Elementary Students Being Taught of Sex Education

Can sex education prevent children from doing sexual activities in such a young
age? Sex education is the provision of information about bodily development, sex,
sexuality, and relationships to assist people in communicating about sex and making
informed decisions about their sexual health. It can take place in schools, homes and
even in your community. When children begin school, there are many things, they will
learn about the various parts of the body, body development, reproduction, and
offspring and so on, because they have science classes that cover this subject. This is
an opening for them to get curious with these kinds of topic and might come up with the
idea of trying to do it for them to get the answer that came in their mind. That’s why sex
education should be in the school curriculum because it can be like a science subject, it
can be comprehensive and taught throughout students' school years, and it should be
mandatory. It has been shown to benefit rather than harm students. Getting the formal
education about sex education is way better than letting them to explore because of
their curiosity. We know that students who receive formal sex education in schools will
not engage in sexual activity than the peers who does not get the necessary knowledge.
Teens are not encouraged to have sex, and sex education discourages it. So, basically
prevention is better than cure, it will be better to give them the answer they wanted and
needed to know, especially, right now, cases on early and unwanted pregnancy are
massive. By giving them knowledge through formal education it can prevent them in
engaging on sexual activities and by that, it will lessen the problem with teenage
pregnancy, health problems inclined to this matter like the HIV and STD that still one of
the major public health issue according to World Health Organization WHO, (2022) with
over 40.1 million, and in 2021, there are 650 000 people died from HIV-related causes.

Some may believe that students in grades 3 to 6 are too young for such a topic,
that it will be a culture shock for them and will have an impact on their overall
development, because some people still believe that sex education is only about sex
that it can only expose students with this kind of matter without considering the other
benefits of this subject, and right now, students are under in a new curriculum known as
K-12, where one of the salient features is the spiral progression. This is a common
teaching technique in which the first basic facts of a subject are learned before moving
on to a wide range of concepts of the topic/subject until they are learned by studying
them repeatedly over months and years at varying levels of difficulty. So, even if sex
education is added, it will not directly teach a wide range of topics that are difficult for
students to comprehend, but will only teach gradually, beginning with the introduction of
the topic/subject that can give students an opening until they go further and deepen the
topic. And there are lots of learning theories that can be use depending on what type of
learner they are, and teachers will use pedagogy that best suit their students.
 Furthermore, teaching sex education in grades 3-6 is a controversial subject, but
according to Huggins, (2022), a trained to teach age appropriate, comprehensive sex
education. She teaches an hour-long sex education class to fifth graders at Louis B.
Russel Jr. Elementary School in Indianapolis. There are many students who have
various questions, indicating that students at that age are already curious about basic
human body parts and human stuff. That is, students should be taught about sex
education as early as that age in order for them to answer the questions in their heads
and not explore things out of curiosity.

One of the most well-known problems today is the increasing number of cases of
early and unwanted pregnancy and sexual abuse, as well as the increasing number of
people who have HIV, STDs, and other health issues prior to sexual activities. The
majority of youngsters who became pregnant at such a young age lack the necessary
knowledge and ability to fight for themselves against the abuser. According to World
Health Organization (WHO), (2022), unwanted pregnancies are increased by child
sexual abuse. On a 2020 report of World Health Organization (WHO), 120 million girls
under the age of 20 have had some form of forced sexual contact. This abuse is deeply
rooted in gender inequality; it primarily affects girls, though many boys are also affected.
According to estimates, by 2020, at least one in every eight of the world's children will
have been sexually abused before the age of 18, and one in every twenty girls aged 15
to 19 will have experienced forced sex. That is why sex education and educating
youngsters about this subject also matters on protecting their well-being and preventing
on engaging with sexual activities.

As other people have stated, sex education is not for children, then when is the
right time you wanted to educate them, when they already tried this kind of things,
already get abused, manipulate and do thing that is unnecessary. Some disapproved
with this subject to be added on the curriculum on elementary, that students in grade 3
to 6 should not be permitted to participate in sex classes. Yet this claim only covers
minimal aspect of learning about sex education, and it does not validate the other
factors that might help the younger generation to be knowledgeable about this topic. To
lessen and prevent the problem with the health problem prior to this, like abortion, sex
abuse, because the goal of this is to equip children and young people with knowledge,
skills, attitudes and values that will empower them to realize their health, well-being and
dignity, develop respectful social and sexual relationships; consider how their choices
affect their own well-being and that of others; and understand and ensure the protection
of their rights throughout their lives, nevertheless it also aims to educate young people
about topics such as sex, sexuality, and physical development. High-quality sex
education can lead to better STD and unplanned pregnancy prevention. It also
encourages responsible family planning and reduces the risks associated with risky sex.
Our country is gradually introducing sex education and contraception access to help
address issues such as overcrowding, high rates of teen pregnancy, and the spread of
HIV. In addition, several studies suggest that giving people sex education in the form of
books and classes will lead to an increase in their desire to engage in sexual activity.
Moreover, they held the view that education regarding sexuality was distinct from
education regarding topics such as history or geography. They also believed that having
sexual organs and access to information might make us want to pleasure ourselves
physically and mentally. In addition, over 80 percent of the population in the Philippines
considers itself to be Roman Catholic. As a result, the Catholic Church wields a
significant amount of influence over the current climate of sex education in the country.
The Catholic Church frowns upon sexual activity outside of the context of marriage and
is concerned that sexuality classes may lead to an increase in sexual encounters.
Informing young people about themes such as sexuality, the maturation of their bodies,
and other aspects of sexuality is the overarching goal of sex education. The prevention
of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unintended pregnancies may be improved
by receiving high-quality sexual education. In addition to this, it lessens the likelihood of
engaging in risky sexual behavior and encourages more responsible approaches to
family planning.