Hello? Sex Ed Are You There?

It's been an exciting time in my household, my sister had just finished middle school and is going to start high school in the fall. In a joking manner I poked at my sister saying she'd learn how to put a condom on a banana. In response she stuck out her tongue and said that they weren't teaching sex ed anymore.

Sitting there I had a flash back to my time in sex ed class and as awkward as it was with the guys sneering jokes and my cheeks blushing at any mention of penetration I have learned to appreciate that class.

It's not easy to ask an adult about sex, condoms, menstrual cycles, the pill and all the other awkward topics that go with it, but in Sex Ed class we were given a work book with all the information we could possibly want to know. The book had at least one page per type of contraception, including how effective it was, how much it cost, side effects and the details on how to use it. We also learned about that for any form of contraception of just additional quandaries we could go down to the local free clinic and our visit would be completely confidential.

Without Sex Ed class to teach teenagers safe sex, these young people will be at a serious disadvantage. I know without the class I'd be way too afraid to go to the clinic so I could start taking the pill in fear that my parents would find out. But thanks to the class, when I became sexually active I knew I could just stop by and my visit would be kept between me and the doctor.

Most parents won't take the time to tell their child about all the different types of contraception and how they work because most parents don't have the information themselves. Sex Ed should be a mandatory part of a high school education because sex is one thing that can completely change someone's life.