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Bountiful.

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Well. We were taught how it worked (the real basics) and then we learned about all the bad things that happen if you have sex with people who you don't know if f the have STDs or not then the teacher said "abstinence, abstinence, abstinence" and ten we went to next period. That's sorta how it should go if it's in schools, but truly it should be in the hands of the parents.

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I agree with Lahi on this one. Perhaps they've changed sex ed since I was a student, because the program was quite complete at Davis High in the late 90's.

Here's my thoughts on Sex Ed:

1) Abstinence only sex ed in the schools, without sex ed in the home is worse than worthless. Parents need to do their job and teach their kids how to be responsible adults. If the parents aren't teaching kids to be responsible, and teaching them respect for their sexuality, no amount of classwork is going to make them say no when the opportunity arises. The reason I say it's worse than worthless is because I believe many parents that would otherwise be teaching their kids these things are saying "The school's taken care of it. They're teaching abstinence only, so they already know everything I would teach them. That saves me from some uncomfortable conversations." and thus kids are left pretty much on their own.

2) I'm fine with Abstinence being taught as the first line of defense in schools, but I want them to teach all of the other stuff too. If a kid has questions, he's gonna ask his friends or Google. Not the best, really. And even if parents are doing everything right, setting good examples, teaching like they should, some kids will choose to have sex anyway. They should have a way to be taught about all of the other types of protection, and how to use it.

Schools teaching abstinence only - most kids ignore it
Parents and schools teaching abstinence only - more kids listen, but the ones that choose otherwise are necessarily stupid about it.
parents teaching abstinence, schools teaching everything else - same as above, but the ones that choose otherwise are much more likely to be safe.

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OK, um, before I start this post I'm going to say that my current views on sexuality are somewhat unconventional to say the least... but anyway...

I think that sex is something that needs to be put into perspective. Yes, it can spread disease, and people can get pregnant from it. But it's also a natural body process that we're meant to do. And hey, it's supposed to be fun! No, I don't think everybody in school needs to be in each other's beds, but I don't think there's going to be some great big apocalypse if we get relaxed attitudes about sexuality. It's a part of life.

There's that age-old maxim that "knowledge is power". It's a cliché, but it's true. This is just a case of power that comes with responsibility. You can't fully evaluate something if you don't have all the facts, and that's true whether you're 13 or 130. Let's not forget that the second word of "sex education" is education.

Also, it's important to remember the mindset that kids have when it comes to things like this. If you give them the impression that it's forbidden, many of them will translate "forbidden" to "exciting" and they'll want to have it the first chance they can get it.

- Kef

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Somehow I think the normal sex drive of every teenager will be enough to get the average person interested. The forbidden aspect wouldn't really do much, IMO.

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That's why I think it's important for sex education to help develop healthy attitudes toward sex. Making it something filthy and hidden is no more a healthy attitude than one that views it as a mere recreational activity. It should be seen as something natural and beautiful - a gift - but one that should be approached responsibly, and preferably within marriage.

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I can get behind Abstinence-First Sex Education. That makes sense to me. Abstinence-Only seems completely irresponsible.

First, when teenagers have "NO NO NO!" beaten into their heads, a little lightbulb in their head goes off that says "Yes!"

Yes, teens ARE going to do it. They think about it constantly, and every part of their body is telling them to do it. Most teenagers would jump at the chance if given the opportunity. You have to tailor the curriculum to the REALITIES of teenage life, not how we WISH teenagers would behave. I was always a very "follow the rules" kind of kid, but the ONLY reason I never had sex in high school was because I was shy and couldn't get a date with a girl.

To be honest, I learned more about sex from Loveline (the radio show, not that crappy MTV show) with Adam Carolla and Dr Drew Pinksy than I ever did at Sex-Ed class. Unfortunately I'm not sure that show is syndicated in many cities anymore, and Adam has left the show, but I think that would be a far more valuable resource than anything you could learn in a high school class. The problem is that the classroom setting is so dry and boring. I think a lot of the kids in my class were just waiting and hoping for a pornographic slideshow that never came, and didn't actually learn any of the real information.

