by Lucius Trae

Created on: September 13, 2010

Ideally, both parents and teachers should contribute to the sex education of teenagers. However, the school system should educate teens in a comprehensive manner that gives them the information they need to make healthy choices. Parents shouldn't be blindly trusting teachers, however, and they should check to ensure the quality of information is high. The same standard should be set for other curriculum in school. A teen should not be learning below grade-level mathematics because a teacher isn't up to the task, and sometimes all that it takes to prevent this is a diligent parent who is informed about what their child is learning.

There are a variety of reasons that teens should learn sex education from school. While the world isn't perfect, it's far easier to ensure quality teachers than it is to ensure quality parents. It takes a lot less to lose your job teaching than it does to lose your job as a parent. Furthermore, specialized training allows specific teachers to be well informed about issues related to sex education. Many parents don't take an active role in their child's sex education, or they may prefer not to do so because the topic is awkward. In order to be ensure teens learn about sex, it needs to be fully incorporated in the school system. It doesn't need a course in its own, but at a certain grade level, a weekly unit might be beneficial. The history of relationships, the biology of reproduction, mathematical analysis of how diseases spread, etc. Well, things need not be that comprehensive, but there needs to be some manner by which students are informed.

Unfortunately, sex education is a controversial topic within society. The reason this is unfortunate, however, is not that teens need to be having sex. That's not the goal of sex education, which should strive to protect the interests of the students by informing them about choices necessary to stay safe. Students shouldn't be having sex, and that's all they need to know according to some. They may be right about the sex part, but there is no evidence that sex education increases the frequency of sex amongst teens. Information on contraceptives and birth control, however, do result in decreased rates of pregnancy and disease. Many teens receiving an abstinence only education are unaware that oral sex can spread diseases; thus, teens receiving abstinence only sex education report higher rates of STDs than those receiving a comprehensive education.

Most teens aren't financially capable of taking care of a child, emotionally capable of raising one, emotionally read for sex, etc. There is a long list of reasons a teen should remain abstinent. However, human biology tends to motivate people to have sex, and the age where this occurs varies. We can't kid ourselves, here. Of all the reasons a teen shouldn't have sex, how many apply to adults? Financial stability, emotional maturity, etc? And while marriage may be a commitment, it doesn't guarantee someone can take care of a child properly if they are born.

Given that teens are having sex, it's important to give them the information needed to avoid pregnancy and disease. It's just irresponsible not to do so. If a child is walking towards a hot stove, some people say "let it learn." That child might end up permanently scarred from the burn, and they weren't in a position to make the right choice. Teens make mistakes, and a teen might have sex too early. Letting that child be at risk of having acquiring a disease or having a child is simply not acceptable for society. Sex is a natural biological process, and if you give teens all the information, they'll be in the best position possible.

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