SEX. Gasp! Are we really
allowed to use that word in school, much less in a school newspaper? The answer
is yes. The purpose of abstinence-only education is not to keep students in the
dark about sex, but to keep students safe from a barrage of sexually
transmitted infections, diseases, and emotional distress.
Teaching
abstinence does not condone an ignorance of STDs or other complications of
premarital sex, it simply encourages teens to think twice before taking that
lap around third base.
There is normally
a bad reputation associated with teaching abstinence-only curriculums. In this
situation, one might imagine a nun rapping children’s knuckles in a classroom
until the idea of premarital sex is washed from each student’s mind. This idea
could not more farfetched.
In reality, the
true purpose of teaching with an abstinence-based mentality is to help students
understand not only why sex before marriage is immoral, but what risks are
truly associated with it. The truth of the matter is, teaching abstinence is
the only method to keep students completely safe from STDs and to protect them
from pregnancy complications and heartbreak.
As far as the
issue of abstinence pertaining to religion, the Bible does say that premarital sex is spiritually immoral, but separation
of Church and State does not negate the moral basis of ideas portrayed in the
Bible. What I’m saying is, the Bible is not purely based off blind faith, even
many non-Christians can identify with the fact of the Bible being a good source
for genuine morals and principles.
Basically, the
curriculum is being altered to serve two points of view for students to learn,
and eventually live by. One will promote abstinence before marriage and show
the true dangers of such impatience associated with premarital sex. The second
curriculum will provide a lesson essentially saying, “For those of you who
can’t keep it in your pants long enough, just be safe about it and have fun.”
Just think of it
this way: the next time you go to the grocery store, are you really going to
want to take a bite out of an apple that someone else has already tasted?