I agree entirely Equus, but sex-education needs to be done well and at the right age. My sex education was basically useless for two reasons. Firstly apart from the basic biology of it we didn't get taught any sex-ed untill 15 so by that time it was really too late, I think about 12/13 would be better. Best to be experimenting with sex after the sex-ed classes IMO. Secondly the way we were taught was quite frankly terrible. We had about 15 minutes going through the different types of protection then spent the rest of the classes being taught about std's, the effects of pregnancy and having it drilled into us not-too-subtly that if we had sex we would get an STD or a pregnancy. So the message was largely ignored, we knew that what we were taught wasn't true so instead of taking it all on board we ignored it and laughed at the classes.

__________________
Trust me, I'm a socialist!

There's power in a factory,power in the land, power in the hand of the worker. But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand, there is power in a union.
The union forever defending our rights, down with the blackleg, workers unite. To our brothers and our sisters in many far off lands, there is power in a union.
Money speaks for money, the devil for his own. - Billy Bragg

Yes, if it's not a very structured class it could be confusing and not very valuable.
I took sex ed at 15, and I thought it was a good age, but in Sherwood, Oregon, no child know what sex is until that age. I didn't know much about sex till high school anyways.

Did you do One sex class or did you actually have a whole semester/trimester on Sex education? We did a section on sex eduacation that was like 3 weeks. We did the std thing, the pregnancy thing, all that, and the teachers we're very comfortable with it, so they made sure we knew what we we're supposed to. Did you get to ask "anonymouse" questions? We did that, also very helpful. BTW, How old are you and where are you from?

__________________
"Man has his will - but woman has her way."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.



Want More?

I'm 17, from Nottingham over in the UK. We did get asked some anonymous questions yeah, then they read out the results of them so we could compare ourselves with the rest of our class, that was probably the best thing about it I suppose. We didn't do all that long, just over an hour per class, once a week for 5 weeks but there was a lot lacking in it. First class we did the questions, introductions and stuff then the contraception then the rest of it was about STDs and pregnancy, not great. We didn't get taught this by our usual teachers though, some people from an organisation I don't remember now came in and did it, I think it was a christian organisation though-my school entertained notions of being christian despite its students.

15 was definitely too young where I am at least, so it must be a lot different in Sherwood, Oregon. There's a sherwood in Nottingham aswell, of course.

__________________
Trust me, I'm a socialist!

There's power in a factory,power in the land, power in the hand of the worker. But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand, there is power in a union.
The union forever defending our rights, down with the blackleg, workers unite. To our brothers and our sisters in many far off lands, there is power in a union.
Money speaks for money, the devil for his own. - Billy Bragg

Sherwood, Oregon has an annual archery competition with the Sherwood in Nottingham! It's very fun, It will be happeining in a week actually during our annual robin hood festival. I used to be on the maid marian court, so I had to brush up on all the sherwood rituals

I could see how that would be difficult, I'm not bashing christian organizations, as I do consider myself a christian, but I don't think they would do well to teach sex ed, as they are going to be a little bias
Our annonymous questions we're different, WE got to ask questions for the teacher on paper, and he read out a few of the tough ones, and the answer. It was eduacational, I think he might have read mine... :P

I do believe as americans, and I am guilty of this, we're not ready to admit that our young ones are becoming sexually active at a younger age. I read something about it the other day that the average american girl loses her virginity at like 12 or 13 (don't quote me, might have been a bit older) Thats so yound to me! I'm from the generation that "young" was 17 (yes, thats when mine was lost) It's very wierd... being at a braking point and watching the younger generation and being flabbergasted, thats kinda where OE and I are at right now... Its very wierd!

__________________
"Man has his will - but woman has her way."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.



Want More?

You hit it right, Equus.

Most parents, especially religious ones, refuse to admit that their little darling would ever be "bad". I have watched normal, intelligent friends completely and willfully discard all sense of objectivity when it came to their children. It's exactly how kids can become full blown alcoholics or drug users, and their parents honestly seem to have no clue.

I think the emphasis on abstinence-only is misguided and woefully out of touch with the reality of being 15. "If we don't talk about it, it doesn't happen."

I am very much in favor of serious, quality sex-ed. Education shouldn't be selectively only teaching what you find comfortable, it's about arming kids with ALL the facts, both good and bad. Things should never be glossed over. Anything else is a real disservice, and relying solely on narrow morality and social pressure is unrealistic.

__________________
There is no sig. There never was a sig. The sig is a lie.

Teens have always had sex - the main problem is that the marriage age has crept up so high. Throughout most of history kids old enough to reproduce were old enough to marry.

__________________
It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error.
-- Robert Houghwout Jackson,
Chief Judge at the War-Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg

Sex education should start in kindergarten - with lessons about choices and social skills. If you wait til someone is in their teens - you've lost em already. But sex ed is so much more than slot A and tab B plus STD's. It's listening, and teaching them to listen. It's relationships, and standing up for yourself, and making life choices. Those are all things most schools prefer to leave to chance, IMHO

__________________
It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error.
-- Robert Houghwout Jackson,
Chief Judge at the War-Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg

I find that ridicule and public humiliation help in behavior modification. For example, my room mate is basically a homophobic, racist hate monger. He used to say inappropriate stuff, in public, quite often. I didn't like it because of the whole guilt by association thing, so I put my time proven strategy to work. Every chance that I was able to make fun of some homophobic or racist **** he said, I took full advantage of it. For example, when he says, "I don't think I would like going to San Fransisco, you know, all the gays walking around...." I interrupt with, "what, living their lives? Yeah, we can't have people in this free society living their lives the way they want can we?" After 2 or 3 months it became less and less of a problem.

Now, if we take this same technique and apply it to those people who are dumb enough to have unsafe sex and ruin their lives by having a child before they can get their drivers license, I think we will see a drastic change for the better. I don't mean we make cheesy BS government PSA's or anything. We're going to have to come together to make fun of these people and make them feel inadequate. When others see the embarrassment on their faces they will think twice about having unprotected sex.

I know it sounds harsh, but the abstinence approach damn sure isn't working and they don't seem to be getting the idea of using condoms despite "society's" insistence.

__________________
Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

It might also help to get rid of the weird "mystique" we have in America about sex. We should just straight out tell them that it is a part of our biology and a normal part of life. Telling them that it is evil and that good people wait until they are married does not help.

__________________
Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

Sex education right now works perfectly: it teaches kids how to have sex; where is the fault?


(mark the sarcasm)

I only remember getting a biology lesson, an inhuman mechanical procedure of it all. But I dont beleive anything that a teacher could say would change the opinions of anyone or get kids to be more responsible.

I dont consider sex to be bad underage or anything, I consider the situation that it is in to be. Call it idealism but I would say the problem is that people dont understand what is/isnt a true or meaningful relationship before they start having sex. So you get all the crappy teenage/young adult drama stories with unwanted children and parents ditching their partners.

__________________
"...Follow the crystal star to the pyre of the flame; there exists the dwelling of the spreading fire. The heart of this life rests upon the fate of that place, and what begins there sends a contagion to the rest of the universe.
As long as the fire burns we shall never be free..." (The Shadows of Yavara, Final Reclamation)