ESLF 080-03
Instructor: Corey Muench
Altug Ozturk
Draft #1
Thesis Statement: There are three types of sex education which are taught to students in the USA
Two of the three sex education types are abstinence-based (AB): Abstinence-Only (AO), Abstinence-Plus (A+). Both of the programs teach students to say no to sex until marriage because of religious beliefs. AO programs are usually run by the conservative organizations and A+ by liberal organizations. AO doesn’t teach about contraception. In fact, they teach more of the negative side of contraception. This results in students not believing in condom usage or not knowing how to use them and possibly getting a sexually transmitted disease or having a child while still being a teenager. On the other hand, A+ teaches students how contraception works. That is the major difference between AO and A+. The reason why AO doesn’t teach about contraception is because AO supporters think that it sends a mixed message. Telling students not to engage in sexual intercourse and to teach them how to protect themselves if they do so, is a bad idea for the AO supporters. Although both programs teach differently about contraception, the main idea is abstinence from sex. Both programs usually ask students to take a “virginity pledge”, to promise themselves not to have sex until marriage.
Other than AB programs, another type of sex education program is comprehensive sex education. Different than AO and A+ it is a non-religious program. To teach the description of comprehensive sex education, most schools use hands on experience. That is because COMP education includes teaching the process on how to use a condom all the way to how to use birth control. One of the reasons why it is different from Abstinence-based programs is that COMP does not tell students that abstinence is the only way. COMP teaches that waiting to be sexually active is a good thing to do, but it also leaves the choice to the students. Learning about contraception and knowing what could be the consequences plays a big role in the program. Because students get to learn everything about sex, they become more open minded about sex. Usually the students who learn COMP education are more likely to wait until marriage than the ones who learn abstinence-based programs.
There are several errors about the Abstinence-only program: meagre amounts of information about contraception and defective virginity pledges. Students who learn AO usually get negative or no information about contraception. That makes every thing harder for the students to maintain their physical health. If a student doesn’t know much about how to use a condom or to use birth control, what are they going to do when they find themselves in the situation? Perhaps they will not use contraception and have an unintended pregnancy or STD. Moreover, this is what usually happens with the teenagers who learn AO. Teachers tell the students to take virginity pledges and sooner or later most of the students break their promises. What happens next is clueless students have to face the consequences. These results often happen and that is because of the strict religious ideology. AO supporters do not believe that it is okay to have sex before marriage, but they do not include the chance of a student being involved with sexual intercourse. The worst part is students are forced to take pledges and they often break the promise. This situation is like the forbidden fruit story. God tells Adam and Eve not to eat the forbidden fruit, but they disobey god and eat the fruit. If a person is forced not to do something there is a big chance that the person will do it.
On the other hand, comprehensive sex education is more enlightening. It provides plenty of information about contraception. COMP teachers show students how to use a condom, how to take birth control and even how to say no to an inquiry about sex. Students are excited to learn about sex because it has always been an awkward thing to talk about. Even still, in some cultures it is a weird topic to discuss. Students like the idea of learning about contraception because it is useful. Some students can’t talk to their parents or friends about it. After learning in class, it gives them the courage to explore and know what sex is all about and how to be aware of the dangers of it. COMP education teachers also say that it is good to wait until marriage but it is the student’s choice. That makes everything even easier for both sides. Students learn what they should do in various types of situations and can make the choices for themselves. COMP teachers teach what they should and they see the outcome being very healthy, physically and mentally. This is why COMP education is more effective than AB programs and is more popular to teach in schools.
