by Lisbet Loiselle

Created on: November 18, 2009

High schools should always include sex education in their curriculum. It seems silly to omit it, for reasons such as parents don't want other people teaching their teenagers about sex. It doesn't matter what parents think of this matter, because in this society, all teenagers should be taught the facts and consequences of having sex. Too many teens are having unprotected sex, too many abortions are happening, and too many babies are being born to parents that can't support them. It is a major problem in the United States, as well as other countries. There are various important reasons to introduce sex education to teens, and no teen should be sheltered from these lessons.

For one, knowledge is wealth, especially regarding sex. People say ignorance is bliss, but not when it comes to sex. Teens should learn about sex, why we have it, and why we should use protection. They should learn that it is not an outlet to peruse with ease, rather, it is something to be considered seriously before acting on. Classes should be required of teens because it is a proven fact that kids with more knowledge on the subject will most often have a more enjoyable first sexual encounter. Kids who who are sheltered from learning about sexual orientation will engage in sex more easily and naively...and will probably be unfulfilled. Not only that, but they may find themselves in an unfortunate situation, with someone who they don't really want to be with. As long as schools include sex ed. classes, our society is one step closer to creating a more aware teen population.

Aside from simply educating our teens about sex, it is important to understand that classes should be offered as a tool for direction. Some teens grow up with parents who address sex at an early age, while some teens never actually have the "talk" with their parents. Whichever road these kids go down, having an unbiased person educate them is important because it offers them a different perspective, and allows them to make smart decisions on their own. Classes should direct teens to approach their sexual orientation with confidence. On a personal level, I believe such classes should inform students that sex is not something to be taken lightly. There is no need to have sex with every boyfriend or girlfriend you ever have, if you don't want to. These days, many kids engage in sex because they feel it is a "cool" thing to do, or they feel forced. This is utterly wrong, and children should be taught that they have the ability to make smart decisions regarding sex, and schools should implement the teaching of such smart decisions.

We would like to see teen pregnancies decrease, so high school sex ed. is practically a requirement. If nothing else, it will help already sexually active students gain some insight to their activities. Hopefully it will be informative enough so that students can buy condoms without feeling embarassed, have sex only when they feel it is "right", and feel that they can talk to their parents about it. The worst thing a parent can do is never talk to their child about sex, because most often than not that child will go on to have numerous sex partners and treat sex lightly. In doing this, they will just add to the already huge epidemic of unplanned pregnancies, abortions, and teen drop-outs due to pregnancy.

Sex is an important part of the human race, and should be taught to students in the same way as any other subject. Hopefully, it will stop being taboo (because it still is to a slight degree) and start being accepted.

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