Why Sex Education Is Important | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

Why Sex Education Is Important

We need to talk about sex to our kids.

75
Why Sex Education Is Important
TheNationalStudent

I've realized from many of my classes where we talk about about sex or sex related topics that people don't really understand how contraceptives work or how to have safe sex. A lot of people I've talked to told me their sex education consisted of either their teacher teaching abstinence, or that they only briefly talked about condoms but did not discuss any other prevention methods. From what I remember, in both middle school and high school we learned about condoms and sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, and in high school they also taught us about methods of birth control, but they really didn't talk about much else. For examples dental dams, other kinds of contraceptives, that you can't use two of the same kind of contraception, how to have safe sex if you are gay, or abortion.

Sheltering our children from sex is dangerous because we have teens who are doing things without really understanding what they are doing. As much as we want to believe that by scaring our children about sex that they won't be curious, that is not the case. While I understand that we do not want to encourage our teens to have sex, by teaching abstinence, we are only endangering them because they will get curious, and they might end up getting themselves in trouble with pregnancy or even worse they may contract sexually transmitted diseases. And teaching only heterosexual safe sex education is also dangerous because those who are not part of the "norm" don't know if these rules apply to them, and have absolutely no clue about what they are doing, or who to go to because they are different.

Imagine that you are sixteen and you find out that your pregnant or that that older guy you slept with had HIV and now you have it too. Imagine the fear-- of having to go through that alone, of your parents finding out, of having to become an adult when you aren't even finished with high school, of knowing you are going to die. Imagine that dream you had of going to Harvard or of become a world renown surgeon being crushed right before your eyes. I know it's hard to imagine but unfortunately, this situation I described is all too common. According to Insider Monkey, the U.S. has the highest amount of teenage pregnancies, aged 13-19, compared to 11 other countries. There are 52 births per 1,000 of the teen age girl population in the U.S. According to the CDC, an estimated 9,731 youth aged 13-24 were diagnosed with HIV in 2014. While both teen pregnancy and HIV have decreased significantly in the past five years or so, these numbers should theoretically be at zero. While that maybe an impossible goal, if we actually taught our teens how to have safe sex, both of those numbers would most likely go down dramatically.

Let's just think about this for a minute. I'm 21 years old. I didn't even know what a dental dam was until about a year or two ago and I have yet to know how to even use one. I also didn't realize that you couldn't use two of the same kind of protection if you want more than one level of protection until recently. I also know nothing about abortion or how it actually works other then that in most states it is illegal to get an abortion after the first trimester. While abortion is a whole other topic in and of itself, as a 21-year-old woman I should have learned about this stuff a long time ago. I shouldn't be just finding out about it now. Even though I've never had sex, the point is if I had had sex, I could have risked having to become a mom at an early age, or even worse, contradicting a host of sexual diseases.

My question is, are we really trying to protect our kids, or is there something going on here at a deeper level?

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition

10 ways to prepare for finals week—beginning with getting to the library.

315
How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

It’s that time of year again when college students live at the library all week, cramming for tests that they should have started studying for last month. Preparing to spend all day at the library takes much consideration and planning. Use these tips to help get you through the week while spending an excessive amount of time in a building that no one wants to be in.

Keep Reading...Show less
girl roommates
StableDiffusion

Where do we begin when we start talking about our roommates? You practically spend every moment with them, they become your second family and they deal with you at your best and at your absolute worst. They are there to make you laugh just a little harder, cry a little less and make each day a little better. We often forget to thank them for the little things that they do to make college even a tiny bit easier and more fun. This list of 26 things are what you should thank your roommates for right this minute and every day that you live with them.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

20 Thoughts While Studying For Finals

I may or may not be stressing right now.

1506
Thoughts While Studying For Finals
StableDiffusion


That time of the semester has arrived once again, finals. The worst week ever. Who thought it was a good idea for all your classes to have exams all in the same week? Definitely not me. Here's 20 thoughts you may have studying for finals.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Disney magic for New Year!

The "Happiest Place on Earth" has a lot of characters with some pretty great advice.

6499
Disney magic kingdom castle on new years
StableDiffusion

Disney movies are well known and very popular in today's world. Although many people appreciate the plot and the storyline, not many people appreciate the wisdom these characters possess. Every Disney movie has unique advice that can be applied to everyday life. Here are 11 Disney quotes to help start your New Year off right:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

40 Gift Ideas for the Indecisive

It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. But also a time of stressing over the perfect gift.

120621
Christmas gifts around a tree
StableDiffusion

It's officially December. There is less than a month of 2024, and I still feel like yesterday was summer. Now comes the merriest time of the year, the Christmas season.

Everyone has been waiting for this time of year since mid-October (which is way too early, in my opinion) or before. It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. A lot of times when I ask friends and family what they want, I get a lot of "I don't know" or "I don't care."

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments