A Discussion On Teen Pregnancy And Sexual Education

My last speech in speech class was a group discussion with 4 other people. We all had great topics, one was about space travel and colonization, another was medical marijuana, one about abortion, and another girl had one about gay marriage. We generally agreed on a lot of points that each of us made, but there was some discord. I didn’t agree that a child should have access to marijuana and someone else did. At one point some girl wanted to fight with me on my view of why people dislike gay marriage. We both made valid points, but she thoroughly disagreed with me on that people mock what they can’t have. That view point basically stems from the fact that I see large people make fun of skinny people. All that person has to do is exercise and eat right. But they don’t.

Anyway, we had a great time in the group discussion and I am really glad that we all got As. My topic was Teen Pregnancy and Sexual Education. I had questions like when is it appropriate for teens to engage in sexual activity and what type of education should be taught to our kids? Just questions like that. Some of them were really heavy and they got our group to talk A LOT. I had never seen these people talk so much before. Haha. And I probably never will see them ever again. lol. Well, here is my outline with everything that I said and stuff. I can’t give you the answer to the questions. Hopefully you’ll be able to answer them with your own thoughts and opinions. If you have any comments on this topic please post them. I would really like to hear what you have to say.

PROS

Children bring families together

Kids are wonderful

They create long lasting memories

Higher tax returns

CONS

Creates mothers who are unprepared

A big financial burden for those who can’t take care of themselves

Can lead to dropouts

Really bad situations for the baby

Teen pregnancy breaks up families

Financial burdens for the state because of adoption

Teen mothers are and often remain single parents

Introduction

I. According to the CIA there are about 14 births per every 1000 people in 2010 and we have a population of over 300 million. We can all agree that babies are cute, but they effect a lot lives. A very delicate issue that is related to babies is teen pregnancy. Especially now that young people are becoming sexually active at very young ages. According to livestrong.com one-third of girls get pregnant before the age of 20.

II. There are many reasons and benefits to have children. Children bring families together, kids are wonderful, they create long lasting memories, and higher tax returns. But the list of cons for teen pregnancy far out weighs the pros for child rearing in general. Teen pregnancy creates mothers who are totally unprepared for this, they are a really big financial burden for someone who can barely support themselves, teen pregnancy can break up even the strongest of families, they can lead to drop outs, and sometimes really bad situations for the child and creates a burden for the state if they are given up for adoption, because not all babies are adopted. This issue has raised a lot of questions in relation to how parents or even the state should handle teen pregnancy and sexual education and what actions should be taken to prevent it.

Body

I. The first that probes the mind is, “At what age should children have the sex talk?”

II. Do you think that learning about sex drives young people to want to engage in it more?

III. To what extremes should parents take to educate their children about sex and to prevent them from getting pregnant?

IV. At what age is it appropriate for young people to engage in sexual activity and why?

V. Should girls who have entered puberty be required to go on the pill? Why or why not?

VI. If an under-aged girl asks for an abortion does the state have the right to say no?

VII. Should schools be allowed to give out condoms to boys and girls?

VIII. Since two parties are involved should both boys and girls be educated in the several types of birth control available? Who should be responsible for this education?

IX. When should schools have sexual education and how extensive should this education be?

X. Should sexual education be required like math and science are required in order to graduate?

Conclusion

I. Teen pregnancy is a very hard issue to tackle. Everyone has their own opinion on how it should be dealt with. I think that kids should be educated more and parents should have a more watchful eye on what their kids are doing outside of school and the home. Parents should have a firmer hand on how they raise their children, so that the state can not come in and say that you’re doing it wrong and that you’re kids are out of control.

II. I was told about sex at a very young age and even my school held classes in the fifth grade to educate us about sex. And every year after that I was required to take a class which furthered that education. I think that children should be educated about sex at a young age to at least know what is out there. Because kids need to be prepared for life when they grow up before they grow up so that they can make an informed decision on when it is right for them.