Teens and Sex

If you pay attention at all to the current events involving our society, you will have undoubtedly heard that the percentage of sexually active teens is on the rise. There are many different philosophies regarding teens and sex, ranging from the liberal its healthy, or its inevitable to the conservative view of abstinence. The methods to deal with the growing number of sexually active teens vary as well.

Some advocate that contraceptive should be paid for by taxpayers and distributed in the public schools. The logic is simply that if it’s going to happen, the teens might as well be protected. The other side of the spectrum, unlike their counterparts take into effect that there is a moral issue to teens being sexually active. We talked with a high school teacher and got his opinion on teens and sex.

Teachers Perspective

My personal stance? Well, I feel very strong that by simply passing out contraceptive we miss three fourths of the actual issue. Is it right, moral, or just common sense to support an abstinence policy? First and foremost in my mind is that having sex shouldnt be approached as if there is no responsibility needed. Besides the obvious risk of Sexually Transmitted Diseases or teen pregnancy, most teens are not mature enough to play with the powers of pro-creation. Call me old fashion, but if an individual is willing to exercise their choice to have sex, they should be ready to accept the responsibility of dealing with the consequences; physical, emotional, and moral.

I don’t feel like teens are capable of making that decision or taking on that responsibility. I had a student named Dave. Dave dated a girl exclusively and they became sexually active at the end of high school. Just after he turned 19, he found out that his girlfriend was pregnant. He cared for his girlfriend but certainly hadn’t imagined marrying for that reason. He tried to take responsibility and get married. They have been married for almost five years and have another child between them. They have now decided to get a divorce, realizing that they were never really in love.

Looking back he sees that he had to make sacrifices because of his decision to be sexually active outside of marriage. He wasn’t able to continue college and had to settle making less money to be able to provide for his family. The couple tried making the right decision, but in the end neither was happy. To be sure, some will say that the baby should have been given up for adoption or that the couple should have been more careful. However, in reality, that isnt the root of the problem. Teens are not supposed to be sexually active.

Parental Involvement

Whether you take the more liberal view of teens and sex or the more conservative view, parents should teach their teens of all the consequences of being sexually active. Education on this subject is vital, and teens need to educated and taught not only in the public school setting but also in the home by the parents.