Abstinence-only education can have great benefits for children. By teaching them that there is only one option to live by, many people believe that that is the path they will follow. The curriculum teaches that abstinence helps you have more self-respect and respect for your partner. It teaches about greater faithfulness in marriage, and less worries about pregnancy and STDs. This, unfortunately, is not necessarily correct. A recent Waxman study states "Virginity pledgers are no less likely to engage in premarital sex than their peers. Pledgers have rates of sexually transmitted diseases similar to other teens, and are less likely to use contraception in the event that they do engage in sexual intercourse." The quality of information, the physical effects, and the psychological effects of this abstinence-only curriculum are causing major problems among today's youth. The curriculum is not properly preparing adolescents for the reality of their adulthood. In today's world children are being exposed to more sexual ideas than ever before. The media, through movies, television shows, and magazines are setting examples that sex before marriage is acceptable. Why is it then that America continues to push abstinence-only sexual education? .
The main fear in teaching sexual education versus abstinence education in school is that it will drive students to believe that having sex before marriage is acceptable. The main goal of sexual education is not to desensitize children to the idea of sex, but to warn and inform them about all the dangers that come along with it. Personally, I think the reality of all the diseases and complications that come with having sex would open the eyes of students and further drive them away from participating in it. Abstinence education teaches a very black-and-white way of thinking. Sex before marriage is bad. But with sexual education, it satisfies the curiosity within students to WHY sex should be taken seriously.
