When I say “sex education”, I do not mean the popular British comedy/drama on Netflix (although this is one way to learn). I mean real sex education. The overlooked education, forgotten and pushed into the back corner. Why? Because it’s uncomfortable to teach and to learn. But getting uncomfortable is one of the best ways to learn and grow, no matter the topic.
Put bluntly, college is way too late to teach students about sex. High school is too late. Some middle schoolers are sexually active. And becoming sexually active without the proper education can lead to consequences that anyone would preferably avoid. My first “sex education” class was in fifth grade. It was a one-time hour-long talk. Everyone dreaded it. It was infamously known throughout the school as “the day”, and nobody would say what it actually was. It was the kind of thing people would whisper about but never explicitly say, like the name Voldemort in Harry Potter. I think the only thing I took away from that so-called class was that school would never teach me about sex.
Today, only 24 states and Washington DC mandate sex education and HIV education. Of those 24, only 18 require that the content is taught to a medical standard. A vast majority of schools preach phrases like “abstinence is the best protection” or “don’t have sex don’t get pregnant”. Let’s be honest though, kids will be having sex. Whether they are educated or not. So it is a failing of the education system to withhold such information.
Having sex at an early age is frowned upon in our society, and there is a lot of stigma around teenage pregnancies. In the US, 3 in 10 girls under the age of 20 will be pregnant at least once. And in 2019, there was a record high of 2.5 million cases of STDs and STIs. These rates are most directly an effect of lack of education regarding contraceptives. Not knowing how or where to get birth control, misuse of a condom, or lack of any contraceptive increases the risk of pregnancy.
Along with education in protection, reproductive anatomy is equally critical. Honestly, how many of you think you know the male or female reproductive system entirely? I’m willing to bet slim to none (you can test your knowledge here). I can’t even begin to list the pros of being informed in reproductive anatomy, but some include understanding natural bodily processes, how diseases spread, and pleasure.
One common argument for the lack of sex education in public schools is that parents do not want it. There are numerous claims that parents are the primary teachers of their children, and specific topics, such as sex education, should be covered by the parent. However, according to a poll from Planned Parenthood, 93% of parents support sex education in middle school, and 96% support it in high schools. With such promising numbers, this really is no excuse. Many kids also would prefer to learn from someone other than their mom or dad and not having the option readily available leads to kids just choosing to avoid having the conversation altogether.
Schools should be talking more about sex, and not just half-heartedly. Sure, google searches and personal experience may help, but a proper education never hurts anyone.
Click here if you want to take a condom quiz.
I fully agree that Sex Education needs to be a more talked about topic. It really is often portrayed in the media in a way that does not reflect what it should be. Personally, my school made us go through our first “sex education” course in 8th grade and I agree that it is way too late. You did a great job of including a wide range of background knowledge about the topic.
This was an extremely informative piece while also successfully getting its point across. We did not really have a sex ed class or any lessons taught up until 10th grade in high school, and even then it was very vague. In my opinion, I agree with you that it is too late for people to learn about sex and there should be better ways to get the information across, mainly to help kids practice safe sex
I absolutely agree with you that sex education needs to be more prevalent in schools because it is amazing what people don’t know. Similar to what I wrote, you talked about teen pregnancies and STD’s and people need to be aware of how dangerous these things can be. School needs to provide this information because, as you said, teens are going to have sex, with or without the necessary information. I really liked your inclusion of the links to quizzes. I thought that was such a great addition! Nice job!