should sex education be taught in public schools?
81800
No, I think to many people spend too much time tending other peoples business rather than tending their own.! \n Schools are suppose to be to teach a child math, to read, and write. Children's literacy has nothing to do with sex education. As for the school to sex educate a child, it should be against the law.!  People who think it's 'good', should look at the statistics.(since sex education started over 30 years ago), how many sex educated teens have gotten pregnant and/or became infected with diease and how many lives were lost. Then tell me it's helping. I think it teaches children sex is okay. And it's costing children's lives and well being. Just as people want to keep religion out of school because it's a personal chose, sex ed should also RETURN to being a parents, no matter if it's when someone else thinks it's the right time or not.! I think if they want to advise a child on it, first give birth to it. Or mind their own business.
202356
1) 5th or 6th grade.\n2) At that age, just the basic biology and mechanics behind procreation.  Birds & bees type stuff.\n3) Not a teacher so not familiar with methods.  Definately separate the boys & girls, teach facts like a science class, then have a Q & A.\n4) Teach facts, dispell myths, prepare kids for puberty, and identify children with potential problems.\n5) By how many people you piss off <--- joke.  Standard quizes or tests for factual retention.  Example: name parts of the body, T or F sections on myths, etc...\n\nBut success really depends on the school's viewpoint.  Is this a class to teach morality?  Biology? Or to alter behavior?\n\nSide note:  I never really understood why sex is so tabboo in America.  It seems like the only time Americans want to deal with sex is when a company has something to sell you.  Sex is part of biology, everyone does it - it's as common as breathing.  I'm in favor of sex education in schools because I believe most parents only impress a child with morality issues and don't know much about the mechanics of the reproductive system.  And to ignore it altogether is medically neglectful.  How can you teach and guide a child about the do's and don'ts of their bodies and skip that entire section?  Why not skip diet and nutrition education as well?
431745
Nope! There is no federal regulation on teaching parenting. There may be some state regulations on a state-by-state basis. Health/sex-ed classes may have pieces on this but it is by no means a requirement.\n\nLocal schools will not receive federal funding if they do not teach abstence in sex-education classes, though.
738638
Definitely choice A!  Sex can be good and bad, like so many things in life.  If young people aren't prepared for it, it will end up being a bad thing.\n\nI often compare sex to fire.  Both are very good things that are necessary for survival, but only when one knows how to properly use them and take adequate precautions against any hazards.  Most of the hazards brought on by fire will never be faced by the majority of children.  This is probably because they are educated about it early in life ("Don't play with matches" "Stay away from the stove!" "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!"  "Stop, drop and roll." etc) and come to respect it.  And yet, when educating children about the dangers of fire, I have never heard someone say, "Hey...maybe we shouldn't teach them about this...they might get ideas and try to burn down the house."  The same principle should be applied to sex ed.  Who knows?  Maybe there would be less STDs and teen pregnancies if children were educated about it before they got the drive to have sex.  Too many are simply unprepared because people don't want to give them ideas.
246401
Being a School Governor and a parent of Secondary School children my answer is: Not well enough.\nIt is generally included in the Personal Health Social Citizenship Education curriculum.\nThere is a new Examination that children will take which may place a greater onus on schools to meet their statutory obligations called Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (C.O.P.E.)
421535
They explained sex to children using examples of birds nesting and bees mating. It was a euphemism for sex education, especially when taught informally.
208987
Im fairly old fashioned....but I believe the schools have no reason to teach children about sex.  I believe sex education should be between a man and his wife.
872532
Sex education is important and kids need to learn it. I do agree however that the whole education system has gone wonky! I also live in Australia and it disgusts me how little my partners daughter is learning in the key areas. She had the same homework for 6 months and when I questioned this with her teacher she took out her anger on the child! Remember though it is better that kids learn sex ed than not at all!
98931
SEX ED!!!!!!!!!!!! and on plannedparenthood.com
357408
Definitely. If people don't know what's out there, they don't know how to protect themselves and with STDs, that could lead to an disastrous epidemic amongst the sexually active.
445318
yup!\ninformation dissemination regarding sex is necessary for students. such can answer questions that they would otherwise be too awkward to ask their parents or adults.  it can also correct the possibly distorted information they get from many sources including their peers. moreover, by providing them with information, they can be more responsible with their sexual behavior.  \nthe impact of irresponsible sexual behavior includes many other things including risks of sexually transmitted dieseases as well as unwanted pregnancies.  pregnancy in teenage women is much riskier than that in women in their twenties.  moreover, there is this study that shows that infant mortality is lesser with mothers who have some kind of sexual education.
309307
No.\n\nReligion should be taught by families and in churches, temples, mosques, etc. \n\nWhile I would like my children to have strong morals, faith and belief, I also want my children to have as much knowledge as possible. \n\nIn public schools, a comparative religions class is perfect (and necessary, I believe). Everyone should have a firm and accurate understanding of other religions (what they blieve, some traditions, explanations, how they are different and most imporantly how they are similar). Telling children which is religion is best or right, however, is not acceptable. Parents and Guardians have the right to raise their children as they see fit, but children also have the right to choose the religion they believe is best for them.\n\nWhat should be taught in public schools are things like reading, writing, arithmetic, history, language, philosophy, and science. Children go to school to gain knowledge (including knowledge of religion, for exmaple, in a comparative religions class), not to gain faith. I won't trust others to teach faith (and one cannot truly teach faith) to my children, and I don't think most people should. Not in a public school anyway.
374882
Nothing's wrong with teaching about safe sex, especially if you scare the crap out of younguns so that maybe they'll wait a bit.\n\nNothing's wrong with having sex, either, as long as it is between 2 consenting adults.
819917
Lol, who knows? I come from the UK and sex ed is compulsary here but still we seem to have the highest teen pregnancy's in the whole of Western Europe. Sex ed's important though, because it teaches about protection against pregnancy and STD's....I find it quite important that high school kids must know it.
953344
"Taught" in school.\n\nDon't worry about sex ed, fix your English first.
315275
Yes. It would be useful everywhere. Most countries (i.e., the United States) have very poor teen pregnancy control strategies. I can't wait for them to implement the "abstinence only" non-sex ed to see a skyrocketing number of teens getting pregnant.\n\nJust because birth control options are there doesn't mean people will not have sex. However, the reverse goes as well; if they're NOT there, teens will have sex, get pregnant, get STDs, and live miserably through adulthood.\n\nI don't know much about what you're asking as far as the Caribbean specifically. But I'm all for public health methodologies: PREVENTION.
21868
Yes, but not as a science. School is a place of learning, and ID should be taught as one perspective among many. Censorship is not the way to go. Children should be taught how to think critically for themselves and taught WHY ID is not a science and how to make that distinction. Censorship robs them of the opportunity to know what the difference is, or even how to make the distinctions.