With so much of the population on the

affirmative side there must be some

pros to this curriculum. Such
advantages might be:
* Classes are gender exclusive. This
saves embarrassment amongst
students and teaches them only what
is necessary to know based on their
gender.
* Taught properly, sexual education
could become a regular course such as
Human Anatomy or Biological Science
complete with tests and grading that
goes towards their graduating credits.
* Student's can be taught the correct
terms of the reproductive system,
sexually transmitted diseases and
birth contraceptives rather than the
"street lingo."
* Myths surrounding intercourse can
be dispelled (such as not being able to
get pregnant the first time).
* Studies show that many teenagers
become sexually active before the
inclusion of the educational classes.
Early inclusion of classes has proven to
help students remain either abstinent
or to at least be responsible if they are
active.
* Appropriate sexual education can
have an impact on preventing sexual
problems in adulthood.
However, there are disadvantages that
can cause the validity and
effectiveness of the material to be in

question, and if it cannot be delivered

effectively it should not be delivered at
all. Some disadvantages might be:
* Students may still suffer from
embarrassment or get excitable by the
topic matter. This can cause for out-ofcontrol classrooms if students take to
giggling or making inappropriate
remarks.
* Most sexual education classes are
taught as a brief interlude during a
physical education or a health class.
This is not a long enough time to
effectively relate such serious
material.
* Often, sexual education can go
against an individual's moral or
religious beliefs. Many schools do not
teach "abstinence only" but teach how
to have intercourse safely, whereas
many religious and family values
stress marriage before intercourse.
* Sexual education is often viewed as a
"recreational" course and not a serious
subject (this is a direct correlation to
the fact that there are no grades or
scores to be derived from class).
* Teachers are not always trained how
to properly teach sexual education
courses and may transgress their own
beliefs or morals into the subject
matter rather than stick with the facts.

as opportunities to become more

informed and involved in their
childs learning process.