Opinion: Sex Ed in schools needs to be improved

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by Leandra da Fonseca

Sex education is one of the most important and useful topics that teenagers are taught in school. Sex-ed  started being presented in schools in the sixties. Pennsylvania, along with other states, does not require schools to provide sex education. However, if a school residing in Pennsylvania does teach sex-ed, they are required to stress “the importance of” abstinence from sex.

Certain schools don’t teach sufficient sex-ed and other schools don’t teach it at all. At York Suburban High School, during the sex-ed unit of Wellness students are taught about  pregnancy and childbirth, contraception, abstinence, STDs, decision making, and healthy/ unhealthy relationships. This is a great example of what the curriculum should look like in all schools, however abstinence is the most prevalent topic talked about.

Students are more likely to contract an STD or become pregnant when schools only promote abstinence, and do not inform students about protection and contraception methods. This is a problem that is minimally  addressed in schools today.

The number of teenage pregnancies is a rising concern in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2017, a total of 194,377 babies were born to women of ages 15–19 years. Child and Development educator, Sonya Brown stated: “Talking about it decreases the risk of unplanned pregnancies and STIs but the problem is a lot of kids don’t talk to parents and vise versa.” This is an issue that  educators could prevent by having better conversations regarding sex education.

Some people believe that schools should not teach adolescents about sex, and that it should be the responsibility of the children’s parents. The problem with this is that parents may not have the proper education, and many adolescents don’t feel comfortable talking to their parents/guardians about the topic, which is why it is so crucial for it to be taught in schools.

Wellness teacher Elizabeth Herr stated, “A lot of schools think that if you teach it then it puts it in their heads to do it… It should be a collaborative approach between schools and parents.”

By simply having a discussion about sex, schools can improve the community through education. Schools should be doing everything in their power to make sure that students are properly informed, which could mean inviting a third party (Planned Parenthood or a local health center) to discuss the topic with students. Even if a school doesn’t teach sex education, they should guide students to a place where they can become educated about the topic,  and get the information they need to live a healthy lifestyle.