Sex Education

There are "one million pregnancies and three million cases of STD's among teens per year" and the primary causes are ignorance and carelessness (National Coalition for Abstinence Education 195). Many teens received their first lessons on sex and sexual behaviors via the media and or their peers. With the understanding on how to perform sexual acts and little to no understanding about the "medical, economic, and social consequences of sexual promiscuity" most teens do what seems or feels good to them without reservations. When teens enter a "comprehensive (abstinence-plus) safe-sex education environment with minds tainted with the misconceptions about sex provided by music, television, and peers they feel licensed to pursue the glamorous sexual lifestyle portrayed to them by the media as long as they keep it safe by using condoms and contraceptives (NCAE 194). Abstinence is not stressed as a primary option as much as "safe-sex" is in a "comprehensive safe-sex education" (NCAE 194). Because of this fact and the fact that teens usually respond to the "safe-sex" approach it is difficult for some teens to step outside the norm and go celibate. Teens need to be encouraged to remain abstinent at least in the primary phase of their sexual education since it is the safest route to take. "..Abstinence needs to be presented in a manner which unapologetically stated that choosing the best alternative in sexual health is the societal norm" (NCAE 194). Initially teens should be encouraged to remain abstinent and perhaps in their latter years when it becomes increasingly more difficult to abstain from sexual practices safe-sex education should be introduced "equipped with medically and socially accurate information on the consequences of sexual promiscuity and with knowledge, character development, and skills on how to remain abstinent.

Sexual behavior is becoming more common among younger ages. Most if not all teens began their sexual maturity in their adolescent years. It would be wise to begin sexual education during adolescent years, "because they are more susceptible to STDs, have less developed and more emotionally driven decision-making capacity, are more influenced by peer pressure, and make choices that reflect and attitude of invincibility." (NCAE 198) During these critical years sexual abstinence should be taught. In no way should safe-sex be taught as the primary objective in adolescent education because then the youngsters may interpret things in a way to say they have an option between abstinence and keeping it safe. As the NCAE stated in Frequently Asked Questions about