The Importance Of Sex Education Essay Example

It's no secret teens today are sexually active, howbeit only 24 states in America offer sex education. A profusion of people would think sex education in school is inappropriate and that teenagers should be practicing abstinence, but that's not the case. Over 42% of teens today are sexually active, but only half of those teens are being taught the correct information they need to practice safe sex. Schools should require every student to go through a sex education course. 

Informing young adults about the importance of sex education is crucial to their health. Young adults may not know what consequences they risk each time they attract a new partner. "approximately one-half of all new HIV infections occur among young people between the ages of 13 and 24.2” (Tanne, 1). Young adults are not being well apprised of the seriousness of picking their partner wisely. Acknowledging who your partner has been with, and their health, is one of the most overlooked factors young adults consider when searching for a partner,  It’s major for these young adults to learn about the health risks that come along with sexual relations. Students should learn to ask their partners about their health and their sexual history. Another health risk to young adults would be pregnancy. “approximately 10% of 15- to 19-year-old females become pregnant each year; an estimated 85% of these pregnancies are unintended.” (Blanton, 3). Teens having sex unknowing of the repercussion or how to have sexual relations correctly, could lead to teen pregnancies. In another report, statistics say that 62% of fathers stay for teen pregnancy leaving the teen mother to raise the baby on her own. Pregnant teens are also more likely to be too ashamed to tell their parents which leads to pregnancy complications, teen depression or even teen suicide.

Another factor weighting into young adults having uneducated sexual relationships is that young adults are unaware of the emotional toll sex takes on them or their life, especially if done with the wrong partner. “substantial proportions of respondents said that they had felt bad about themselves (34–48%), felt regret (33–53%), felt used (25–54%) or felt guilty (20–46%) after they had had sex.” (Salvatore, 2). Many teens report that after sex they feel guilty, like their partner has forced them to have sex to feel “cool” or to prove that they “really love each other” but that is not the case. Sex education in school is necessary to bring awareness to those types of situations, as nobody should be pressured into sex until they’re ready. More importantly young adults should be taught that everyone is ready for sex at a different time and that they shouldn't be rushed into it, no matter what they’re told its totally normal to wait to have sex. Another example of why sex education should be taught in schools is, “Others said that their relationship with their partner had worsened (10–32%), that they had gotten into trouble with their parents (4–22%) or that they had developed a bad reputation” (Doskoch, 1). This Meaning that teens should be taught that having sexual relations is a normal thing, and nobody should be shamed for it. Students should also be taught that if they’re mature enough for sex, then they should be mature enough to tell their parents that they’re practicing sexual relations so they can make sure they’re on the right medications and that they’re truly ready. Without the proper medications or medical treatments come with great risk as discussed earlier such as pregnancy or STDs, it's important for adults to know to make sure the teens are healthy mentally and physically so adults can set them up with the right doctors or even psychologists.

Most young adults don't know the correct way to use a condom or know the anatomy of a condom. “More than four of every ten high schools fail to include in sex ed information about the correct use of condoms.” (Salvatore, 1). Every teenager should know how to use a condom and why it's important. Most teenagers think condoms only protect themselves from pregnancy, however condoms protect them from stds as well. While some STDs are treatable some last forever or could even cost them their life. Such as AIDs hepatitis B, herpes simplex virus (HSV or herpes), HIV, and human papillomavirus (HPV). These are important things young adults need to learn before they have sex. “When teens do choose to become sexually active, this curriculum decreases the likelihood and frequency of unprotected sex.” (Coyle, 2). Sex education in schools teach the youth about having safe sex, unknowing all the factors of sex could cause major risk and health complications to young adults life, especially if students are not getting the right checks ups and doctor exams. With sex education in schools, the number of teen pregnancies and unprotected sex decrease lowering the chances of spreading STDs and conceiving a child. 

Sex education is a Vidal thing for teens to learn in school otherwise they might contract an std, conceive a child or do serious damage to their emotional health. Although sex education is a topic for mature people and that not every parent wants their kids to be learning about sex, its still a necessary class due to the fact that if sex education is never properly taught to the young adults, then they never learn the correct way to practice sexual relations then they could possibly permanently damage their health.