Does Sex Education Undermine Parental Rights?
“Does Sex Education Undermine Parental Rights”
Sex education has been a controversial topic since the early 1900s when the National Education Association implemented a teachers training program based on sexual education. Since then, health boards have been strongly advocating sexual education in public schools. ("The History of Sexuality Education", 2014). Some parents of middle aged children feel that their rights are not being considered when it comes to their children being taught about such a sensitive and controversial topic in public schools. A New York Times, quite biased, article titled, “Does Sex Education Undermine Parental Rights,” discusses how there is a parental “opt out” covering sexual education curriculum, but research shows …show more content…
That being said, using this as an argument to prove that mandatory sexual education in some states, is undermining parental rights is a hard argument to make without supporting evidence. Realistically, when family morals and religious values become an issue in the public world, there are other alternatives for parents to protect their children, such as private schools, religious schools, and even home schooling. Sometimes this may be too expensive for parents or just inconvenient, but religious values are not really considered in public schools. For example, the Pledge of Allegiance was taken away because of the “Under God” verse, and praying and religious discussion is prohibited. So when it comes to sexual education, what makes religion a priority in this curriculum? The primary goal of sex education is to provide adolescents with knowledge and skills to maintain sexual health and make responsible decisions on this matter. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH) commissioned a survey that found that 43 percent of parents are comfortable talking about sex and sexual health with their children but the other 57 percent feel somewhat uncomfortable and uncomfortable with discussing this topic (PPFA, 2011). Leslie Cantor, a national director of Education of the PPFA, stated, “Contrary to common stereotypes, most mothers and fathers are talking to their kids about sexuality and sexual health, however, the survey shows that some parents are still uncomfortable talking about harder topics such as birth control and how to say no, and can use help having these conversations” (PPFA, 2011). On one side, there are parents that feel they can solely teach their children about sex education and on the other side there are parents who are uncomfortable with this topic all together. Advocates for Youth reviewed
Sex education has been a controversial topic since the early 1900s when the National Education Association implemented a teachers training program based on sexual education. Since then, health boards have been strongly advocating sexual education in public schools. ("The History of Sexuality Education", 2014). Some parents of middle aged children feel that their rights are not being considered when it comes to their children being taught about such a sensitive and controversial topic in public schools. A New York Times, quite biased, article titled, “Does Sex Education Undermine Parental Rights,” discusses how there is a parental “opt out” covering sexual education curriculum, but research shows …show more content…
That being said, using this as an argument to prove that mandatory sexual education in some states, is undermining parental rights is a hard argument to make without supporting evidence. Realistically, when family morals and religious values become an issue in the public world, there are other alternatives for parents to protect their children, such as private schools, religious schools, and even home schooling. Sometimes this may be too expensive for parents or just inconvenient, but religious values are not really considered in public schools. For example, the Pledge of Allegiance was taken away because of the “Under God” verse, and praying and religious discussion is prohibited. So when it comes to sexual education, what makes religion a priority in this curriculum? The primary goal of sex education is to provide adolescents with knowledge and skills to maintain sexual health and make responsible decisions on this matter. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH) commissioned a survey that found that 43 percent of parents are comfortable talking about sex and sexual health with their children but the other 57 percent feel somewhat uncomfortable and uncomfortable with discussing this topic (PPFA, 2011). Leslie Cantor, a national director of Education of the PPFA, stated, “Contrary to common stereotypes, most mothers and fathers are talking to their kids about sexuality and sexual health, however, the survey shows that some parents are still uncomfortable talking about harder topics such as birth control and how to say no, and can use help having these conversations” (PPFA, 2011). On one side, there are parents that feel they can solely teach their children about sex education and on the other side there are parents who are uncomfortable with this topic all together. Advocates for Youth reviewed