2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 2/13/06 Section: Forum
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Lack of sex education
As I picked up the newest edition of the University News, I was awestruck to see how many young educated people are in support of abstinence-only "lack of sex" education.
Over half of the teenagers in the United States are sexually active.
Many of these students were given some sort of abstinence-only education.
George W. Bush would like you to believe that comprehensive sex education will lead to an increase in sexual behavior of teenagers, which will lead to a higher rate of pregnancy and STDs.
If the numbers are correct and over half of the teenagers in the United States are sexually active - and the only federally funded sexual education classes are abstinence only - then most logical people would come the conclusion that these classes are failing. Students are leaving the classroom with a lack of knowledge about how to protect themselves if they decide to have sex.
Students need to know the risks of what could happen if they do choose to have unprotected sex.
The rise in teen pregnancy and STD rates is not due to comprehensive sex education. Teaching students how to make responsible real-life decisions is not causing an increase in the moral decay of our culture.
Most parents would like to believe that their children are abstaining from sex. Most don't talk to their children in the hope that they will get sexual information from someone else.
A teenager's choice to have sex will be based on ideas he or she has gotten from peers, and the media, which portrays sex violently, sometimes without the consent of the partner.
These ideas and images are being ingrained into teens who are getting an abstinence-only sex education course which does not teach them how to make responsible decisions regarding contraception and consent from sexual partners.
The true problem with our society is not teenagers deciding to have sex; it's the adults who feel it necessary to abstain from giving teenagers the knowledge to stay healthy. This does not mean I believe abstinence should not be a part of a comprehensive sexual education class. Students need to know that abstinence is the only way not to get pregnant or obtain a STD. People just need to realize that not all teenagers will make the same decisions, and we need to give them the knowledge to keep them safe.
As I picked up the newest edition of the University News, I was awestruck to see how many young educated people are in support of abstinence-only "lack of sex" education.
Over half of the teenagers in the United States are sexually active.
Many of these students were given some sort of abstinence-only education.
George W. Bush would like you to believe that comprehensive sex education will lead to an increase in sexual behavior of teenagers, which will lead to a higher rate of pregnancy and STDs.
If the numbers are correct and over half of the teenagers in the United States are sexually active - and the only federally funded sexual education classes are abstinence only - then most logical people would come the conclusion that these classes are failing. Students are leaving the classroom with a lack of knowledge about how to protect themselves if they decide to have sex.
Students need to know the risks of what could happen if they do choose to have unprotected sex.
The rise in teen pregnancy and STD rates is not due to comprehensive sex education. Teaching students how to make responsible real-life decisions is not causing an increase in the moral decay of our culture.
Most parents would like to believe that their children are abstaining from sex. Most don't talk to their children in the hope that they will get sexual information from someone else.
A teenager's choice to have sex will be based on ideas he or she has gotten from peers, and the media, which portrays sex violently, sometimes without the consent of the partner.
These ideas and images are being ingrained into teens who are getting an abstinence-only sex education course which does not teach them how to make responsible decisions regarding contraception and consent from sexual partners.
The true problem with our society is not teenagers deciding to have sex; it's the adults who feel it necessary to abstain from giving teenagers the knowledge to stay healthy. This does not mean I believe abstinence should not be a part of a comprehensive sexual education class. Students need to know that abstinence is the only way not to get pregnant or obtain a STD. People just need to realize that not all teenagers will make the same decisions, and we need to give them the knowledge to keep them safe.
