Where did all the sex ed go?

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It is a known fact that many teenagers will have sex before the time they leave high school. It would be foolish to ignore the fact that sex is both highly prevalent as well as actively sought out. However, the taboo that society places on sexual conversations makes it difficult for teens to be properly and effectively informed of the various risks that accompany sexual situations.

It is a known fact that many teenagers will have sex before the time they leave high school. It would be foolish to ignore the fact that sex is both highly prevalent as well as actively sought out. However, the taboo that society places on sexual conversations makes it difficult for teens to be properly and effectively informed of the various risks that accompany sexual situations.

Though most schools do include some form of sexual education in the general science curriculum as well as in biology, the lessons taught by the instructors fall drastically short of what is needed to provide students with a well-rounded education. A thorough sexual education can not only prepare students for future sexual encounters, but it can also provide students with the knowledge they need to protect themselves from pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

One problem in how sexual education is provided for students is how it is shoved into the curriculum of many schools. Due to state standards of education as well as California Standardized Testing (CST), sexual education is postponed until the end of the school year. Sexual education is not considered to be a standard or testable, which is why it is often pushed to the side.

A proper education in sex is more valuable than many things you learn in science as it pertains directly to your physical health. Many teens require this education to be safe during sexual intercourse, and by not providing them with an extensive knowledge on sex, the school itself is putting its students directly at risk for teen pregnancies and STDs.

One common notion that people use to defend the current sexual education system is that students in high school are too young to experience sexual intercourse. These people believe that abstinence is the only education sufficient enough for students, while an in depth sexual education only encourages teenagers to have sex.

Society, as a whole, needs to move past the uneasiness that accompanies sexual conversations on an educational platform. This way, a more beneficial and informative system for sexual education can be put into place. It is not the duty of administration to convince students not to have sexual intercourse. Rather, it is its job to properly teach students how to be safe and prepare students to make mature decisions when the time comes.

Leading officials of the school system often underestimate the maturity of high school students. I understand the fear that an in depth sexual education may lead teens to become more sexually active, but a person’s sexual interactions is at the individual’s discretion. Too many teachers and administrators are afraid to address the issue head-on, and therefore many teens are becoming sexually active without having any idea what they are getting into. It seems like it is a basic enough truth that students should be taught how to protect their bodies. There so little being done to change this tired and out of date system.