Send
or email us a copy of your letter to the editor published
in your local or school newspaper, and we will send
you a Real Sex Ed Saves Lives button.
Dear Editor:
No one is afraid to teach children how to swim or to
tell them to wear their seatbelt. Then why are we leaving
our young people without adequate information to protect
themselves against unintended pregnancy and life threatening
infections and diseases, such as HIV? Why do we fear
giving out information about condom usage and birth
control, when we know that the majority of young people
have sex before age 19?
Adolescents
left without medically accurate health information
are floundering in a sea of misinformation
and peer advice that just doesn't cut it. These teens
are without good sex education because most schools
don't have the resources to teach it and parents
may not know how or when to talk to their children.
Parents
and teens both need the information and tools to
empower responsible choices, especially when faced
with the
challenges of growing up in a highly sexualized culture.
Planned
Parenthood [or other org name] offers programs
and services to parents and young people, programs
that tell the risks and consequences of sexual
activity,
plus emphasize abstinence. Their programs are comprehensive
in nature, unlike other common approaches to sex
education, such as using half-truths, fear tactics,
and a "just
say no" philosophy. These just leave our young
people in the dark.
As a community,
we must work together to ensure that a meaningful
approach to pregnancy and disease
prevention
is taken by our schools, our neighbors, and
our after-school programs. A complete and realistic
program for sex
education, such as the one Planned Parenthood
takes, can change ignorance into responsible behaviors.
Dear Editor:
As a parent, I am deeply concerned by the tactics
many schools are using to prevent unintended
pregnancies and STDs among our young people. Abstinence-only
programs
leave young people in the dark, without
real information
about birth control and condoms.
Planned Parenthood [or other org name]
offers programs and services to parents
and young
people, programs
that tell the risks and consequences
of sexual activity, plus emphasizes abstinence.
Their
programs are comprehensive
in nature, unlike other common approaches
to sex education, such as using half-truths,
fear
tactics,
and a "just
say no" philosophy.
One in five young people will have sex
before the age of fifteen and teaching
only abstinence, without
medically
accurate information about prevention,
leaves them vulnerable. As a community,
we must face our own
fears about teen sex and get our kids
the information they
deserve to make responsible choices.
If we fail in providing them with sex
education, we ultimately
fail them.
Dear Editor:
Schools need to provide real sex education to students.
I have watched my friends face positive pregnancy tests
and terrible decisions because we got the wrong information
from our friends or no information at all from our teachers
or parents. How can we say we are educating young people
if they graduate with an STD?
Telling us to “just say no” is unrealistic.
Many students have already had sex and won’t listen
to things like that. Sex education should start earlier
so that students get the information before they have
sex for the first time. Plus, they need to be taught
how to use condoms as well as how to say no. This way,
when we eventually say “yes,” we know what
to do to stay safe, no matter how long we waited.
Talk to us in school and talk to us at home. We want
information so we can make good decisions based on our
own beliefs, not because we heard it on the bus or saw
it on TV. It seems that adults are afraid to say anything
because if they do, we’ll have sex. That’s
not true. They should tell us how to protect ourselves
and where to get help. Don’t you want your kids
to stay healthy?
Adults need to get over it. Sex is everywhere. Help us
protect ourselves.
Dear Editor:
Our schools continue to provide high quality, comprehensive
education to our young people… except when it comes
to sex and protecting themselves. Why aren’t more
schools incorporating comprehensive sex education into
their health curriculums to help young people protect
themselves from unintended pregnancy and STDs?
It shocks me to learn that many schools in this area
only teach young people to “just say no.” This
is foolish. Research shows that the majority of young
people have had sex before they graduate from high school.
What do these programs do for them? They leave them in
the dark and vulnerable to pregnancy, HIV and STDs. When
we do this, we allow our children to become statistics.
Studies have shown that when young people have comprehensive
information, they delay sex and are more likely to use
birth control and condoms. Isn’t that what we want?
Let’s start teaching young people all the information
they need to stay healthy. As a community, we must work
together to ensure that a meaningful approach to pregnancy
and disease prevention is taken by our schools, our neighbors,
and our after-school programs. A complete and realistic
program for sex education can change ignorance into responsible
behaviors.
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