Human Sexuality Education in the Middle Grades Classroom

Within the United States, abstinence-only human sexuality education has become the main form of ammunition against the epidemic of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Even as these rates continue to raise, legislation for education at the district, state, and national levels continue to take a conservative approach to educating youth about how to make safe and healthful choices related to their sexuality and sexual behaviors. Human sexuality education varies widely within the state of Florida, with some districts taking a comprehensive approach and others omitting human sexuality topics from the middle grades curriculum. Because middle school students are becoming more attuned to sexuality through the media, it is important that comprehensive human sexuality education be implemented widely, providing these youth with accurate and complete information in order to engage in healthful sexual behaviors.... Mehr