As a small town girl who grew up in an extremely conservative home, I have often contemplated who should be responsible for sexual education. Is it the parents? How about the school systems? Does the media play a role? In my opinion, it should be a combination of support within the family and formal education in the classroom.

Like most youth, I had quite a few questions about sex; sadly, I never knew where to turn. If I asked my mother, she would ramble about how I was too young to know such things. Likewise, my father was even uncomfortable watching movies with kissing around me. Unfortunately, I was not lucky enough to have older siblings to turn to either. So what was a girl to do? The internet wasn’t nearly as popular when I was younger, so I couldn’t simply search for answers. Moreover, even if the information was available online, I wouldn’t know what to make of it.

I actually remember when I was in 7th grade and I had my first menstrual cycle. My mother simply said it was an act of nature and gave me a box of sanitary napkins. I was confused, but regardless of how many questions I asked, I received no further information. I had tried to ask my friends if they knew what was actually going on, but alas, they were just as clueless! After discussing the situation with my peers, I decided I would ask a teacher with whom I was very comfortable. Her answer was, “Ask your parents. Such things are not discussed in school.” That was the end of it; I guess I was destined to be confused.

Of course, one might be wondering why I didn’t know about such things from sexual education in school. The fact of the matter is that my town does not hold a sex-ed class until senior year of high school. That’s right: 12th grade! To make matters worse, the class only lasted for one quarter of the school year. The worst part about it was how shocked some of the students were to hear certain information. For example, when the instructor had mentioned that the pull-out method of birth control is not fool proof, one student freaked out. For years, this boy had believed that with that method of contraception, pregnancy was not even remotely possible. So, I must ask, why is sexual education taught so late in our education careers?

In order to remedy such issues, I think there needs to be a partnership between parents and the education system. In an ideal world, there would be seminars in the community where both parents or guardians and educators could attend. Important topics (e.g. anatomy, contraception, and disease) and how they should be handled could be agreed upon. If both parents and instructors provide a united front, the youth will be well-informed.

In addition to being provided with information, I feel that it is of paramount importance for any information provided to be accurate and free of opinion. For instance, many schools, including my local high school, only preach abstinence. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with recommending that young adults do not delve into sex at a young age, other methods of birth control need to be addressed. In an ideal world, people wouldn’t engage in sexual activities until they are mature, both physically and mentally. However, we don’t live in this utopia. Therefore, the most viable option is to share reliable information that is not infused with personal bias.

If this plan were to be executed, sexual education would be much better for all parties involved. Of course, there is still a problem with the media and the way it tends to glorify sex. However, with preparation, there shouldn’t be too many situations that a parent and/or instructor cannot handle. If we want the youth of our society to be properly educated and safe, we must keep the lines of communication open both at home and in schools.