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Does sex education in schools encourage teens to have sex. No, not if the sex education program is founded in a non-judgemental, holistic and comprehensive format. Unfortunately, there is no consistent curriculum for sex education that is implemented across the nation. Because of that, you have pockets of the country where young people are misinformed by their peers about the realities of sex and reproduction. With teen pregnancy rates on the uprise since 2001, a responsible sex education curriculum is necessary now more than ever for students who are entering their puberty phase.

Critics of sex education being implemented in school are usually those who have little idea what a comprehensive sex education program could ideally consist of. A responsible curriculum would first educate young people of the terms used to refer to body parts within the reproductive system. There are grown people who are still ignorant to this knowledge and because of that, we have children who grow up to refer to their vaginas and penises as everything other than those correct terms and who have no idea about that within their bodies they have a cervix or a urethra or a prostate...the list goes on and on.

See, once you understand where and what the different parts are on your body, you then will have a connection to the information given on healthy relationships and sexual activity. You understand the impact STDs have on specific parts of your body. Also, you will be more apt to engage in pro-active behavior regarding diet and other behaviors, allowed to make your own positive choices. Today, there are young people who are misinformed to believe that there is no risk in STD transmission if they engage in non-vaginal or non-anal sex. There are some young people AND adults who believe that a young person can not get pregnant if she is on her menstrual cycle. Ignorant children grow up to become ignorant adults. A person's religious beliefs do not shield them from the possibility of contracting a disease, having an unwanted pregnancy or transmit a sexually transmitted infection. The argument that religious preference is compromised when a young person is educated about the function of their body falls short of logic or reason.

No, sex education in schools does not encourage teens to have sex. It, instead, allows them to make educated choices about their own sexual health.

Learn more about this author, Khadijah Ali-Coleman.
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