To teach or not to teach sex education

People are having sex. And as long as that is happening, there is a risk of pregnancy, STDs and a wealth of other problems, both physical and emotional, which go hand-in-hand with sexual activity. On May 18, the Senate took a step in educating youth on these consequences.

House Bill 2509 passed with, not surprisingly, opposition only from Republicans. The bill will require schools to provide age-appropriate, medically accurate and preventative sexual education as a part of regular curriculum. It will also ask teachers to advise students of their legal rights regarding childbirth and parenting. These requirements are supported by the Oregon Medical Association.

Republican David Nelson, along with many critics of the bill, spoke of the inappropriate nature of the state regulating schools. Many argue that teaching should be left to the teachers, with little to no interference by the taxpayers that are funding these schools.

Although this is a good argument to a certain extent, clearly it could also be incredibly detrimental to students. Little to no regulation regarding what students are taught can lead to a variety of problems, ranging from sloppy teaching habits to inaccurate information, to not enough information on important topics.

What is important to learn in the grand scheme of things may not be important to some individual teachers. Does that mean students should be deprived of the information?

This is also an important measure for protecting schools. Sex education is a huge bull’s-eye if it is not protected by a state mandate. Parents who may not feel comfortable with their children learning about sex have a wide-open spot to sue or demand that those classes be cancelled, creating a huge controversy, if this imperative information is not protected by law.

I believe that by mandating sex education, these students will not be the only ones benefiting, but the teachers will be protected and free to teach the facts with the backing of the law behind them.

Is elementary school too young to be teaching children about sex? Not according to statistics. Promiscuity and pregnancy are happening at earlier and earlier ages. One must also remember the wording in the bill about making sure sex education material is “age appropriate.”

Personally, in fifth grade, we were taken into separate rooms and told about boys and girls, and we girls were given feminine protection to start us off when we were ready. At this point there were already girls in my class who had gotten their periods. No, elementary school is not too young.

Perhaps the biggest argument here is the idea of schools forcing their ideals on children. Shouldn’t parents who have religious and/or moral objections to their children learning about sex have a say in what their children are learning about it in school?

In a perfect world, parents would teach their children about sex at home. Teachers wouldn’t have to approach the topic. At that point it could be individualized to fit the student’s background. However, here in the real world, that just isn’t happening. The statistics of teenage pregnancy and STDs are black and white. And these issues aren’t just affecting one group of people—they are happening to all races, economic backgrounds and religious upbringings.

It might be an issue if schools were at the ready to advertise sex as something kids should be doing, or touting abortion as some sort of miracle cure for “mistakes.” We all know this is not, nor will it ever be, the case. Informing students about sex, the consequences and being responsible is absolutely not what’s making kids go out and have sex. Blame it on biology, the media, immaturity and lack of education—not on being talked about these issues often and early.

Honestly, have you ever seen a condom and thought, well, guess I better go have sex now? I didn’t think so.

The bottom line here is mandating sex education. Giving a general and reasonable outline for what needs to be taught can only be beneficial for students. Isn’t that what education is all about?