A few posts ago I wrote about schools and their sex education programs. Ninety four percent of Texas school districts use an “abstinence only” program in their schools. According to our numbers, it’s clearly not working. Texas has the highest number of repeat teenage mothers in the country. Some schools have decided to change to an “abstinence-plus” program, which would teach kids about contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases as well.
I went to a very small, very religious, private high school. Therefore, I was extremely sheltered in most aspects of the world. In my sophomore year, my school decided to provide a mandatory sex education class. Being short of teachers, the principal taught this very informative class. Well, we didn’t learn much. I still had no idea what sex was, but if you show me a STD, there is no doubt in my mind that I can name it. Great party trick, huh? We were not taught about our bodies, or our options, but only that with sex came deadly diseases that we were sure to get. Needless to say, by the time I graduated, almost one-third of the girls at my school had been kicked out. (That’s right, we didn’t teach them how to be safe, and when they “messed up” we just got rid of the evidence.) This clearly was the wrong way to go about teaching kids about sex.
I think the only logical option we have to lower our teen pregnancy rate is to give kids the facts. The real ones. No parent wants their teenage kids having sex, but I think most would rather not have grandkids when their in their late thirties. Kids shouldn’t grow up with parents that didn’t want them either. I think all schools should implement the “abstinence plus” program. Regardless of what we want, kids are going to have sex. The more we don’t talk to them about it, the more interested they are. All schools should be required to teach kids about safe sex. There shouldn’t be a choice in the matter. If we want to be better than 48th on the scale of teen pregnancies, something has to change…now.
Abstinence Only?
ReplyDeleteI was very pleased to read a post from my colleague, Allison Murken, which addresses the issue of the lack of sexual education in Texas’ schools. The post is titled “What Needs to Happen?”, and I found her personal statement very frank and relevant to the matter. Interestingly enough, I have published a commentary about how sexual education is essential in our schools in order to avoid unplanned pregnancies. Essentially, we both relate to the fact that the “abstinence only” program has failed, and the statistics are the evidence.
Two main points in Murken’s post made a deep impression of what people want to believe happens, and what actually happens. The first point was that her school did not have a program to efficiently and sensibly teach children and teenagers about sexuality. What happened was that a significant portion of the girls ended up getting pregnant and the solution for the problem was to expel them from the school. This is a typical example of a hypocritical society that does not educate and guide, but expect people to behave within some boundaries. Some people argue that sex education in schools is synonymous to giving the young permission to experiment with sex. I see this point of view as very limited and naïve. Education promotes knowledge and understanding. Education promotes reasoning and responsibility. Once teenagers get informed, they have a chance to understand why it is better to wait until maturity to have sexual relations, and they can discern right from wrong. When this information is not given to them, as mentioned in Murken’s commentary, what happens is that “the more we don’t talk to them about it, the more interested they are.” This statement brings up the second point that is extremely important. The forbidden is always more attractive than a teenager can handle. They will, sooner or later, experiment with sex just because they cannot control their curiosity anymore. Plus, the media is a terrible influence in terms of promoting sexuality. If parents and schools do not teach the students about what sex really is, and what the consequences of it are; the TV shows will. The problem is that the lessons from TV will most likely give them a twisted idea about sex, and it will not warn these inexperienced teenagers about the possible outcomes.
Murken also wrote that some schools are implementing the abstinence-plus program that will teach students about birth control and sexually transmitted diseases. I believe this is a great step forward, but it is still lacking an objective, scientific, psychological, and emotional approach to sexuality. The students should understand about their bodies, puberty, sensations, and desires too. At this age, many teens are falling in love for the first time and are very vulnerable to a sexual encounter with their loved one; therefore, they should also know all about pregnancy and diseases.
In sum, sexual education is necessary to teach the young how to handle their thoughts, curiosities, and feelings. Education is the only way a society has to deal with important life concerns. When we preach abstinence only and nothing else, we are leaving the door open for teenagers to look out and seek their own learning.