Oh my goodness. I know, sex ed, right? We all remember the uncomfortable movies in health class, the condom on the banana, separating the girls from the boys so we could ask “personal” questions. Well, I don’t really remember any of that, since they didn’t have sex ed until I was in high school, and then I didn’t go. So yeah, what does this have to do with anything?
So I was perusing ABC News this morning while I was at work (yeah, I got here at 8 like a normal person, and it’s effing early, thankyouverymuch). I spent a good chunk of my night at the hospital last night because I was coughing up blood. The doctors say I just irritated my lungs and my blood vessels are thin, so some blood isn’t alarming. Woohoo for having cancer – it’s like carte blanch to the emergency room (well, they told me to go to the actual hospital, not the emergency room). But yeah, I got taken right away because I called ahead. Sean picked me up around 3 am, and brought me home (and then picked me up this morning at 7ish to bring me to my car so I could go to work – he’s so sweet). Ok, so ABC News. Right. There was an article entitled “Did Sex-Ed Class Cross Thin Line?“, which is about a Utah middle-school teacher taking inappropriate steps in her sex-ed class, like advocating use of birth control, talking about anal sex/masturbation, and fielding questions from her middle schoolers. So, is this inappropriate?
What I’ve heard from other people, this is entirely normal. I know they had that at the public junior high back in Los Altos. I don’t know if they talked about the intricacies of anal sex, but hey, kids are having sex (any kind of sex) younger and younger these days. I know also that some of my friends popped their brown cherries before their normal cherries anyways, because they think they’re still virgins if they don’t have normal sex (which is soooo wrong).
I think they’re having the problems in Utah because it’s a very religious state. I know that they have to keep church and state separate, but honestly, you can’t keep their morals and values out of the school system in a Mormon-majority state. At St. Nicholas and St. Simon, I know the parents vetoed sex-ed in favor of “abstinence-only” education. The kids were taught NOTHING. So incredibly clueless. I blame my early foray into the sexual field on a lack of knowledge. Telling me not to do something, and then just saying “because you’ll go to hell” isn’t really going to deter a teenager, however bright, from doing something they think is rather innocuous. I mean, I wasn’t told, “Sex is special, and you should only do it when you get married.” I was just told, “Sex is a sin, you shouldn’t do it.” I didn’t know what sex was. Seriously. Laugh all you want, but I was in the dark on such things.
So, is sex-ed important? Yes. Should public schools teach semi-graphic sex-ed in middle school and early high school? Yes. I wouldn’t have had the problems I did growing up, like having sex at 15 (15 is much too early to make a decision like that, and I blame my parents and the schools for not warning me!), having sex with multiple people (too many to admit to, unfortunately), and not knowing the consequences. I know now, and I make better judgment calls, but at the same time, I wish I knew a lot sooner. I hate it when people ask me, “How many people have you slept with?” and I have to answer truthfully… I wish I could only say “three” or a number like that, but I can’t. It’s not really bad, but it’s not something I’m proud of.
So, moral of the story is: don’t suspend a teacher for doing her job. She was actually instructing those kids on the intricacies of sex, however gruesome they are, and as uncomfortable as it makes parents, it’s absolutely necessary. Kids actually listen, trust me. If I knew what kids are being told these days ten years ago, I wouldn’t have had sex. Your first time having sex is supposed to be amazing. I was tricked into it by my boyfriend at the time in a dank basement of his parent’s house. He said, “Lets try this,” and retardedly enough, I’m like, “Oh, okay, that’s fine.” What the hell?! It hurt, I was scared, I didn’t know what just happened, and now I’m just angry that the most special time of my life was thieved by a horny 18 year old boy.
So, parents, if you’re reading this: Please, please instruct your children on what sex IS and WHY they shouldn’t be doing it. Don’t just tell them, “You’ll go to hell.” Don’t underestimate your kids like that. I know 13 seems like a very young age to get “the talk”, but it’s not. Kids are always better off with more information than less, and they actually listen. *steps off soap box*
Musings of a 20-Something 