Argumentative Writing: Should children be taught sex education in schools?

Should children be taught sex education in schools?

                Sex education is a relatively new concept in the education system. It was proposed as a way to reduce various sex-related problems happening among the youths such as teenage pregnancies, abortion, baby-dumping, rape, molestations, and incest. These problems are committed mostly by people who are misinformed about sex and the risks involved. In my opinion, sex education is a great way to teach young adults about all there is to know about sex and everything that comes with it. I agree that sex education should be taught in schools and this essay will discuss the reasons.

                In a study done by The Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2007, about 50 per cent of children in India are sexually abused.  Sex is considered as a taboo subject in India, so nobody talks about it or report about the abuse. A lot of people feel that this delicate issue should be informed or explained by the parents. However, many parents feel embarrassed to talk about sex openly to their children. That is why schools can provide an alternate route for children to learn the facts about sex. Teaching sex education in schools can promote the idea that sex is a natural, healthy, and normal part of life and nobody should feel ashamed about it. It can help youths to learn about sex in a scientific and objective way so that they would be more careful to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually-transmitted diseases.

                Children need the correct information about sex to be able to protect them themselves when necessary. In the United States, most of the teenagers are already sexually active and the teenage pregnancy rate is doubled compared to other western countries, with 750000 teens becoming pregnant annually. This is due to the fact that the teenagers are not well-informed about sex and the risks as they reach puberty and undergo body changes. A lot of these adolescents become curious and decide to try it themselves. Thus, it is important to equip teenagers with reliable and correct information about how to protect themselves from sex abuse, unplanned pregnancies, and diseases by enforcing sex education in schools.

                Sex education can be an encouragement to youths to remain abstinent or practice safe sex by using preventive measures such as using condoms. Studies show that teaching sex education before youths become sexually active can actually help them to stay abstinent or use protection when they reach the stage of becoming sexually active. By teaching it in schools, children will be informed earlier about sex, preventive measures and sexually-transmitted diseases so that they can prepare themselves about the mysterious subject of sex as they grow up. They would not have to be curious about it anymore and misunderstandings or myths about sex such as not getting pregnant for the first time of doing it can be confidently defied, as they would have been properly informed in schools.

                In conclusion, sex education is a vital subject that must be taught to young children or adolescents. The perception of shame and embarrassment concerning talking about sex should be corrected because sex is a biological part of life. I think that it is immature to think that people can avoid talking about sex when it is a natural thing in a person’s life. Schools should implement programs to effectively inform students about this subject in a neutral manner.

(561 words).

Status: Checked.


Band 4