Texas public schools are everything but straightforward when it comes to educating their students on sex. I believe in the vitalness of sex education and that the abstinence-only speeches teachers give in the classroom just do not cut it. The lack of information given on this subject distresses me, as it causes real life problems and leads to an uneducated population.
Statistically, states that teach abstinence rate higher in teen pregnancies than their pro-sex education counterparts. Texas possesses one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country. Simultaneously, 94% of Texas high school students receive an abstinence-only education, according to the Texas Freedom Network.
When my sister was 16 years old, she became pregnant. While I love my nieces, I definitely remember how hard that time was for her and the rest of my family. My sister is 26 now, and is successful and doing well, but I know if she could go back with the knowledge she has now and make different choices, she would.
I believe our education should include a comprehensive understanding about sexual health. It should be mandatory that every Texas public high school offer a course in sex education, including topics like STDs and how to prevent them, contraceptives, consent and abstinence.
We should be able to rely on school to be our main point of reference for all aspects of life, and that includes sexual health. To me, it is irresponsible, even dangerous, to send young adults out into the “real world” without every piece of advice and information they need. School becomes the center of our world starting at age 5, and I believe it should benefit us in ways beyond learning how to solve an algebraic equation. We should be provided with information we can use to protect ourselves and others as well.
Howard • Oct 4, 2015 at 1:08 pm
This writer/reporter hit the nail on the head. Schools should take the lead in helping to protect our children by being honest with them, and provide our kids with the safety tools of knowledge that kids need to protect themselves in the real world. Since schools stand legally in “loco parentis” (in the shoes of a parent) and use that term every time they want to discipline a child, they should use that power for more beneficial means to support and protect our children, by providing our kids with all the knowkedge they need to be sexually safe in today’s world of diseases. Our kids deserve that open exchange of knowledge, so they can chose to act wisely.