I often hear two main arguments against sex ed. being taught in the school system. The first being that it will "encourage teens to have sex", the second being that it "should be up to the parents and not the schools". I'm going to go over each, and why I feel that neither is a good reason to not have sex education taught in the public school systems.

As for the first argument, I remember being a teenager (in many ways, I may as well still be one). And, I have a younger sister that turned 18 about 5 minutes ago. Furthermore, I have kids of my own, god children, and I'm about to receive another younger sister, all of which will be teenagers faster then I'd like to think, maybe even by the end of this article!

Education does not encourage teenagers to have sex. Raging hormones encourage teenagers to have sex! What the education does is give them the knowledge to do so without, hopefully, getting into too much trouble. It may even encourage them to wait. But, it certainly isn't the reason they want to do it, nor the reason they may follow through.

And, it's not as sinister as some believe. My school didn't hand out condoms to those who were just kicking around P.E. They were required to have them available in the nurses office, and we all knew that they could be obtained this way, but they weren't passed around by teachers.

Furthermore, my sex ed. teacher was a devout fundamentalist Christian. Now, he wasn't allowed to preach to us during lessons (though sometimes he may as well have been, but that's a different article). But, he was allowed to interject some of his beliefs, as long as they specifically pertained to our education.

As a result, we watched a partial birth abortion taking place from the inside out on T.V. (it was voluntary, we had the option to go to the library and study, if we or our parents were fundamentally against watching the video). We were also told how kissing was "the point of no return" as far as he was concerned. There were other tactics used, but needless to say, it was far from "encouraging".

When I had to retake sex ed. in college, the teacher was much more secular, but the outcome was the same. Even the married folk left the class a little apprehensive about engaging in sexual activity. They go over "safer" sex practices, STD statistics, unplanned pregnancy stats, and so on. There's nothing encouraging in there, just education on the potential consequences of any kind of sex or romantic activity.

By the end of these lessons, you're thinking of becoming a nun/monk actually, until those hormones kick back in and you see an attractive person walking by. ;)

The second argument, that it's something which should be left at home, I actually do partially agree with. There are two camps that take this stance. The first being those who believe it's a waste to have something "non-academic" being taught in school, and those who would prefer that their children learn what's okay and what's not from them, rather then a teacher.

Here are the problems though:

1) Many parents are unwilling to discuss such topics with their children, at least until it's a bit too late.

2) Many parents don't have the knowledge, statistics, or training to adequately and accurately teach the subject.

3) Many teenagers are far more reluctant to listen to, believe, or take seriously their own parents as opposed to a trained teacher in a school setting where they will be graded, particularly in reference to this subject.

4) It is educational. You learn a great many things in a sex ed. class that I know adults who don't know and suffer because of that lack of knowledge. It may not seem "academic" to some, but it is. You go over statistics, you get prepared for the real world (which is supposed to be part of the purpose in schooling), you obtain knowledge that may even save your life, you obtain knowledge which may enable you to prevent a teen pregnancy, which would put more stress on the school system, and so on and so forth.

In high school, I actually had a friend who hadn't received sex ed. She was 18, and I was 13. She was graduating that year, but sex ed. hadn't been a 9th grade requirement when she enrolled. And, she wasn't being required to make it up, since it was only made a requirement in her senior year.

She actually asked me one day, panicky and very serious, if she could get pregnant from oral sex. At first I thought she must be kidding. She wasn't. She was genuinely concerned, because she was a couple days late with her period, but hadn't engaged in intercourse within the last couple of months.

THIS is why it should be taught. So that a 13 year old doesn't have to tell an 18 year old how she can and cannot become pregnant.

***

If you'd like to get paid for writing articles, and telling your stories, Click and join here!

↑ Grab this Headline Animator