Sex Education in College not in High School
By JC F. ALEJANDRO
Sex education is a vital and important key in educating a nation into a
more productive and dynamic society. Educating the people the
importance of responsibility and discipline allows a more flexible
organization of decision-making which is a consideration in the
wellness of a family. Sex education, however, is a broad issue among
conservative families in this country. A more comprehensive,
step-by-step method of education on sexuality must be adopted and be
implemented not on high school students but on more cautious and
responsible students.
What is sex education by the way? According
to the House Bill No. 5043 known as the Reproductive Health and
Population Development Act of 2008 authored by Lagman and three other
representatives in the Congress, sex education (Reproductive Health
Education) “refers to the process of acquiring complete, accurate and
relevant information on all matters relating to the reproductive
system, its function and processes and human sexuality; and forming
attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, interpersonal
relationships, affection, intimacy and gender roles. It also includes
developing the necessary skills to be able to distinguish between facts
and myths on sex and sexuality; and critically evaluate and discuss the
moral, religious, social and cultural dimensions of related sensitive
issues such as contraception and abortion.” This definition is too
broad, complex, and undeniably difficult to anchor with high school
students. During my high school years in a non-sectarian, public
institution, we were taught only of human sexuality with a limited
notion on the biological nature of sex without addressing any aspect on
the morality of the act and sanctity of sex. The approach is therefore
values-neutral because the mechanism of sex is being taught without
ethics or virtues. Only college students can fully appreciate this kind
of education because their sexual orientation is predominantly
established at their age. Although it is not impossible for high school
students to learn this education, they are not suited for this
introduction of concepts pertaining to the sexual act mainly because
they will assume of sexual contact as a simple expression of ones
biological nature. It must be stressed that sex has universal value.
One evidence of this assumption is the growing statistics of high
school students getting pregnant which often lead to abortion. The
current educational system of our country (meager educational subsidy,
lack of well-trained teachers, depressed school facilities, and aged
teaching strategies), renders it also impractical to implement such
policy. Our conservativeness in teaching methodologies also hinders
this approach to educate the youth. We should adopt a step-by-step
method on college students where they could go hand in hand with topics
like parenthood and maturity. In this way, they will systematically
learn the importance of responsibility over sex. Lastly and most
importantly is the never diminishing part of the parents in the
education of their children. Every parent must educate their children
not with myths to scare them, but with factual information that are
essential for their growth and sexual orientation. The responsibility
lies to the parents of the youth. Parents must point out that sex is
not a mere activity for pleasure but an act to procreate life that is
intertwined with great responsibility. We must not be tempted on the
idea that ‘the earlier, the better’. The sex education program should
be appropriate to the maturity of the youth. The way we implement this
policy on young people reflects our society’s moral structure.
Sex
education is a vital factor for the development of ones moral
consciousness. We must therefore implement this not on high school
students but to college students where consciousness and acceptance is
distinguished. The role and responsibility of parents on educating
their children also plays an important part in this issue. Our morality
and values must be stressed and we must continually educate the youth
with the information they need. Identity, values, and morality must be
preserved.
Resources:
*Med experts slam birth-control bill, Alena Pias P. Bantolo & Danielle Clara P. Dandan, 2008
*Reproductive Health and the Catholic Faith, Eric Genilo, SJ, Loyola School of Theology, 2008.
*House Bill No. 5043 Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008, Lagman et al.
I'd like to commend Mr. Alejandro for his awareness about the issues that greatly affect our country and for his initiative in putting down his thoughts for the benefit of public information and clarification. The blog entry was definitely well-thought of and well-written.
ReplyDeleteFor the purpose of an intellectual discussion in mind, I'd like to throw in my nickel's worth. To start off, it seems to me that the blogger may have confused 'sex education' with 'reproductive health education'. Mr. Alejandro's citation of the definition of 'sex education' from House Bill No. 5043 is actually that of 'reproductive health education'. If I'm not mistaken, there is a significant difference between the two. Sex education deals primarily with the anatomy of the human reproductive system and the biological processes involved herewith. Reproductive health education, on the other hand, includes sex education AND its moral and social implications.
Second, I found glaring contradictions among the statements made by the blogger. Mr. Alejandro asserts that sex education (and perhaps also reproductive health education, if I were correct in my assumption that a misconception has happened in the definition of terms) be taught not to high school students, but instead to college students, because the latter is more sexually oriented than the former. He supports this assertion with statistics that show the increasing number of teenage pregnancy in high school students, 'which often times lead to abortion.' But shouldn't that precisely be the reason why sex and reproductive health education be taught in high school? So as to prevent the above-mentioned scenario from happening in the first place?
Please allow me to prove my point with statistics of my own. In a study by Dr. Corazon M. Raymundo, it was revealed that at least one-third of the 475,000 abortions in the country are attributed to women aged 15-24 years old. The study also shows that 20 percent of premarital sex occurs among high school students. In a similar study featured in an article in Sun Star Davao (Nov. 6, 2007), it was found out that in the Philippines, the incidence of teenage pregnancy is 50/1000 girls ages 12-19 years. Therefore, with the facts presented, it is only logical to conclude that sex and reproductive health education should be taught in high schools instead of just in college, for the latter may already be too late. As the old proverb goes, "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure."
Lastly, I will concede that the role of parents is a vital element in safeguarding the future of these kids. However, I don't think it practical that we leave them with the sole responsibility of educating their children. Children spend more time in school than they do at home (approximately 8 hours a day, 5 days a week), and parents are also often times busy with work. Opportunity for talk is becoming less and less. Besides, parents who were deprived of proper education, (especially those in the barrios) may have inadequate and insufficient knowledge about matters such as these. There is great possibility that they may be passing down myths and misconceptions to their children, the result of which may be disastrous. Teachers and specialized workers can definitely correct this misinformation. This may be taken as a step towards solving a cornucopia of problems regarding sex and sexuality.
I hope this response to Mr. Alejandro's entry may prove to be use to the public, especially the youth. May it serve as an eye-opener to the issues and problems that face our country. Let us not be passive bystanders, but active participants in fight for truth and justice. Our lives are but our own, and the responsibility in its betterment lies solely on our own shoulders. Life is a stage, step up to it.
More power and God bless!
Okay let's say that it is a good point that sex education must be introduced to people who are more cautious... But how can you define a more cautious person. Don't you think that age is not the basis of being cautious or being responsible. For example, there are people although mature in age but are not yet responsible and there are also people who are young in age but responsible enough like an adult.It depends on the way a person is brought up.
ReplyDeleteAnd we must also take into consideration that media have injected too much into our youths mind. We can't avoid the fact that children of today have been exposed already to so much immorality through the internet and the rampant x-rated films in the streets, and in order to avoid misconducts due to curiosity, we must answer the questions in their mind through this sex education as early as they reach puberty.
That's why I say that High School is the right time for sex education to be given to a teen.
F.M.C