Importance on Sex Education

As Tamara Kreinin stated in Carnal Knowledge: The Sex Ed Debate, “”Young people are going to learn about sex and our question has to be where do you want them to learn? From the media? From their friends? Or do we want them to learn from an educated, responsible adult?”” In the past five years, public schools have educated students on sex education and many states even encourage and require such talk with students (Hechinger 143). Sex education is a controversial topic as people might feel school is not the place to educate young ones on sex as it precautious and prepared.

My opinion is that sex education should be integrated into school teachings because I see that there is more positive outcomes than there is negative.

As a teenager, one might be curious about sex since it is seen almost everywhere. It is a conversation that friends gossip about in school halls, it is a talk that teens might feel embarrassed to speak about with parents, and it is something that is bound to happen as teens become more aware of their sexual thoughts and feelings. Educating students on sex is a talk that perhaps parents do not want to have with their kids due to making them feel uncomfortable.

Fortunately, for some students, sex education is taught in some public schools. As controversial as this topic may be due to people having their own opinions, I agree with it being okay for teachers being allowed to educate students on sex because it is an extra measure, if not the only, for students to be taught to be careful and have precautionary measures when it comes to sex. Students are educated on such topic specifically to warn them about AIDS (Hechinger 143). Anyone can get HIV by bodily fluids, and the most common way to inherit the virus is through sexual intercourse. It is important for young adults to be aware of this because once infected, there is no cure, only preventions from contaminating others.

Along with educating students on sex, some schools distribute condoms to help demonstrate on their lessons about sex. This form of teaching raises concerns as some believe distributing condoms will only encourage sexual behavior among students (Epstein 146). In contrast to this belief, research advocates that condom distribution in classrooms actually discourages sexual activities. Studies prove that students actually abstain from having sex, as well as more aware about possible risks and their health, when given condoms.

Using condoms reduces the transmission of diseases, as well as prevents from teen pregnancies. Distributing condoms in high schools really affects teens positively as they are more aware on risks that can present themselves as well as changing their mindset from “”That can’t happen to me”” to “”Shoot, I need to be more cautious, it can happen to anyone””. Although educating students on sex has become more popular throughout the years, some teachers are still uneasy about doing so. They likely feel this opposition because students might feel a certain way as such talk arises many questions and might make them feel uneasy about their sexuality.

Some teachers also feel edgy about teaching students on this topic as problems may arise with parents if taught in a different manner or simply if parents do not agree with students learning from their teachers (Hechinger 144). In a scenario not too long ago, sixth-graders, which equal to kids that are either 11-12 in age, were engaged in a program where they were spoken to about sex education. When parents were aware of this, they were confounded.

Often what this does is change the views and traditions that parents instill in their children. Students might be informed about sex from their parents differently than what is taught at school. Who is to be responsible for making such decisions when it comes to educating a child on such topic? It seems as though schools believe they should be the first to introduce sexual material to students.

In conclusion, sex education should be implemented in high schools because it reduces sexual activity and brings awareness to students to be cautious if having sexual intercourse because sexually transmitted diseases can arise if precautionary measures are not taken. Curious teenagers may have misconceptions about sex if not previously educated upon, therefore, it is useful that students are taught in school.

As far as concerns kindled by parents, they should be invited into classrooms to be present when such lessons and conversations are ongoing about sex to be informed about what is being said and taught. Students should be educated on sex to make proper insightful decisions. Having knowledge on sex, students are introduced to a new mindset that can have a positive, reliable outcome.

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