Sexual Education Continuing Into High School

            Do you remember you sexual education classes from when you were in high school?  I know that I remember learning about it for one week my freshmen year of high school and that was it.  Sexual education in High schools is severely lacking.  It seems like this is the opposite of how it should be since this is when teens will reach sexual maturity.  Yes, they should know it before hand, but it should be an ongoing learning process.  They should be continuously learning about it and it this point in time they are not.

            Students in high school are not learning continuously on their sexual education. The new standards through the Journal of School Health include some important standards that should be met.  A few of these are that the standards are promoting students know all forms of sex education from abstinence-only-until-marriage to abstinence-plus.  High school should be a place where students can get the knowledge they will need, whether it be right now or later on.  It is important that students get accurate information from a trusting adult.

            In Britain they have compulsory sex education.  This form of sex education is where students learn strictly about the body and reproduction processes.  This education process is required throughout elementary and secondary schooling.  This is essentially what we here in America need to adopt.  We need a sex education program that will teach teens about their bodies, the process of reproduction, and ways to help them prevent becoming pregnant.  Students need to be taught the serious consequences sex can have on both the mind and the body, but also realize that sex is not something that should be scary.  Sex should be something that should be a choice, something that you should be ready for and comfortable doing.  The standards need to reflect these ideals.

            Did you know that 30% of Nigerian women of reproductive age have had an unintended pregnancy? (J Community Health, 375).  This is shockingly high.  This is another example of why we need to give this information out early and then continually remind the students of safe-sex, how to prevent pregnancies, and STDs.  By making new standards we can make it so that everyone is being taught about safe sex and other options, such as abstaining from sex.  There is so much to do to help the teens of this generation to keep them from getting hurt.

            In the end the standards of our school systems are lacking for everyone involved.  Heterosexual teens need to be reminded of the dangers of sex, while homosexual teens need to be taught about sex in the first place.  All methods for teaching sex education should be presented to the teens to make sure that they are getting every possible option so that they can make the choice that is best for them.

Works Cited

Jan Steutel & Doret J. de Ruyter (2011): What Should be the Moral Aims of Compulsory Sex Education?, British Journal of Educational Studies, 59:1, 75-86

"National Sexuality Education Standards: Core Content and Skills, K-12. A Special Publication of the Journal of School Health. Special Report." American School Health Association (2012). Print.

Ochiogu, Ifeoma N., Juhani Miettola, Amobi L. Ilika, and Tuula Vaskilampi. "Impact of Timing of Sex Education on Teenage Pregnancy in Nigeria: Cross-sectional Survey of Secondary School Students." J Community Health 36 (2011): 375-80. Print.

-Augusta Schmidt