Program Information

The segment below was taken from a document released by the International Abstinence Association. It summarizes why we teach what we teach. The core concepts in the Creating Positive Relationships curricula help students recognize sexual activity as more than a simple physical act.

The debate between “abstinence education” and traditional “sex education” is often framed in this way: should the teacher emphasize the success rates of contraception in order to encourage their use, or the failure rates of contraception in order to discourage risky behavior altogether?  The problem with this question is that it dismisses off-hand the innumerable risks of teenage sexual activity for which there is not protection. The human person is simply not wired for casual sex.  The practice of withholding this information from students is a deeply troubling one.  Moreover, any honest account of human sexuality will make a student aware of the positive effect that the sexual act has on the person within the context of marriage.  Only the whole person understanding of human health provides the framework for such a discussion.

When applied to sex education, the whole person approach to health provides an opportunity for an open, honest, and complete discussion of human sexuality. By communicating a broader and deeper significance to the sexual act, it gives teens a truly compelling justification for abstaining from sexual activity until marriage.

At each grade level, we use what we call the “whole person circle” to help students understand how their sexuality impacts their whole person. Students are encouraged to think and process through the impact sexual activity may have on them in every area of their lives - physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.

These concepts are backed up by sound evidence in the scientific community. Click here to see specific statistics on how sexual activity impacts every area of a person’s life.

The idea of addressing the whole person in our education system is not a new concept.

Concern for the whole person is a well established feature of health education programs.  The California State Board of Education, for instance, defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.”  According to the New York State Department of Education, the discipline of health “focuses on the development of the whole person.”  The Montgomery County, MD School Board offers a more detailed account of the areas with which health education must concern itself:  “To effectively address current health problems it is important to overcome the perception of health as being merely physical....Students must broaden their perception and view health as being multi-dimensional and dynamic...”  The ambitious goals of health educators around the country have certainly resulted in innumerable benefits for American students in many areas of their formation. (International Abstinence Association)

For years, addressing the whole person in every aspect of education has been an important component of our educational system.  Addressing sex education in the same manner should be no different.