With Viagra commercials, abortion debates, HPV and STDs, the time, money and disputes centered on sex are immense. So to begin this rollercoaster of discussions, let’s talk about the first hill we’re going to climb on the ride: what we’re doing to educate our young'uns.
Teaching abstinence is a fine and dandy thing to do in school. It’s perfectly true to say it prevents unwanted pregnancy, keeps you safe from STDs and helps young people avoid scary situations they probably aren’t ready to face. But what about the antonym of the word abstinence? Just as in all cases of disputed ideas, abstinence has an opposite, too.
In science class, Evolution pushes Creationism and Creationism pushes back (although this is for a different blog entirely). The Republicans battle the Democrats once you get to fifth period social studies. “Preppy” kids make fun of the nerds at lunch. And by the end of the day, in health class, you’d think there would be something to say about the “big scary” rivalry of abstinence.
But with all these adversaries, the question is why does something’s counterpart have to be either a hundred percent bad or good? The opposite of abstinence is sex. And having sex isn’t bad. We need to school our young students that if someone chooses to have sex, he or she isn’t being condemned, but they do need to do it safely.
We need to have strong programs and informative health classes starting around 6th grade, backed by educational funding to inform about contraceptive options and proper use. Also, topics such as rape, molestation, self-defense, how to be aware of sticky situations-all of these and more- need to be addressed in full through our schooling.
For girls, knowing about birth control is important to know how it works and how it affects menstruation. For boys, knowing about condoms and their effectiveness is essential. These are simple things that need the full support of our school systems; Abstinence-Only-Education will not cut it.
I agree with the syllabus guidelines that abstinence is taught as a first “course of action” to hormonal teens. But if this “guideline” isn’t followed up in the next chapter of your health book by the reality of sex, then no one is going to benefit. If you learn about the American Civil War from just the Confederate side, you won’t get the whole story. If you learn about abstinence solely, ignoring what’s out there, you won’t get the whole story either.
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