 Aug. 1991, pp. 1E+. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

LeTrent, Sarah. “Against His Will: The Reality of Male Rape.” CNN, Cable News Network, 10

Oct. 2013, www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/living/chris-brown-female-on-male-rape/index.html.

Morse, Jennifer R. "Good Sex." American Enterprise Vol.17, No.3, Apr. 2006, pp. 18+. SIRS

Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Orenstein, Peggy. "We can't just Let Boys be Boys." New York Times, 30 Sep. 2018, pp. SR.4.

SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

“Peer Pressure (for Teens).” Edited by D'Arcy Lyness, KidsHealth, The Nemours Foundation,

July 2015, kidshealth.org/en/teens/peer-pressure.html.

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Akiem

Ms.Fells

British Lit

12 March 2019

Richardson, John. "Talking about Sex Education: New Generation of Parents Still.." Maine

Telegram (Portland, ME), 14 May. 1995, pp. 1C+. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Rosin, Hanna. “Men Are Raped Almost as Often as Women in America. We Need to Talk About

This. .” Slate Magazine, Slate, 29 Apr. 2014, slate.com/human-interest/2014/04/male-rape-in-

america-a-new-study-reveals-that-men-are-sexually-assaulted-almost-as-often-as-women.html.

"Sex Education." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2019.

"Survey Says (again): People Overwhelmingly Support Sex Ed." Targeted News Service, 2018,

pp. n/a. SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

This article will help me by evaluating the risk of not having a sexual education course.

Staff, ProQuest. Leading Issues Timelines, 2019, https://sks.sirs.com.

Sparks, Sarah D. "Consent: Lessons Beyond #MeToo." Education Week, Jan. 2019, pp. 24. SIRS

Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

Schmidt, Samantha. "Teaching More than 'no Means no'." Washington Post, 06 Oct. 2018, pp.

B.1. SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.Schmidt, Samantha.

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Ms.Fells

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12 March 2019

Staff, ProQuest. Sex Education Timeline. Leading Issues Timelines, 2019. SIRS Issues

Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Thibeault, Melanie. "What I Wish I had Learned in Middle-School Sex Ed." Boston Globe

(Online), 11 June. 2018, pp. n/a. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

“Where We Stand.” National Alliance to End Sexual Violence,

www.endsexualviolence.org/where_we_stand/male-victims/.

https://youtu.be/Vjp9iCGLnYc

https://youtu.be/wyHu4gRVRvM