Sex Education

So from Pre-K til 12th grade I went to Catholic Schools. Last year when I came to Salem State I was absolutely stunned by the difference. I went from having to raise my hand to go to the bathroom, no swearing, no kissing in the hallways to, well, college, where you can basically do whatever you want. Throughout just about all my years of Catholic schooling, I never had sex ed. We never learned about boys parts or girls parts, the birds and the bees or anything like that. We learned about abstinence, of course. No sex until you're married, and that's it. Non-negotiable.
In high school, we would have speakers come in every once in awhile. Sometimes we would get a drinking and driving lecture, or a no drugs seminar. One time, though, we actually got someone interesting! This good-looking, twenty-something year old guy came in and talked to the 11th and 12th grades about abstinence. He told us about how he was waiting until his wedding night and why. He was funny and captivating and he really made sense. He didn't say "sex is bad" or "if you have sex you'll die," he just told it how it was. Why sex was created and why we were supposed to wait until marriage. He told us about how love making was completely giving yourself to that other person, saying that you are ready to create life with them, and if you really aren't ready to do that, why would you?

Ever since this talk I've been a little torn. I had always felt like my school was lacking something. Sex education maybe, or maybe we just needed better abstinence education, either way, something was missing. But which was it? This is a big issue now concerning the public school systems since the increase in teenage pregnancies and pregnancies out of wedlock.
The experts are torn: is there an effective way to combine sex education with abstinence education? I think YES there is. You can't leave kids in the dark. They need to understand sex, the logistics of it and the responsibilities that come with having sex. Also, I think public schools should be teaching abstinence in sex ed, it's you're best bet if you are talking safe sex! :) Why shouldn't public school kids hear about waiting until they are old enough and smart enough to have sex? They should and they need to. Further, I think it's critical that they know about safe sex options, getting tested, and that not much is left to the imagition, basically. It's really important to educate our youth. They need to be able to make an informed decision, ESPECIALLY when it comes to something as big as having sex.