One Teen's Opinion: Why Sex Education Is Important

This teen has chosen abstinence but thinks sex education is important. She wrote to us to add a high school student's opinion to our ongoing dialogue about the role of sex education in schools.

I am a sophomore in an Indiana public high school, and I am writing in response to the article in your web page about sexual education. First, I would like to say that I realize that your page is aimed at parents and administrators. It is well constructed, and I like the style. It definitely gets messages across. I just wanted to add a student's perspective.

I am a good student. I take AP classes and Latin and get A's in almost everything. I have not had sex, and most of my friends haven't either. It is not necessarily a moral decision, some of us just haven't had the chance. For others, such as myself, it is a religious thing. I am a practicing Catholic, and I have a steady boyfriend who is also Catholic. He is a freshman at the United States Air Force Academy. Our decision not to have sex is mutual.

I, personally, think that sexual education is a valuable topic. My health class just finished a unit on sexuality and its influence on our society. If we didn't have that class, many of us would have unsafe sex, simply because we don't know how to use contraceptives. We discussed how to use contraceptives, sexual myths, all sorts of things that influence the decision to have sex. We also talked about what sex is. There are many definitions of this word. Depending on who you talk to, sexual contact can even include a handshake. We discussed moral issues and religious ones. We even spoke about our reasons to have sex or not. That was an optional project. If someone was uncomfortable, then they didn't have to speak.

We talked about STDs. Some of the kids in the class had never heard of gonorrhea or chlamydia. If we didn't talk about sex, who knows how many more kids would contract HIV or drop out of school because of pregnancy?

By talking about it, we can reduce these instances, or at least make people aware that stuff happens and that there are people you can talk to. I think that sexual education should remain a part of the required curriculum of our schools.

Very sincerely,
Karen B.

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