The presence of sex education in public schools has led to many controversies. Some people believe that it should be taught to prevent the unwanted pregnancy and transmission of sexual diseases. Others believe that this knowledge is unnecessary at an early age and only encourages teenagers to try it.

The point is that sex education does not instruct the students on how sexual intercourse should be done, but rather gives students an idea of what is right and what is wrong and what could be the consequences of their irresponsible behavior. Teenagers need to be told about this matter over and over again, so that when try decide to try it (and they will, sooner or later), they will at least know how to use a condom and what other ways of contraception exist.

People, who argue against sex education in schools, often think that it is a duty of a parent to answer all the questions about sex their offspring may have. Unfortunately, there are a lot of kids who do not have responsible parents, and there are also those, who do not have parents at all. This information should come from a reliable source, like a responsible adult who teaches sex education in school and not from media, internet, or a random friend. Nowadays, kids are exposed to a lot of “garbage” in the net; they can access pornography websites or watch abusive videos. Therefore, adults should take necessary measures and limit the computer usage or ban the websites with pornographic content.

Another point in favor of sex education is that it teaches students about abstinence. There is nothing harmful in waiting, and teenagers, especially girls should never feel pressured to engage in a sexual intercourse if they feel that they are not ready for it.

What has to be remembered is that sexual activity at a young age has very dreadful consequences. The USA is believed to have the highest teen birthrate among other industrialized countries. It means that 3 out of 10 girls become pregnant before they turn 20 years old. As a result, young mothers, who not so long ago were children themselves, are likely to drop out of school and never go to college. This leads, of course, to poor living conditions and ill health. Their children are also likely to live in poverty, have fewer possibilities than their peers, and may become teenage parents themselves.

To prevent this from happening, sex education should be implemented in public schools as early as possible because it is a future of our nation we are talking about in the long run. Hopefully, it will prevent a lot of kids from wrong decisions and provide a clearer understanding of possible consequences of their thoughtless behavior.