Hispanic Sex Education

“The national Hispanic teenage pregnancy rate is twice that of non-Hispanic whites, and in California, Hispanic adolescents are four times more likely than whites to become parents”. (guttmacher.org, 2004) . This rapid growth in Hispanic population and high rate of teen pregnancies is putting pressure on the educational and health care systems to address the needs of Hispanics. Many young Latina/Hispanic girls face discrimination, poverty, and limited access to healthcare and most importantly cultural challenges, which can place them at a high risk for unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Thus there is a clear need for teenage pregnancy

Since the 1920’s, teen pregnancy among the Latino community has been one of the biggest social problems. Factors like poor or no sex education, negative media portrayal, poor or lower than average educational levels, social inequality and family pressure, such as encouraging womanhood in teen years, contribute to the high percentage of teen pregnancy among Latinas. However, teen pregnancy among Latinas has been decreasing in recent years. Recent programs such as public service announcement and sex education continue to help educate young Latinas and lower the risk of teen pregnancy. Nevertheless, Latinas still represent the group of people with the highest teen pregnancy. One in six Latinas between the ages of 14-20 will have a child at some point, and 30% of all Latino teenage parents have children out of wedlock.

Birth rates in African American and Hispanic teens are substantially higher than whites, a trend that has persisted for decades. Even though pregnancy rates among teens are at an all time low. It is still a major issue but mostly affecting the urban communities. In this research paper I will be comparing and demonstrating the relationships between teenage pregnancy, social issues, and education.

Each curriculum has a varying view on how sex education should be taught and when sex education should be taught to adolescents. Comprehensive sexuality education is the most effective type of sex education and followes the guidelines of starting sex education in kindergarten until twelfth grade. A broad range of topics are taught to students depending on their grade in order to help them develop vital skills and an understanding the varying topics. Abstinence-based sex education gives adolescence a broad range of knowledge on varying topics related to disease prevention and contraception with the emphasises that the best choice is to abstain from sex. Abstinence-only education promotes that abstaining from sex is the only way and does not address contraception or disease prevention. Abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education teaches adolescents that marriage is the only time sexual activities can take place and that in order to prevent disease and teen pregnancy refraining from sex until marriage is the only choice (SIECUS, 2001).

Sexuality is one of the most powerful and universal forces for human-kind. Whether before or after marriage, everyone engages in it at one point in their lives. Unlike calculus, sex education is something you are going to use in the future. When I took a class survey, most of you either agreed or strongly agreed that sex education was important for teens to learn about. However, many people in America, specifically parents, believe that sex education should not be taught in schools and boycott any measures to educate teens. These people have led me to create this speech. I am up here today to persuade the audience that a fundamental lack of comprehensive sex education can lead misinformation, teen pregnancies, and negative views about sex.

“In 2013, a total of 273,105 babies were born to women aged 15-19 years.” (CDC). As these numbers are shocking to many Americans, schools still have not taken the initiative to teach efficient sex education. Although some teenagers are receiving sex education, most are not being taught it in a successful way. Sex education can be explained in two different procedures: comprehensive or abstinence only. The difference between the two is that comprehensive sex education teaches abstinence as a secondary choice, and teens that decide not to wait should be informed on how to use birth control when participating in sexual activity. Comprehensive sex education is a method that should be required in all schools and is the most effective way to keep

Today’s youth faces very tough issues in their everyday life. Kids are growing up too fast too soon. They are facing situations and making decisions that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Among one of the most pressing issues they have to deal with is the risk of dangerous sexual behaviors and early pregnancies. Sex education programs in schools are clashing over comprehensive-sex education programs versus abstinence-only education programs. Abstinence-only programs not only instill morals, but the program helps prevent sex before marriage, prevents teen pregnancy, and the spread of STDs. The comprehensive-sex education programs helps kids make better decisions when it comes to sexual activity, they help prevent unwanted pregnancies, and they decrease the rates of STDs (Grossman, Frye, Charmaraman, Erkut). Combining both of these programs may be the smartest and healthiest solution for our kids when it comes to making decisions about having sex.

Everyone knows that sex is an increasing problem in the United States. The United States has the highest rats of teenage pregnancy and births in the western industrialized word. (pregnantteenhelp) Every year, 750,000 girls will get pregnant. (pregnantteenhelp) Obviously, these statistics are alarming and not good. This is why sex education should be taught younger.

