SEX EDUCATION

For years, a concern many students, parents, and scholars have been raising is whether or not it is

academically useful to educate boys and girls together or separately at kindergarten. Murray,

Murray, Murray, Murray, Murray, Murray, Murray, Murray, Murray, Murray, Murray, Murray

Some contend that coeducation has mainly psychological advantages, encouraging males and

females of both ages to become more equipped for real-world circumstances, while a pupil who

has already seen a single-sex environment can be less prepared, anxious, or uneasy.

The astonishing part is that sex education is very common in the United States. The majority of

Americans believe that young people should pursue high-quality sex education on a variety of

subjects, including birth control and sexual identity. And often people believe that schools

already have successful sex education (even though they don't).

The controversy about whether or not sex education can be taught in American schools has come

to an end. Just 7% of Americans believe sex education should not be taught in classrooms,

according to a recent survey conducted by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard's

Kennedy School of Government. Furthermore, there is little disagreement in most countries on

what type of sex education should be practiced, but there are already some hotspots of

contention. Parents are largely satisfied with whatever sex education their children's school

provides (see Parents Approve sidebar), and public school principals report no substantive

disagreement about sex education in their neighbourhoods today, according to a parallel

NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy School poll. Nearly three-quarters of principals (74%) state there have
been no current conversations or debates on whether to teach in sex education at PTA, school

board, or other public forums.

In several areas, abstinence-only schooling differs from the broad sex education program that

most Americans want, which includes everything from the fundamentals of how kids are created

and how to put on a condom and how to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases. Certain

people felt certain topics were more fit for high school students than middle school students, and

vice versa, but few people thought some of the proposed topics were unacceptable. The most

contentious issue, "that teenagers should procure birth control pills from family planning clinics

and physicians without parental consent," was deemed inappropriate by 28% of the population,

but seven out of ten (71%) felt it was acceptable. Oral sex (which was deemed objectionable by

27% of respondents) and homosexuality were the three two most contentious issues (25 percent).

(For more details, see Table 1 in the Survey Tables sidebar.)

A national task force of leaders in the fields of youth growth, health care, and education created

the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) Guidelines for

Comprehensive Sexuality Education. They offer a framework of core principles, themes, and

messages that can be used in all sexuality education services. The Future of Sex Education

Initiative (FoSE) aims to start a nationwide conversation regarding the future of sex education

and encourage the inclusion of formal sexuality education in public schools. They've produced

the first-ever National Sexuality Education Standards, National Teacher Preparation Standards,
and a slew of other resources to help with delivery and professional advancement of inclusive

sexuality education.

The Future of Sex Education Initiative (FoSE) aims to start a nationwide conversation regarding

the future of sex education and encourage the inclusion of formal sexuality education in public

schools. They've produced the first-ever National Sexuality Education Standards, National

Teacher Preparation Standards, and a slew of other resources to help with delivery and

professional advancement of inclusive sexuality education. The Future of Sex Education

Initiative (FoSE) was established as a collaboration between Advocates for Youth, Answer, and

the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) to encourage

inclusive sexuality education in public schools and to establish a nationwide debate regarding the

future of sex education.

According to a 1999 Guttmacher Institute survey, most sex education classes in grades 7 through

12 in the United States include abortion, HIV, STIs, abstinence, the consequences of underage

pregnancy, and how to resist peer pressure. Other research subjects included fertility control and

infection prevention strategies, sexual identity, sexual assault, and accurate and legal knowledge

regarding abortion. (Jeffrey E. Darroch et al.)

(Jeffrey E. Darroch et al.)

The Future of Sex Education Initiative (FoSE) was established as a collaboration between

Advocates for Youth, Answer, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the

United States (SIECUS) to encourage inclusive sexuality education in public schools and to

establish a nationwide debate regarding the future of sex education.

The aim of this clinical report is to provide pediatricians with revised research on evidence-based

sexual and reproductive health education that has been completed since the American Academy

of Pediatrics' initial clinical report on the topic was released in 2001. Intimate marriages, human

sexual anatomy, sexual development, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual intercourse, sexual

preference, gender identification, abstinence, abortion, and reproductive rights and obligations

are also covered by sexuality education. Pediatricians, schools, other clinicians, and parents can

have developmentally relevant and evidence-based information regarding human sexuality and

sexual reproduction over time to help children and teenagers create educated, meaningful, and

healthier decisions about healthy relationships, responsible sexual behavior, and reproductive

health.