Sex Ed

I was sitting here yesterday, watching a show about the growing problem of teen pregnancy. The longer I watched, the angrier I got. I don't understand the logic behind today's sexual education. While I understand that no parent wants their young teen to go out and have sex, the bottom line is that it's probably going to happen. So, if teens are going to have sex (which they are), how does anyone think that the sensible thing to do is to NOT give out information that would keep them safe? Parents really need to take on a new tactic. It's called "Talking to your kids". Your kids are not going to come and ask you questions about sex, it's too akward and kids always assume that any dialogue with their folks is gonna end badly for them. The thing is, it isn't the kid's responsibility. As a parent it's YOUR job to know what your kids are up to, and to teach them what you can. I'm only 24, so perhaps it's because I'm not very far removed from puberty that I can remember how it is, but I really don't see how anyone could ever forget what a terrible time it is. Here you have children whose bodies are suddenly flooded with adult hormones, and they have no idea how to deal with all these new feelings. More than likely they won't turn to their parents, and parents expect the schools to teach them what they need to know about sex. The problem lies in what the schools are teaching. I don't want to come right out and say that abstinence is the wrong way to teach, but it certainly is not enough on it's own. Obviously it doesn't work. Kids are having kids, and the only way to combat that is to properly teach them about sex. Your kids know that you have sex, so you can't tell them "It's no good". What we need to be telling them is this; you should not have sex until you are older and mature enough to handle it, but if you are going to have sex anyway, this is the information that you need to be safe. Why don't we teach about condoms, STD's, how expensive having a baby really is? Because society always sees information as propaganda. No one is encouraging young people to have sex though. With abstinence as the cornerstone of our sex education the teen pregnancy rate continues to rise. Does anyone honestly think that if we instead taught the types and effectiveness of birth control, or the misery that comes with an STD, that it would do more harm than good? I don't see how it could. In my opinion, if we arm our youth with knowledge, if we teach them how to protect themselves, we stand a much better chance as a society of stemming this problem. Ignorance is everyone's biggest enemy.