Let’s talk about sex, baby!
There is a huge knowledge gap for many high school graduates because school did not properly prepare them for real life situations. Whether it be taxes, life skills or sex and the human body, students are leaving high school unprepared for adulthood. By age 18, 70 percent of U.S. females and 62 percent of U.S. males have initiated vaginal sex, according to the Advocates for Youth. For such a high percentage, only 24 states have mandatory sex education in public schools, but there are no guidelines for private schools.
Approximately 94 percent of adults believe contraception should be taught as part of sex education. Most adults prefer a mixture of abstinence and contraception be taught to help reduce unplanned pregnancies, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Few states mandate comprehensive sex education, often citing religious affiliations as the reason. There are children and teens who have no knowledge of their own bodies until it is too late to teach them about staying safe and being respectful toward their body and others’.
Some states have abstinence-only education in which students are told not to have sex and are given little to no information about contraception. The issue is those students are still having sex, just with less information to make smart decisions. Studies show abstinence-only education does not change the average age sex is initiated or the number of partners. States that teach abstinence even receive $50 million of taxpayer money according to the Health Research Fund.
There needs to be a standard for sex education in private schools. All private school students have to reach a certain math and English level before they graduate, and it should be no different for sex education. Graduates of private schools have the same anatomy as public school students do and have sex, too. Students should not be able to leave high school not knowing about their bodies, even if they went to a private Christian school.
While it is understandable that some religions may not believe in teaching about contraceptive methods, it is important to remember not every student who goes to a religiously affiliated school is religious. Teaching primarily abstinence with some additional information about contraception is the best way to cover all bases. This would also ensure every student gets the necessary information about the choices they will inevitably make.
Thorough sex education should have many different components including, but not limited to, information about abstinence, contraceptives, HIV and other STIs. Having an understanding of the basic biological processes for both sexes is crucial. No boy should graduate not knowing about the female reproductive system and vice versa.
Because some of this information can be such a sensitive subject for many preteens and adolescents, some may argue the “sex talk” should come in high school. Children start puberty around ages 11 and 12 for girls and boys respectively, so middle school is the most opportune time to introduce them. Tweens’ bodies are changing and hormones are raging well before they enter high school. The societal pressures and expectations of high school should not be put on a young teen who has never had any sort of sex education before.
Sex education shouldn’t be skipped in middle and high school curriculum. Everyone should be informed about their own reproductive organs as well as the opposite sex’s so they can make safe, informed decisions about their bodies.
Sarah Grobety is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Atlanta, Georgia.