Sex-Abstinence classes innefectual?

[Neonanocyborgasm]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6554743.stm

US students attending sexual abstinence classes are no more likely to abstain from sex than those who do not, according to a new study.

What should Sex-Education in school involve?

This is not the first study to demonstrate these results. There was even a study that showed that abstinence-only education actually increased sexual activity.

I think the reason these programs don't work is because they never realistically address the problem of adolescent sexuality. Instead of accepting that some kids will do it, and give them guidance, they simply threaten them not to, and then offer nothing if they actually have sex.

SexEd is an unfortunate consequence of our society trying to "protect" children from their sex drives, such that they are completely ignorant when their natural urges overtake them. IMO, it should be nothing more than basic information regarding reproduction and contraception. If this was ancient Rome, 2000 years ago, it would be a laughable notion to have classes to teach youths sex, because everyone knew what it was from an early age.

 

[emzie]

The adolescent, whilst physically capable of mating, is not emotionally nor developmentally ready. The more research that is done into the brain, the more compelling reasons emerge.

Kids by today's standards were able parents in time past.

 

[Simon Darkshade]

Kids by today's standards were able parents in time past.

Indeed that has been the case in the past. However, this is not the days of yore. The notion of childhood extends further, and more importantly there are differences in maturity, cognitive development and the world that they are part of. There are differences between a 16 year old lad in 1900 or 1950 and today.

To make a broad generalization, physical maturity, marked by menarche or whatever signposts we wish to use, is occuring earlier. Emotional and cognitive maturity is not following in synch with this, and in many circumstances is occuring later.

Add in the sexualisation of tweens and younger children, and there comes about a worrying situation. In my view, what is needed is not a laissez faire approach combined with an abject surrender to teenage sexual activity, but rather a combined arms approach.

Let the schools offer the basic facts in a biological sense. Let the parents decide how to address the moral and ethical issues, and make resources and courses available to be taken advantage of. (growth and development sessions run by third party organisations)
The issue of contraception should be up to the individual parents.

I do believe that we should be encouraging children slightly different things at different ages, according to their developmental level; this would manifest itself into full discouragement before 14, beginning to address the notions of choices and their consequences 14-16, and a more advanced version of it at 16 and above.