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Knowledge is power and education is knowledge. Instead of encouraging teens to have sex, sex education gives them the tools they need to make educated decisions based upon facts and not just on media content. Too many movies and television shows encourage teens (and adults) to behave irresponsibly and thoughtlessly about their bodies, sex and relationships. In addition, the hormone levels in our food supply are stimulating teens to become sexually active at an ever younger age.

Sex education in schools puts all teens on the same page with accurate information about disease, pregnancy and reproductive facts. Teens today are facing so many issues that they are often left feeling uncertain about what decisions to make and why. Gaining factual information about sex demystifies it to a certain degree and requires them to acknowledge at least a basic understanding of the changes their bodies are going through and the consequences of poor decision-making.

The only area of sex education in public schools that needs to be expended to help teens make better decisions are the emotional issues involved with puberty and sexuality. It is not enough to hand them a hammer and nails and then tell them to build a house. Too few of our teens get the benefit of a healthy family at home. Without a solid foundation in emotional self-control, barrier-setting and self-respect, no amount of sex education will help protect our teens from sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancies.

Very often, teenage sex occurs under very specific conditions: lack of parental supervision, inadequate discipline and feelings of abandonment or neglect. Armed with factual information about sex, teens can at least have the basic knowledge they need to protect themselves and to recognize that their urges, while natural, are inappropriate to act upon at this point in their life.

It is easy for predatory individuals to "push" more vulnerable teens into doing things they might not otherwise do, simply with threats of being "uncool" or being told "everybody else is doing it". Teens abhor the thought of being different from their peers. This is a terribly tumultuous time. The advantage of sex education in schools is that the information is presented in non-confrontational ways, as a fact of life and being human.

Once the mystique and mystery of sex and sexuality are reduced, the appeal becomes less influential. Diagrams and case studies and sexually transmitted disease statistics help teens build a set of tools they can use to delay becoming sexually active. Sex education in schools is the perfect medium to convey the facts and realities of why being sexually active is best left to the adults.

Learn more about this author, Kate Johnson.
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