1 in 4 teens have an std...abstanance only education?

A federal study was released today that said 1 in 4 teens have an STD. There was an argument mentioned that said some people believe this is a result of abstinence-only sex education. Does anyone know what the argument is? I didn't understand it

The real reason is PARENTS. The schools do teach what ever program the school board approves, whether it is abstinence only, safe sex, or both. But this really only gets into the mechanics of sex, and not the why. This is the parents job to teach the kids. They need to talk to them and discuss why people have sex. They need to make them understand that it is OK to step away from the peer pressure. And they need to know that they can talk to their parents about sex with no repercussions. This is where the process is failing, and why I believe STDs in teens is on the rise.

No i heard the other way around, its a result from the condom study. They were saying schools weren't really teaching abstinence just to wear a condom.

The reasoning is that by not teaching kids about effective contraception, schools are setting them up for failure. By not teaching students how to effectively use condoms and other kinds of birth control, the ones who have no moral reason to abstain are left to figure it out for themselves, instead of being informed and safe.

No because they do not teach abstinance only in schools. Nice try!

Because they're being taught abstinence-only education, and not how to properly use a condom or engage in safe sex, teenagers are contracting STDs out of ignorance.

Of course, I know plenty of adults who know how to have safe sex and have chosen not to do so. Teenagers should probably be taught about condoms, but there's no guarantee that anyone will use them. Shame.

there is not just one thing thats making this happen. society as a whole is contributing to this.

If the teachers only discuss abstinence as the only option, kids don't know WHAT they are doing when it comes to sex. In the real world, kids will play around, and i'd rather they have the facts. If adults would talk openly about it with teens who were going to do it anyway (most of them) then we'd have a lot less VD and teenage pregnancy to deal with.

Have you seen some of the questions on here? "Can I get pregnant through my clothes?" and that sort of thing? That just shows how badly educated kids are these days.

I heard something about this last week. I believe the argument was that if you teach abstinence instead of educating the children then you open up the possibilities of them getting more STD's and having more teen pregnancies due to lack of knowledge.

yes :-) this means that the only sex education that is being taught is to not have sex at all (abstinence). They are teaching teens that this is the only way to be 100% sure they do not contract an STD. By teaching teens this, they only know that they CANNOT have sex. They should teach students to use condoms and birth control. This will tell the students that when they are ready, they can have sex, but use protection. Then they know that there are ways of protecting themselves other than abstinence.

What I don't understand is what is the responsibility of the parents of these teens. Someone needs to be accountable. This isn't a government issue and I don't want my tax dollars attributed to fixing this problem. People need to start taking responsibility for themselves and their offspring.

Here is my take.. When I was in High School a few years ago, they taught nothing by abstinance which didn't get anyone anywhere because not only did they wait until we were 16 to tell us all of this (what we already knew..) but our school system also had one of the highest pregnancy rates in the country.. per capita. Abstinance only education is old and doesn't work. Kids are going to do what they want to do and the argument usually for absitinance is a Christian one and we all know that not everyone believes in God. They need to be teaching kids ways of contraception, condoms, birth control.. What to do if you think you have an STD or if you think you're pregnant.

Teaching Abstinance in 2008 is like trying to rally for prohibition. It just isn't going to work in today's day and age, not with what's on TV anyway.

Instead of teaching teenagers how to have safe, responsible sex (sex they will have due to natural instinctive biological urges), the Bush administration wants to only tell them "Don't Have Sex". Consequently, teenagers have sex without proper knowledge or precautions.

Yeah....let's blame it on everything else but the kids. These kids are bombarded with sex from a young age now that we have a television in front of every kid. They are taught its okay even by the ex President of the US. In fact its cool and it's not really sex. We also have both parents working and a generation of youths who are unchaperoned. It's cool to breed and the more breeding the cooler it is and the government will pick up the tab for it. That is why 1 in 4 have STD's, because we have rewarded them for it.

Lets get the facts right first. Its one in four teenage girls not teens. And of those it is mostly African Americans. That argument about abstinence only education is a flimsy excuse for poor parenting. We should not rely on the public education system to teach our children about sex. That is the responsibility of the parents.

j

It doesnt matter what they teach in schools. In the end a teenager is going to do what they want when they want to. Especially if they think its cool and will make their bf happy.

It was a case on women ages 14-19yrs old.

First off this is based on the premise that the only sex education these girls are getting is the school sex ed. If this is the case then their parents failed them. The school can teach or not teach anything they like about sex ed. The parents still have a responsibility to teach their children. We may have more cases of STD's but we are still going around in an antiquated circle of ignorance for our youth when it comes to sex. The only effective sex ed is one on one with your child. Being able to ask questions without an audience of peers in a classroom and knowing the teacher actually cares for you could end a lot of these issues. Its fairly sad parents havent figured that out yet. That being said I will point out this study involves teens 14-19. Which means they have included legal adults age 18 and 19. a higher number of STD's among college age teens would make sense. They are away from home and no longer answerable to parents.

I would like to add exclusionary teaching of evolution as a contender to abstinence-only education. Many infer from it that there can be no personal God, and therefore no "one and only" prepared ahead of time worth keeping themselves for.(I apply this to girls in particular, because they hold "veto power" in sexual matters.) The conclusion that results from the presentation of mindless-process-only science to the exclusion of all that argues against it has a much greater impact than most realize. Therefore, before anything is foisted upon kids that affects basic beliefs that effect behavior, hopefully what is taught as the nature of reality will be truly weighed in light of all evidence. To me, this is not "too far out."