Mentioning the topic of declining fertility is surprisingly controversial — partly because of political arguments over sex education in schools. But there are also different ideas about whether a policy priority of avoiding teenage pregnancy clashes with teaching students how to preserve their fertility.
Tag: sex education
It May Be ‘Perfectly Normal’, But It’s Also Frequently Banned
Banned Books Week kicks off Sunday: Each year, the American Library Association takes this week to sponsor events all over the country to talk about the books that shock, offend and generally make Americans uncomfortable. That’s how a sex education book for children, titled It’s Perfectly Normal, became one of the most banned books of the past two decades. The book is meant to teach children 10 and older about sexual health, emotional health and relationships, and contains sections on puberty, pregnancy and sexual orientation.
Ignorance About Sex Leads to Infertility
Gynecologists in city are recording a disturbing trend — despite all the education and exposure to mass media and even sex education in schools, young couples are increasingly showing lack of enthusiasm and ignorance about sex due to either stress or modern lifestyle, which in turn is leading to rise in infertility.
Nation’s First Sex-Ed Standardized Testing Shows Students’ Gaps
The District of Columbia has released results for the nation’s first-ever standardized test that includes sex-education, showing that fifth- and eighth-graders have a lot to learn about their bodies.
The test, known as the 2012 District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS), was administered to fifth-graders, eighth-graders and high school students throughout the city. Results were posted today, and show that even though students answered an average of 62 percent of questions correctly, they have work to do.
“The results that we received will be very helpful in determining the improvements needed to be made for teacher professional development training and create challenging material that can further student’s interest and knowledge in personal health,” Ayan Islam, communications specialist for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, told ABC News.
Islam says the test is part of landmark state legislation passed in 2010, requiring agencies to provide more in-depth reporting and engagement of various community stakeholders with different interests.
More than 11,000 students from fifth-grade through high school were enrolled in health courses and then selected to take the 50-question exam in April. The exam measured students’ knowledge in health-related categories, including wellness, disease prevention, physical education and healthy decision-making. Read full article.