New Information

I found this journal article via the library's website. It was written by Terry Parker from Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education. He stated that "Schools and communities must acknowledge that the majority of American young people will be sexually active prior to their high school graduation. Accordingly, schools and communities must respond proactively by providing students with the comprehensive sex education curricula they need to prevent the detrimental outcomes of their sexual behavior. Denial that young people are sexually active, or failure to provide scientifically validated curricula, may jeopardize the future of this generation and those that succeed it." He also included that all of the below topics are necessary for effective sex education.

* Focus on reducing one or more sexual behaviors that lead to unintended pregnancy or HIV/STD infection;
* Are based on theoretical approaches that have been demonstrated to be effective in influencing other health-risk behaviors;
* Give a clear message about sexual activity and condom/contraceptive use and continually reinforce that message;
* Provide basic information about the risks of adolescent sexual behavior and about methods of avoiding intercourse or using protection against pregnancy and STDs;
* Include activities that address social pressures that influence sexual behavior
* Provide modeling of and practice with communication, negotiation, and refusal skills;
* Employ a variety of teaching methods designed to involve the participants and have them personalize the information;
* Incorporate behavioral goals, teaching methods, and materials that are appropriate to the age, sexual experience and culture of the students
* Last a sufficient amount of time to complete important activities adequately and
* Select teachers or peer leaders who believe in the program they are implementing and then provide them with training.