BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids Sex Education

I'm curious, while discussing "young mothers" the topic of sex ed. came up. What degree of sex education did you receive as a teen? Did you think it was a good class, or a shoddy one? Do you think it affected the amount of pregnancies in your school? Also, what region did you live in at the time?

I went to highschool in New England, and I'd say we had a very good sex ed. class. Actually, we had more than one! (not in the same semester though) I remember in one class the teacher made the entire class get up and push our desks into the shape of a uterus and fallopian tubes, with the students walking in the appropriate areas to represent the eggs being released over each month and just how sperm get in there. Embarrassing, oh yes. However, not one student could have dozed through it or ignored it, since you had to physically move around. I think that's a key factor, is making SURE the students aren't copping out because they're too "embarrassed" to pay attention.

I ask about what region you're in, because my friend's fiance is from Mississippi, and apparently got nothing more from sex ed. than "Don't have sex." Of course, he did, and of course, he now has two kids that he didn't even want. I didn't even realize that schools could get away with that until I heard that!

We had a sex ed class in high school, but we also had a lot of "pro-abstinence" programs. I remember during one of them in high school that the woman giving the program called students to the front who were supposedly proud to be abstinent. Listening to the rumors around me, practically everyone who was up there was sexually active.

We had quite a few pregnancies at our school. I don't think our classes were good enough, obviously. Then again, some people just don't learn, no matter how much you teach them.

I grew up in Washington State, and I thought we had a pretty good sex-ed program. However, we had a lot of pregnancies at my school, and I think those were the kids whose parents excused them from attending the program - didn't want to expose them to such nastiness! Hah!

I think it taught me a few things. My parents were the driving factor in my education, though, and they made sure I knew how pregnancy starts... which, of course, kept me from wanting to do anything that makes that happen. A healthy respect and fear of my parents certainly did the trick.

I grew up, and still live, in northeast Ohio.

In my school district, we had Human Development in 5th grade which basically taught us about puberty and the changes that we would be going through. The Human Development classes were not co-ed. We were not required to attend this class which lasted about 4-5 hours spread over 2 days.

Then in 6th, 7th and 8th grade, we had R.S.V.P. (Responsible Social Values Program) which was co-ed. It talked about sexual development, pregnancy, STDs, etc. I think that it went over birth control very generally in 6th grade (mentioned the various types of birth control available) and a bit more in depth in 7th and 8th. Abstinence was mentioned continually. We were not required to attend these classes either. R.S.V.P. lasted about 5-10 hours and was spread over 5 days.

In 9th grade Health class, we spent about a week or so talking about the various types of STDs, pregnancy, and birth control. It was more in depth than all of the other classes and you could not opt-out of this class.

There was also an elective called Parenting that you could take in high school. It was an 18 week class that talked about everything from contraception, abortion, pregnancy, birth, the parenting experience, etc. We were even required to carry around a computerized babydoll for 48 hours to see what parenting is like. Parenting was taught by one of the best teachers I ever had. She was very open and honest and answered every question she was asked. I think that it should have been a requirement.

I don't think that all of the classes that we had really helped keep our pregnancy rate, or STD rate, down. At one point, my high school/school district had the highest pregnancy rate in the county, per capita.

mine was good , very informative , however there was nothing about female masterbation even though it told the guys about theirs. I think that's important because I only found out I COULD masterbate till I was about 15 or 16, and if I didn't know that then how was I suppose to actually enjoy sex if I didn't even know about my own sex organ? That's the only thing I would have added to the program that and also the message "it's not sex unless both parties are enjoying it and both want to do it" rather then "this is what you do to ejacualte boys" they didn't have to be graphic but just tell the girls what they should be getting out of it isntead of ignoring their right to achieve an orgasm too.

I grew up in Colorado. We had a human development class in 4th grade that taught us about periods and puberty and, like chattycat's experience, the boys and girls were separated. Then in 5th grade we got the full on sex ed that focused on pregnancy and STD's. Through out high school we would have various "guest speakers" come talk to us about sex, but it was usually in the context of HIV/AIDS prevention.
I don't think it made much of a difference in the incidence of teen pregnancy, but I think that was due more to a cultural/class difference than anything. I grew up in a very poor, predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. A lot of girls got pregnant young and it's almost as if it was expected.

That is so true and brave of you to put out there. I only remember one sex-ed class in 7th grade. It talked about menstruation, and the mechanics of making a baby, but no way was there anything about masterbation.

I had no idea what female masterbation, was, or orgasm for that matter either until about age 22! I finally heard other gals talking about it and realized I might be missing out on something important. I checked out a book from the library about it, and with a little practice figured it out. Man, I was bowled over, and peaved that no one had clued me in earlier. It seemed like a lot of missed opportunities, if ya know what I mean. I think it would have helped me a lot in high school and college to know how easy it is to do that for yourself and have that release, and it would make it much easier to actually be abstinent.

And it really sucks that they don't teach girls that sex should be enjoyable for them too. I was friends with a girl in college who I went to high school with. She told me she was date-raped by this guy in HS, a football player. She told one of her friends about it at the time, a girl who was well known for her sluttiness, and the friend told her, "That's just what sex is like. Get used to it."

I'm about to give y'all your laught for the day, because that's what my formal sex education was: laughable.

I have to say that the biology teacher tried her best, but her hands were tied I'm sure. When we were in the 5th or 6th grade the girls were given a handbook for young girls. These books were so pitiful that we as kids could've written a better and more accurate book. I promise you that they were so old and outdated that there was a sentence in one of the chapters that compared a girl starting her period to a boy's "nocturnal emissions".

So much for sex ed in the Bible belt, huh?

msbaby, my experience in New Zealand was pretty much the same as yours. I was 4th form (already 14) and the "sex ed" class was a big deal that everyone buzzed about for weeks. We were all told that it was compulsory, and we had to go - they sent letters home to our parents to tell them when it was, and make sure we were there.

It was co-ed, which was a riot (you can imagine). And it was totally matter of fact, with lots of blurry photos in very very old books. One class, an hour, so as you can guess they didn't cover a lot. In fact, most of us came out pretty much aware of what our internals looked like, and not very much else!! It was a joke.

The Colorado and Ohio ones sound great. A parenting elective is a great idea - after all, why would you not prepare your kids for the hardest job they'll ever do? (Maybe it should be a parenting compulsory, along with a budgeting and life skills course.) I know so many people have posted on other boards that after teenagers were given the fake baby for a week, they changed their minds about motherhood pretty damn smartly. Throw out the romance and introduce them to the grind, and all of a sudden it's a lot less glamorous.

I still think they leave sex ed WAY too late in most schools. Once upon a time, a pregnant 13 year old was shocking. Now it's not uncommon. Girls that age should be being girls, not being mothers...