Should we teach sex education in schools? If so, what subjects would you start teaching at the earliest grade?

What grade level should it start and what subjects do you think should be taught to children that young?



If you think that it should not be taught, where do you draw the line between biology and sex education? If there are only certain subjects that you feel should not be taught, what are they?



Do your elected officials and local schools agree with your views?Should we teach sex education in schools? If so, what subjects would you start teaching at the earliest grade?Starting in elementary school, when kids are lik 9-10 is when they should be taught about the changes of life. Not about sex, just about the changes their bodies go through, menstruation, body hair, etc.



Then in Junior High they should be taught sex education like STD's, pregnancy etc. When I was in 9th grade they made us carry around 8 lb dolls for a week.



In High School they should reiterate what was taught in Junior High, including proper condom use, pregnancy prevention, etc.



I have no problem with student being taught that abstinence is the only 100% protection against STD's and pregnancy. But it should not be taught at the expense of other useful information.



In Utah, where I live, we were taught ONLY abstinence. They never went over condom use. The whole message was "abstinence is how you stop pregnancy"



Needless to say, Utah has one of the HIGHEST rates of teen pregnancy and STD's...so we can see how well THAT'S working.



The first time I had sex I was 17 (with the guy I am now married to). We had NO clue how to use condoms, and we didn't even use them for the first 2 months. He just "pulled out". I never got pregnant, but other girls did.



A lot of kids are like I was and don't feel comfortable talking to their parents. I learned proper sex education from the internet...how shameful is that? My parents didn't teach me, my school didn't teach me...we shouldn't be forcing kids to go online to ask sex questions. Something needs to be done.Should we teach sex education in schools? If so, what subjects would you start teaching at the earliest grade?
Not educating the them isn't working..........

__ __ _ ----- ___ __ ____



The Centers for Disease Control released a new report that found that Mississippi “now has the nation’s highest teen pregnancy rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title.” The report found that in 2006, the Mississippi teen pregnancy rate was over 60 percent higher than the national average and increased 13 percent since the year before.



While the new report does not explain why the state’s teen pregnancy rate is increasing, one reason may be the poor quality of its sex ed programs. As the Sexuality Information and Education Center explains, Mississippi focuses heavily on abstinence education and teachers are prohibited from demonstrating how to use contraceptives:

-

Mississippi schools are not required to teach sexuality education or sexually transmitted disease (STD)/HIV education. If schools choose to teach either or both forms of education, they must stress abstinence-until-marriage, including “the likely negative psychological and physical effects of not abstaining.” […]



If the school board authorizes the teaching of contraception, state law dictates that the failure rates and risks of each contraceptive method must be included and “in no case shall the instruction or program include any demonstration of how condoms or other contraceptives are applied.”Should we teach sex education in schools? If so, what subjects would you start teaching at the earliest grade?I wonder who would be doing the teaching. The students or teachers? Kids are sexually active in middle school. Not a single school program has stemmed the tide. It must start at home. And the blatant sexual innuendo that permeates the media is probably the single biggest contributing factor in the rampant STD we see today. Advocating condom use will not do a thing.



Keep education of children to the fundamentals and leave the rest to the parents.
From 5th grade on, teach simple biological reproduction with no human connotation.



Starting in 8th grade, teach about the BARE MINIMUM- normal sex and its consequences in the form of pregnancies and STDs. Should stress that sex is strictly for married people who love each other and can support the baby. Say that sex before marriage IS WRONG, but if they choose to do it, then they should use protection- aka condoms and whatnot.

(DO NOT TEACH oral sex, sex positions, or anything like that)



In 10th grade: Show woman giving birth, and explain again what I said above.Should we teach sex education in schools? If so, what subjects would you start teaching at the earliest grade?From the earliest grades children should be taught to protect themselves from predators of any kind and that they should immediately report any approaches or acts to their parents or a school authority.