Many people blame the increase of teen pregnancy on the lack of education that isn’t available to our teenagers. Some say it’s the schools responsibility to provide that education and others say it is the parent’s responsibility. But, what it really boils down to be is that parents are not sure when they should start educating their children about sex and they fear it may encourage sexual activity. There is no right or wrong age to start talking about sex to your children and the risk and responsibilities that come along with having sex. Sex education can help kids understand certain things about their body and can help them feel positive about their bodies. Starting the conversation about sex at a younger age and continuing that conversation as the child grows is the best sex education strategy a parent can have. It lets parents avoid giving one big, and very uncomfortable talk when the child becomes a teenager. When a parent has the “sex

Sex education is a debatable topic as to whether or not it should be taught in schools. We believe it is important for all teens to know the importance of abstinence and safety. Providing sex education in high schools can provide students with an easier class that can improve their academic performance. Giving students the opportunity to learn about the risks of sex can prevent teen pregnancy and the spreading of diseases. Though some parents want the topic of sex to be taught at home, not all students have parents that will inform them properly. Including sex education in schools informs students of the risks of not abstaining from sex in a proper manner and provides all students with the opportunity to learn about it.

Sex education also known as high quality teaching and/or learning about various sex topics relating to sex and sexual activities should be taught by schools. Schools teaching adolescents not only allow them to have a more depth understand of the topic, but allow adolescents to explore different values, aspects, and beliefs about the topic. Schools teaching sexual education allow children to learn, while gaining specific skills that are manage their own sexual health, relationships and life style. Intercourse is a natural part of life, with or with out sexual education in school individuals may engage in it. Even if an adolescent isn’t engaging in sexual behaviors, contraceptives, anatomy, and sexual topics should be discussed. Instead of children not having any knowledge of the topic and explore on their own, the school system should be responsible in making sure adolescents have a understanding of these topics. Despite sexual education being taught in our school systems, although 47% of high school students have engaged in sexual intercourse rates of sexual behavior have been slightly declining since 1991 (Dolgin, 2001). Schools teach sexual education in various ways through comprehensive which explores various topics including safe sex and contraceptives (Dolgin, 2001). Also rather than encouraging adolescents to engage in sexual behaviors schools teach abstinence which deter teens from having sex Dolgin, 2001).

Sex education is and always has been lacking in our country. An increase in sexual education would be greatly appreciated from almost everybody, especially with how high the sexually transmitted disease rate has raised in the past twenty years. Sex education can be used to teach young people how to have safe sex and show them the scary truths of sex that they are never taught otherwise. To lower STD rates and raise pregnancy awareness in younger people, schools and parents should be teaching children about sex.

The majority educational facilities require the enrollment of middle school or early high school students in a necessary health class educators teach students about all of the “horrible” events that will happen to them if they have sex. Sexual education should not scare adolescents out of participating in sexual activities, it should teach them about their bodies and their bodies abilities. Adolescents are curious and some even become curious before they hit middle school. It is not worth it to bear the risk of not teaching the teenagers the safe way to perform a sexual activity in order to not corrupt their innocent minds. Teaching adolescents to avoid sex all together is only giving them additional drive to find out what it is like themselves. Therefore, sexual education is important in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, to allow the adolescent to learn about their body, and to give the adolescent the knowledge needed to make educated judgements about participating in sexual activities.

Sex education is an important class in modern day society. Many adolescents today are surrendering their virginity at very young ages. Therefore, teens need to be informed about all the risks that may accompany participation in sexual intercourse. These classes can help decrease the number of STD cases and teen pregnancies each year as well as encourage teens to have “safe sex” if they choose to engage in it at all.* Sex education classes are valuable because they help teens realize the devastating risk of diseases that can be a consequence of sex, advise students to have safe sex if they are going to partake in it, and warns them of the risky probability of the female becoming pregnant as a result.

Sex Education over the years has provided the necessary information about precautions, along with consequences that means to be sexually active. Moreover, it allows high schools to educate themselves about an aspect of their life that will always be important factor of their love relationship. Every action and decision towards any element in life will inevitably produce a result, and a response. The ignorance of many teens leads them to make stupid decisions that can change their future. I support the idea of implementing sex education at middle and elementary schools. Next step will be to find a strategy to implement it in the classrooms. Birth control methods are simply out of the equation, but today society has created so many tools to