Week 7-English 333

Should sex education be taught in schools?

As teenagers, many are taught that abstinence is the only way to prevent stds and pregnancy.   .  Schools and organizations rarely let teenagers know what to do if they choose to have sex, or what information is out there to find out safe ways to have sex.  Pretending like sex does not exist for minors is absurd, because people are always talking about so-and-so getting knocked up.  Talking and being open about sex with teenagers is actually really good because they know they have an adult to talk to if they have any questions.  As long as they are knowledgeable, they will have more of a chance of having safe sex.  Every teenager gets curious; their bodies are going through changes and they want to experiment.  The best way for a kid to ‘experiment’ with their bodies is through education and knowledge that adults can give them—not the internet or other kids who have heard rumors.  A teenage girl or boy who gets into a situation where she or he wants to engage in a sexual activity, needs to know how to do it safely, whether through birth control, condoms, or dental dams. This should definitely be saved for high school students, because of age appropriateness. Sex is a part of life and when teenagers are going through that rebellious stage, they are going to want to do everything their parents tell them not too.  They do not want to be told what they can and cannot do with their bodies, so we might as well provide them with the educational tools to be safe about it.  I am not saying to go out and pass around free condoms and birth control for all, but to give them the mental security that they are not going to make a mistake that could potentially change their lives forever when they are at a crucial young age themselves.


Rhetorical Situation to above editorial:

The reason I chose sex education in schools is because it seems very important in today’s society.  I know that at my high school, we were not taught how to have safe sex and rumors spread around that we did not know if they were true or not about sex.  Some people did not want to go through the embarrassment of buying condoms, while others would put on two for the extra coverage.  What those kids did not know is that friction can cause a tear in two rubber condoms and cause the exact opposite effect of what they were looking for.  So many girls that I went to high school with got pregnant before they graduated and had to drop out to take care of their babies. Unfortunately, in many of these cases the dads did not stick around.  When a couple is that young, it does not always mean they are going to be together forever, so single parents become more popular.  I do think that this should only be open to high school students because younger kids do not need to be exposed to this topic yet—they are not as mentally developed.  Teenagers, for the most part, are always going to think they are invincible and that this will never happen to them and when it does they wish they could have prevented it—in some cases.  That is why I feel kids should be educated on safe sex, and not just abstinence only sex education. 

This is the website I used:  http://www.positive.org/Home/index.html