Knowledge is Power: Sex-Ed Is Key (cont)
Sure, talking about sex is awkward. It’s even more awkward when you’re a teacher trying to explain where babies come from to a bunch of hormone-addled teenagers. However, this information should be readily available, no matter what.
When most people start college, any kind of abstinence-focused education they receive is hardly going to become applicable. Kids starting college are experimental - they want to practice their new-found independence. And barely touching sexual education with double-gloved hands is hardly going to help.
A study from the Texas Department of State Health Services reported that in 2008, the Rio Grande Valley’s pregnancy rate was 35.6 compared to Texas’ 26.1. Another study from 2001 shows that only 30 in 1,000 girls in Texas will become pregnant compared to 42 in 1,000 in the Valley. These numbers don’t lie - we need sex education.
Fortunately, health classrooms are expanding beyond anatomy and are now teaching more practical skills: detailed lesson about how to use a condom properly, the long term effects being young parents, and providing extensive, approachable information about STDs is slowly becoming the norm. However, this still isn’t enough.
According to a 2006 study by the Guttmacher Institute, 87 percent of high schools still teach abstinence as the most effective method of avoiding pregnancy. In correlation to this, only 65 percent of high schools included condom efficacy in their sex ed curriculum, while a staggering 75 percent of teenagers age 18 - 19 claimed to know little to nothing about contraceptive pills. These numbers not only indicate a gap between available information for male-sexed students compared to female-sexed, but also a general lack of comprehensive sex education overall.
Knowing really is power. Whether or not what’s learned is actually used is beyond anyone’s control - however, information regarding safe sex should be easily available for all sexes. Waiting until students are eighteen or nineteen isn’t going to cut it. About half of STDs are diagnosed to young people. A proper sex education should be mandatory for all high school students rather than waiting until the last minute.
When most people start college, any kind of abstinence-focused education they receive is hardly going to become applicable. Kids starting college are experimental - they want to practice their new-found independence. And barely touching sexual education with double-gloved hands is hardly going to help.
A study from the Texas Department of State Health Services reported that in 2008, the Rio Grande Valley’s pregnancy rate was 35.6 compared to Texas’ 26.1. Another study from 2001 shows that only 30 in 1,000 girls in Texas will become pregnant compared to 42 in 1,000 in the Valley. These numbers don’t lie - we need sex education.
Fortunately, health classrooms are expanding beyond anatomy and are now teaching more practical skills: detailed lesson about how to use a condom properly, the long term effects being young parents, and providing extensive, approachable information about STDs is slowly becoming the norm. However, this still isn’t enough.
According to a 2006 study by the Guttmacher Institute, 87 percent of high schools still teach abstinence as the most effective method of avoiding pregnancy. In correlation to this, only 65 percent of high schools included condom efficacy in their sex ed curriculum, while a staggering 75 percent of teenagers age 18 - 19 claimed to know little to nothing about contraceptive pills. These numbers not only indicate a gap between available information for male-sexed students compared to female-sexed, but also a general lack of comprehensive sex education overall.
Knowing really is power. Whether or not what’s learned is actually used is beyond anyone’s control - however, information regarding safe sex should be easily available for all sexes. Waiting until students are eighteen or nineteen isn’t going to cut it. About half of STDs are diagnosed to young people. A proper sex education should be mandatory for all high school students rather than waiting until the last minute.
The Psychological Wounds of Bullying
(cont..)
However, this awareness is not derived from the softening of society; studies have shown that psychological scars are just as real and damaging as physical ones—something that was not understood a few decades ago. A mental wound is nowhere near imaginary.
In a society where what other people think is held at a priority, it’s no wonder bullying has such drastic effects on victims.
Kids who are bullied are more likely to suffer from mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, as a result of harassment. They may lose interest in activities they once enjoyed. They may feel perpetually alone and stuck at a dead end.
A very small percentage of these kids may even retaliate in horribly violent ways. On October 21, a middle-school student in Nevada shot and killed a teacher, wounded two students, and then committed suicide. Witnesses say the shooter shouted, “Why are you laughing at me?” before open firing. Other students have confirmed that the shooter was consistently bullied.
There are many factors in the tragedy, such as how the shooter got hold of the gun in the first place, but that does not mean what led to his breakdown should be ignored: he was made to feel worthless until he snapped and wrongfully conceded he had nothing to live for.
Absolutely nothing is gained from putting a person down. It’s one thing to joke around tease friends with mutual consent, but to say words with the intentions of making a person feel like trash is among the foulest things someone can do.
Words are not harmless. Don’t be the reason someone feels abandoned.
In a society where what other people think is held at a priority, it’s no wonder bullying has such drastic effects on victims.
Kids who are bullied are more likely to suffer from mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, as a result of harassment. They may lose interest in activities they once enjoyed. They may feel perpetually alone and stuck at a dead end.
A very small percentage of these kids may even retaliate in horribly violent ways. On October 21, a middle-school student in Nevada shot and killed a teacher, wounded two students, and then committed suicide. Witnesses say the shooter shouted, “Why are you laughing at me?” before open firing. Other students have confirmed that the shooter was consistently bullied.
There are many factors in the tragedy, such as how the shooter got hold of the gun in the first place, but that does not mean what led to his breakdown should be ignored: he was made to feel worthless until he snapped and wrongfully conceded he had nothing to live for.
Absolutely nothing is gained from putting a person down. It’s one thing to joke around tease friends with mutual consent, but to say words with the intentions of making a person feel like trash is among the foulest things someone can do.
Words are not harmless. Don’t be the reason someone feels abandoned.