Evolution of Sex Education Curriculum
Sex education has evolved a lot over the last few decades as the earlier abstinence-only programs were ineffective in controlling unsafe sex practices and in educating teenagers to be responsible towards others and themselves. Earlier, there were lot of controversies around the sex curriculums in school and morals behind sex education. Knowledge and dialogue about safe sex was considering taboo. Hence, a lot of teenagers were exposed to unsafe sexual behaviors
The focus of sex education has changed from family planning and marriage to educating the kids about sexual orientation, intimacy, sexual expression, safe sex practices, and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. Parents and schools have realized that lack of comprehensive sex education programs leads to high-risk behaviors such as forced sex, unwanted pregnancies, and prostitution. A holistic sex education curriculum helps students to make informed healthcare decisions. Open and transparent dialogue about safe sex practices helps to keep our vulnerable youth away from high-risk activities.
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- Age-appropriate education about relationships is the right of every child
Hence, being sexually literate is very essential as it helps society change their views on the concept of sex education and develop a broader perspective about the same. The changes occurring around the curriculum of sex education will help the society and school students better understand the importance of self-acceptance and safe sexual relationships in their everyday lives.
The rapid growth of technology and digital media provide various platforms to provide sex-related information. However, the teenagers can be easily misled by the content and intention of the writer and might not realize that random sex can cause bodily damage and serious health complications. A lot of school students are exposed to irresponsible and incorrect sex content which in turn encourages them to engage in unprotected and high-risk sexual activities. Schools and parents can play a key role in educating youth about concepts of physical changes and safe sex though constant counseling.
Internet and globalization are posing some serious challenges to providing comprehensive sex education as most of the TV shows and movies these days project sex as harmless and necessary which promotes irresponsible sexual behaviors amongst teenagers. The sexual ads and unreliable messages are easily accessible at the click of the button. Therefore, it is very important that the kids get knowledge about sexual health, consensual relationship, abuse, and healthy sexual practices from most reliable and credible sources- teachers and parents. Ignorance and prejudice prevent teenagers to understand the benefits of sex education and well-informed sexual decisions. For instance, many girls who do not have access to information about the ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies give birth become teenage mothers, or encounter death. This can be prevented by educating them about precautions such as contraceptives, abortion, and condoms.
Teachers can take advantage of the use of technology to integrate sex education lessons and videos to educate students on sexual health and show ‘sex education in their course pedagogy. The curriculum should include practice tests, confidential and personalized follow-up, and a feedback system. The Netflix show- “Sex Education” is an excellent example of how students and teenagers can be educated about sex and the stigma around it. Technology can be harmful if not used in the right way. This show portrays different aspects of sexual motivations and how to deal with them. The main concept revolves around the benefits of being educated about sex and how to reduce the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases amongst teenagers. In this show, the lead character Otis inherits ways of teaching other students of his school about sex from his mother who is a sex therapist herself. This show is very informative, and it is targeting the right kind of audience(teenagers) and is successful in educating teenagers about HIV/AIDS and the required precautions to take before getting sexually involved.
Link to the Video- Netflix show Trailer (sex education)- https://youtu.be/k7-mYllBxXo
Research has proven that by providing the right knowledge on a critical subject like sex education in the classroom reduces unsafe sexual activity amongst teenagers as they are made more aware of the risks of unprotected sex. If not appropriately educated, teenagers tend to be exposed to the lie that sex is harmless, and this further leads to an increase in their sexual activities which can negatively impact their health.
To conclude, sex education is not just about what’s wrong or right with sex, but it is about spreading information about taking necessary protective measures while engaging in sexual activities. Education should be about preventing irresponsible sex and not sex. It must be provided in an engaging and transparent manner so that modern-era teenagers are more receptive to it.
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