Righting the Wrongs

Sexual education is a passion of mine as I believe we are cheating our youth by not giving them up-front, accurate, and objective information void of the conservative agenda forced to be promulgated by public school teachers. Our abstinence only programs taught in schools have good intentions using moot techniques to get young people to abstain from sexual relations with one another. These programs could not be more ineffective since the United States is known for having one of the highest rates of STDs among adolescents and the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the developed world (http://www.themediaproject.com/topics/sexeducation.htm). It is an outdated concept that is not even backed up by any research, rather, as just explained, it seems to be outrageously counterproductive. The right-wing organizations that keep this policy in tact use misguided ideas to support their reasoning, claiming sexual education should be left up to the parents. This is not an effective way since most parents do not take responsibility for their child’s sexuality, it is more likely to be an issue left alone. Therefore, I believe it is the school systems job to instruct children on sexuality, contraceptives, and pregnancy.

What I remember from sexual education started with a program called “Girls are Great!” that came to the local community college. It was an enlightening experience that was taught by young women to younger girls about 9-13 that covered everything about the female body and taught us everything we needed to know about our periods and what to expect from puberty. It made the experience seem much less daunting. I recommend everyone partake in this program if the opportunity rises.

After this came the joke of a public education about sex. In fifth grade they separated the boys and girls and a sex ed teacher was brought in. We learned about the female body, how many sperm were in one male ejaculation (about 5 million), and puberty; watched dumb videos, but I always felt like I was being deprived of some information, like I was never getting all the details. That is because we weren’t. In high school they health teacher was not allowed to talk to us about any birth control besides abstinence, and I was disappointed not to be able to partake in the embarrassing lessons I saw in teen flicks (like learning how to put a condom on a banana) because these topics were not allowed to be discussed. If we have learned anything from the past, it should be that CENSORSHIP CAUSES BLINDNESS. But in this case, causes millions of new cases of STD transmission among young adults and thousands of unplanned pregnancies every year.

If we give children all the information needed to take ownership of their bodies and their sexuality we will be giving them the world. A positive light can be shown on the issue and this can lead to more positive stress management skills, because many disorders and personality issues stem from sexual problems, just ask Freud. Let’s be like the Dutch, who have some of the lowest rates of abortions, teen pregnancies, and STD cases in the world. This is because of their candid and scrupulously comprehensive sexual education they allow their children. Take the British for example, they have one of the most stifling attidues toward sex and they are reaping the consequences of their silence. Please read this interesting article:

Sex education: why the British should go Dutch -- The Times Online