Sex education should be taught in the schools, seventh grade seems appropriate. Ideally parents would educate their own children. As a teenager I was amazed at how many of my peers were so misinformed because their information came from our peers.Should we teach sex education in schools? If so, what subjects would you start teaching at the earliest grade?
No. That is a matter to be discussed between parents and their children. In my experience, sex education in schools goes far beyond biology, and extends into showing graphic pictures of STDs to children who are much too young and immature to properly learn from them. It is unnecessary and wrong to show borderline pornographic photos to 8th graders. It teaches them nothing.
No the schools need to stay out of parents domain.

We had stupid sex ed in grade school the dumbest class I ever took in a series of stupid classes by our dear government.

Mu school suck they have their stupid Dare(police in school) I never allowed my children to attend that. Some things I gave my child the choice but no Police in school that is even worse then their dumb sex ed classes.Should we teach sex education in schools? If so, what subjects would you start teaching at the earliest grade?
Of course we should. It would be no less irresponsible to fail to prepare our children for adult life in this respect than it would to fail to teach them to read and write.

I am not an expert on education and so cannot tell you at what age each lesson should begin.
Sex is apart of life. It is neccessary to educate children on sex because of the risk of STDS and so fourth. It raises awareness and educates them on how to protect themselves.
Science, you should first teach about the sperms on how baby forms.
8th grade right before they hit highschool



I would start with abstinence



not necessarily till marriage (i dont believe ill get married )

but atleast through the teens
Everybody starts with masterbation stick with the basics.

See how that sounds how about letting mom and dad handle this one.

I for one don't want my kid hearing about these things from some dried up old seahag who never had an orgasm.
Yes. It is possible to teach AGE APPROPRIATE information to students.
5th grade. I have an 11 and 12 years old girls, and they already know way too much. they need to teach more at school; as i am doing at home!!
No, they should teach basic things.

(Math, Science, History, Writing)
Best left to mum and dad.
I was taught about it in 5th grade...that was a good time
First off, I DO think that this is something that primarily belongs to parents to teach their children. HOWEVER, I don't have a great degree of confidence in parents. Just amongst myself and a group of my friends, we discussed one night whose parents had ever given "the talk." Of a group of 10 of us, ONLY my husband had ever received in instruction whatsoever in sex from his parents. (We are all in mid-twenties now.) So parents in general obviously aren't doing their job. No parent has a right to be so upset about a pregnant teen if they haven't done their duty by their daughter, yet that seems to happen all the time.



Next, since parents aren't all doing their job reliably, I suppose that forces society (for the sake of watching out for its own stability) to try to teach kids to make wiser choices. Unfortunately, that probably means school teaching.



As to biology vs. sex ed, I think one of the greatest failings is that the BIOLOGY isn't taught properly. Amazing how many teens believe in myths. Never mind teen myths, though, most grown adults STILL are under-educated on how their own bodies work, ESPECIALLY women. The myth of a woman ovulating on Day14, for example, is utterly wrong. If teen girls were better taught PRECISELY the function and patterns of their cycles, they would not only make wiser sexual decisions, but would be empowered to take better control of their health for the rest of their lives.



Finally, while teaching sex ed, we need to ditch this ridiculous abstinence-only method. Plant a "Do not walk on grass" sign, and the first thing we all want to do is jump in with both feet. Telling teens, who are at the most rebellious state in their lives, not to do something and actually expecting them to obey, is insane. All the abstinence-only approach does is prevent kids from learning how to use protection properly. And the less they've actually been taught about the biological processes of sex and how to protect themselves against pregnancy and disease, the MORE likely they are to believe in idiotic myths, like "Girl-on-top prevents pregnancy." (I've even heard 20-somethings who think it's impossible to conceive in positions other than missionary.) Now, I'm personally completely against casual sex, and think the idea of people waiting for marriage is a noble one for those so inclined, and think it's best for individuals to wait as long as they possibly can. I've read somewhere, and it makes perfect sense, that the earlier you lose your virginity, the more likely you are to have more partners and riskier behavior. So preaching abstinence isn't totally a BAD thing. It IS an option and it is a very GOOD option. But we're idiots to believe that teaching only abstinence will EVER do ANY good.