On a side note, a few months ago, my doctor said to me "Keep having lots of sex, it's good for you!" I know I am an adult, and it's a very different situation than a high school kid, but I always found it funny that they never taught us the health benefits of sex in sex-ed class.

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Listen to the Black Crowes.

Sex-Ed class is just a waste of time for most teens today. Everything I know and my friends know about sex we learned on the internet. I I'm curious about something I'll go to Wikipedia or look at other sources. Other than that, teens are at the age where they form their own opinions about certain topics (including sex) and there's no way you can persuade them to think otherwise. We're horny, we're curious and an hour and fifteen minutes every day for two weeks is not going to stop any stubborn teen from poinking someone.

Agreed...but keep in mind, you MUST be careful if you DO wind up having sex. And I'm hoping you don't plan on doing it THIS soon 'cause you're only 14 and that's...really freaking young. :/ I mean, isn't that when your mom lost her virginity?

In any case, though, responsibility is the key. If someone DOES decide to have sex as a teen (or even as an adult!), protection should be used. And if the person you want to have sex with refuses to use protection, they're not worth it. Just remember that condoms and all that cut down on STDs and pregnancy, and that you REALLY don't wanna have to drop out at the age of 17 'cause you got pregnant,[size=0]*coughmyrrhsmomcough*[/size] and that you REALLY don't wanna get AIDS or syphilis or the clap or herpes or whatever.

As for the abstinence-only programs...I think that sex ed. programs should talk about abstinence, yes, but I also think they should teach about birth control and stuff. Some of these teens are almost certainly going to have sex anyway--it's better if they at least do it as safely as possible.

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They shoudl combine the two, education of sex and the abstinence but along with abstinence, chastity and dating. Teenagers today don't know why or when to date and it's a problem, leading to such things as STD's and pregnancie before they're ready for it. And sex Ed is not the best way to prevent either because at least 30 STD's cant be stopped with any contraceptive means and carry terrible consequences, you're wrong in dropping abstinence, but along with that teach chastity, which if you think is the same thing, it's liek trying to say that governement and religion are the same, one may incorporate the other but there's a whole lot more

PLus people have gotten along fine withought sex education for thousands of years, why do we think we need it now? Because they are being exposed to it at a young age? Because parents have lost their role? Think about it.

For those of you who don't know about chastity, I'm rather sad... I bring's out what the true purpose of finding another and making a commitement to them is really all about. About honoring others enough to wait and to be cared about enough to wait, because when you wait is when you love, lust rushes and pulls you into a physical relationship, love does not. Chastity is the most fufilling path for any teenagers and it gives you time to grow as an adult and in the values and disciplines that you need to suceeed later on in life, when you date you don't socialise, you need to know how to before dating, not use dating as a way to socialise.

And as for the emotional impact from rereading this thread, get a piece of paper and draw two circles interconnected, then rip it in two one piece from the other always stays, it's like that with relationships, also sex is like the tape that holds marriage together, stick it on your arm like 20 times and look what happens to it: it doesnt stick much anymore, how are you going to keep your relationship togeteher with something like that? Read the stats, people who have sex before marriage have a 50% increase in divorce, its not coincidence.

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Kids are NOT being exposed to sex at younger ages. For thousands of years, the situation was very different. Sex "education" was done at home. The idea of "privacy" is very new within families. Until very recently (in terms of human history), most people lived in homes with no more than 1 room, so kids were probably going to get their education by seeing their parents do it. So I don't think kids are being exposed to sex at an earlier age. Sex has been perverted into a dirty, hidden, shameful thing in the last few centuries, and the "exposure to sex at younger ages" in the last few generations seems to be just a backlash to that perversion.
We also never knew the amount we know now about risks, and birth control, and many more things that teenagers have a right to know. Most parents are ill-equiped to provide their kids with this information, because there is so much of it and it can get confusing. I would of course prefer a world where Sex-Ed classes are unnecessary, and parents would teach kids everything they need to know, but that isn't likely.

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Listen to the Black Crowes.