While limitations are often important for people’s well-being, there are some aspects of life that should not be burden with such constraints. Moreover, children and adolescents need transparency and clarity in their lives to grow both physically and mentally. Therefore, it is crucial to provide them with a decent education, which will encompass all vital and necessary subjects. Sex knowledge is the keystone to successful social life, which is the main driver of people’s development (Haberland & Rogow, 2015).
By integrating sexual education into a school curriculum, one will help students to build a proper understanding of their needs and enable them to make healthy decisions in their personal life. Due to the positive impact on physical and mental health, sexual education has to be included in a school curriculum with no restrictions concerning any topics, yet with the required adjustments to students’ age for better understanding.
Sexuality and education
Education is considered to be one of the essential stages in everyone’s life; sexual education is no exception. However, while the current situation with sexual education is improving in the U.S., certain changes such as teaching about consent and changing students’ perception of their bodies are required (Cassell & Wilson, 2017). Modern education is not imaginable without sexuality studies because they protect and complete students as members of civil society.
Haberland and Rogow (2015) find it crucial to develop and implement strategies for integrated primary education about puberty, gender, and fairness/rights and to place greater emphasis on reaching vulnerable youth, including married young women. Although students are provided with an excessive amount of information in every area possible at school, the translation of theory into practice may become rather difficult, which is particularly probable for sexual education.
Limits and Boundaries of Sexual Education
Many discussions are taking place nowadays on restrictions, which can be set on topics within sexual education. The majority of young people say that it is important to make a change to increase social awareness among students, learn the conventional wisdom of relationships and be socially responsible. However, there are some facts, which should be avoided while teaching students about sex, so it is necessary to understand the possible limits and boundaries of sexual education.
The Advantages of Sexual Education
Whether sexual education in schools should have boundaries, however, remains a questionable issue. Without sexual education, one is unlikely to develop a full understanding of one’s partner’s needs, hence a general drop in the quality of interpersonal relationships (Haberland & Rogow, 2015). Finally, with no access to information about sexuality, young people may suffer violence and abuse from their partners or even succumb to abusive behaviors themselves unknowingly. Thus, sexual education is crucial knowledge that defines one’s ability to manage one’s mental and physical health, as well as sustain positive relationships with one’s partner and encourage personal growth, providing constant support.
Control and Limitation of Information within Sexual Education
While it is necessary to provide students with the required information, the latter has to be adjusted to their understanding. One of the immediate actions is to delineate the boundaries of sex knowledge. Secondly, the majority of all teachers are not professional in this field of study. Thus, incorrect information and its’ presentation may be a bad influence on youth (Haberland & Rogow, 2015). Consequently, sex education is an essential part of personal development and should be provided in all educational institutions. However, teachers should set limits to make sex knowledge safe and useful. This important step should be taken in all schools and colleges.
Empowering Youth through Sex Knowledge
In sexual education, no topics should be regarded as tabooed in sexual education; instead, even the most delicate issues concerning sexual relationships and personal development, as well as gender-related issues, need to be discussed to avoid physical and mental health issues. While information should be represented to students in accordance with their age and their understanding of the subject matter, it is also important, to be honest and direct with learners of any age. Thus, possible threats to students’ health and sexual development can be avoided.
References
Cassell, C., & Wilson, P. M. (Eds.). (2017). Sexuality education: A resource book. Washington, D.C.: Routledge.
Haberland, N., & Rogow, D. (2015). Sexuality education: Emerging Trends in evidence and practice. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(1), 15-21. Web.