9 Good Reasons Why Sex Education should be Taught in Schools

Some good reasons why comprehensive sex education should be taught in schools in Nigeria and round the world.

In this time and age when children are overwhelmed with information from the internet and from folks it is easy for them to get to learn the wrong things. This is especially so in the sex education.

When we look around us we hear lot of news of sex among pre-teens, and many of who end up with pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases and other infections (STDs).

Thus children and adolescents need much more than a simple chat on sex or a no-sex instruction but a comprehensive education on sexual matters.

Pregnancy prevention and safe sex really should be ongoing, age-appropriate topics.

Ideally children needs to be taught at home about sex from their parents, but school also should be an important support in educating this children.

Here in this article we have enlisted some good reasons why comprehensive sex education should be taught in schools.

Read also: Why Should Sex Education be Compulsory in Secondary Schools

Reasons Why Comprehensive Sex Education should be Taught in Schools

All schools really need to give their students comprehensive sex education, as that’s what the present time demands now. Here are cogent reasons to back up our stand on this matter:

1. Abstinence-only Education Doesn’t Guarantee Abstinence

Teaching young ones only to say no when offered sex doesn’t actually guarantee that they would not have sex. Studies have revealed overtime that abstinence-only education doesn’t affect the rates at which teenagers decide to have sex. It is understood that the purpose of abstinence-only education is to keep to that standard, but it is clear that it doesn’t work.

While we might agree that comprehensive sex education doesn’t discourage kids from having sex either, but it does teach them how to do so more safely.

2. No Sex Education Would Not Appeal to All Young Ones

One of the challenges of teaching young ones to only say no to sex is that it denies the ones who cannot say no, to learn the right way to have sex. Yes every parent and educator sure wants their children to observe the high standard of abstaining from sex but a no-sex education has not been effectively to convince teenagers not to have sex. Our best bet is to teach these young ones the best way to stay healthy and happy while have sex.

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3. Large Number of Teens Are Having Sex

Current statistics shows that a large number of adolescents are sexually active. In 2015, according to the Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance Survey, YRBSS, 41% of high school students had had sex at least once. 11% percent had had at least four sexual partners. 57% percent of sexually active students had used condoms the last time they had sex, but only 18% had used birth control pills. Furthermore, 1/5 of sexually active high school students had used drugs or alcohol before the most recent time they had sex. Now this goes to explain why sex education is very vital.

4. Practicing Safe Sex Early in Youth

A 2007 study published in the American Journal of Public Health revealed that young people who start using condoms from the first time they have intercourse had better sexual health habits than others who don’t. The scientists monitored more than 4,000 teens for an about seven years and found out that those adolescents who used condoms at their first intercourse had the same number of sexual partners as those who didn’t.

However, they were 30% more likely to have used condoms during their most recent sexual experience. They were also only half as likely to have been infected with chlamydia and gonorrhea.

5. Teach Young Boys to Grow into Matured Adults

It’s important that we teach young men early in life that taking care of their health is one of the most “manly” things they can do.

Adolescents who hold the traditional view about masculinity can put themselves at risk by not seeking health care. Part of staying healthy is seeking appropriate health care.

As young one grow, many of them stop going for preventative health care. This limits the opportunities they have to be screened for, among other things, STDs. A study in Pediatrics found that parents who give their male children sex education are more likely to have boys who go to the doctor. It’s all about setting a good example.

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6. Good Sex Education Doesn’t Teach Kids to Have Sex

Good sex education doesn’t necessarily encourage kids to have sex. Just like teaching young ones to only say No to sex, good comprehensive sex education teach adolescents that abstinence is the only best way to prevent pregnancy and STDs. The difference is that sex education also gives young ones realistic and factual information about the safety of various sexual practices, and how to improve the odds.

7. It’s the Parents’ Job to Teach the Faith

Teaching young ones at school sex education doesn’t stop parents from teaching their kids their standards for moral behavior. If anything, having them learn the facts at school assist parents in teaching their young wards and to also focus on explaining to them their own personal religious beliefs and behavioral expectations.

Read also: 9 Easy Ways Teachers Get Parents involved at School

8. The More Kids Know, the More Likely They Are to Say No

Teenagers know very well that it is a lie when a teacher tells them that only abstinence from sex can protect them from the dangers of STDs and pregnancy. At the very least, they know they’re being misled. Giving adolescents good sex education on the risks of different types of sexual behavior can help them make informed decisions about sex. The most effective sex education they receive the easier they steer away from specific activities that are particularly high risk.

9. Good Sex Education Encourages Abstinence

Lack of proper sex education leads many young people to get sexual conducts that place them at risk. You can find them practicing oral sex, or even anal sex, instead of vaginal intercourse. In particular, many teenagers consider oral sex as abstinence from sex. No sex education sometimes encourages students to abstain from sex without ever telling them what sex is.

How to Teach Comprehensive Sex Ed in Schools

Sex education programs should be taught by qualified and experienced teachers. These teachers should be able to teach students about the biological, psychological, sociological, and cultural aspects of sex. Sex ed teachers should also be qualified to teach students about the transmission, prevention, and treatment of STIs. Sex ed teachers should be qualified and able to teach students about how to have healthy, safe, and consensual sex.

While sex education should be taught in schools by any qualified teacher, it’s important that sexual health be taught by a variety of teachers. Specifically, sex education programs should be taught by a variety of qualified teachers including but not limited to biology teachers, health teachers, sex ed teachers, and STI educators.

In contrast, when accurate sex education is taught in schools, it may encourage teens to make more informed decisions before participating in harmful alternative sexual behaviors. Without enough information, young ones may falsely assume that some practices are safe. Good sex education can help them to understand that oral sex that looks harmless can equally transmit several STDs.

You may want to read more from the United Nations Population Funds.

Thank you for your time.