Sex ed, or lack of it

Reproductive information has been taught a number of ways in our public schools over the years. From our grandparents day when the topic wasn't even touched until you were on a medical track, to the children of the 1980's when such education was at its most dense. Note, this was over a decade ago.

Yes, we've stepped backwards in the quality of education we provide our children. At least, when it comes to sexual health. The paranoia about all things sex has pervaded even this public health institution and rolled back gains that had been made in the past. It is now up to the parents to tell their children about sexual health beyond the current curriculum of:

• Contraceptive failure rates in both preventing pregnancy and disease transmission
• Reproductive biology
• Exactly what raving never-get-overs you can get from having sex, and what they can do to you

Note, if you will, what is not in that list:

• How to use contraception
• Where to get contraception other than condoms
• Transmission methods other than the obvious, and what can be done to mitigate them
• Information on how/where to get tested for diseases
• Resources for girls who find themselves pregnant

And that doesn't even include information that is useful to have, but even liberal parents would think twice about teaching in public school:

• What kinds of things happen, biologically, during sex
• Real data, it does exist, on the frequency of masturbation in teens
• More detailed information about the changes experienced in puberty
• Actual coverage of homosexuality

The overriding goals of public health when it comes to educating kids about sex and puberty are to prevent that sexual activity for as long as possible, and make sure that when it does happen it is for the right reasons. Abstinence is the only truly effective method, you just can't be safe any other way. In the end, things like the Pill, condoms, and diaphrams are just as effective as the rhythm method at preventing pregnancy and disease.

Which is complete hogwash.

The theory is: Since you can't be 100% effective, you may as well not do it at all

A noble goal, but reality says it doesn't work. Communism is a nice idea, but there are certain biases in the system and in humanity that make it not really work out when implemented. Kids will have sex. Some data:

Education Week. Washington: Feb 11, 2004. Vol. 23, Iss. 22; pg. 1, 2 pgs

The abstinence-only message does appear to be lost on some students, judging from an evaluation released last month of an abstinence program called Minnesota Education Now and Babies Later, administered by the state health department and financed in part by the federal government.

In the evaluation, 316 students who were taught the curriculum in 2001 completed pre- and post-curriculum questionnaires. The study compared the responses on those two questionnaires. Among the findings:

* Forty-one percent of students said on the post-curriculum survey that they would tell a girlfriend or boyfriend "no sex," compared with 54 percent of respondents to the pre-curriculum survey.

* Fifty-six percent on the second survey said they would avoid risky situations such as drinking or going into a bedroom, compared with 65 percent on the earlier questionnaire.

* Sixty-five percent who had completed the curriculum reported they would say "no" to sex, compared with 76 percent beforehand.

And the percentage of students who reported having sex doubled, from 6 percent to 12 percent, according to the evaluation, which was requested by the state and conducted by an outside data-analysis company.

Really, what's happening is that kids might be having sex later, but not scads later. And when they do have sex, it doesn't use the contraceptive techniques that reduce the risk of pregnancy and disease. The large majority of kids will have sex before they are 18, that just happens.

Clearly what we need to do is resume the teaching of safer sex techniques. No, it is not 100% effective, but neither are bike-helmets. They reduce the risk. They allow you to manage that risk. While the average age of first sexual activity might drop a few months, I'm willing to bet that the overall infection rate will actually be reduced.