The Weekly Buzz Kill: Idaho sex education fails

COURTESY/JOSH GAMBLE

Long, long ago, almost a year, as I recall, I was but a wee high school student trying to make my way through the Idaho Public School system. One of the main hurdles we all had to make our way over was the coming-of-age ritual known as Sex Education. I assume the name is ironic.

I can’t speak for all school districts, because the state leaves sex education up to parents and churches. Yes, I said churches. Thankfully, Mountain View High School, in the Meridian School District accepted the burden, sort of. Students were offered three choices of health class: Sports Medicine, an abstinence-only class and a non-abstinence-only class, known as Health P2.

Being a socialist liberal pornographer, I selected P2 in hope of actually learning something. Once we passed the “all drugs are equally evil” unit, we tackled the “human sexuality” unit. Now, the state defines sex education as “the study of the anatomy and the physiology of human reproduction,” which is exactly what we studied.

After spending two or three weeks memorizing uncomfortable diagrams and giggling at the word “testes,” we finally got to the part where we learned about contraception. This amounted to “condoms fail, don’t have sex.” We then covered all the scary awful things that happen to teenagers having sex, stopping just shy of “wrath of the almighty.”

Evidently, scare tactics work poorly on teenagers. According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, one in four Idaho teenagers carries an STI (sexually transmitted infection). Idahoteenpregnancy.com states that 2,702 teen girls became pregnant in 2007, 23 percent of which were repeat pregnancies. Some might say that means we just need to shout “abstinence!” at our children at increased volume. I hold the radical notion that teaching teens to use contraception by age 15 might be a tad more effective.

I’m not the only one. Jodi Brawley, health educator at the BSU Health and Wellness Center, believes “the abstinence message is important, but there needs to be a realization that students are making the choice (to have sex).” Brawley, who holds a Master’s Degree in health promotion recognized that if students start having sex without having been taught how to properly use a condom, they stand a higher risk of being infected with an STI or getting pregnant.

Here’s the fact of the matter: teenagers have been going at it for millennia. Throwing high morals into their face isn’t going to stop them. However, education about the medical and emotional ramifications is shown to have an impact. This is why Planned Parenthood, the Obama administration and BSU’s own Gender Right’s Network are fighting for more comprehensive sex education nation-wide and an end to abstinence-only programs.

Meanwhile, both the Women’s Center and the Health and Wellness Center are helping to educate BSU students on the emotional and medical aspects of sexual relationships and how to engage in sex safely. Both offices offer free pamphlets on proper use of condoms, different varieties of birth control and symptoms and treatment of STIs. They also put on programs such as “Curious about Contraception” and “Sex in the Lobby.”

“We usually try to hit the major residence halls in the fall semester,” Brawley said.

Starting Nov. 18, the Health and Wellness Center will have an anonymous Web site called “Everyday Q&A” where students can ask and answer questions about sex, sleep, back health and other topics.

“It’s a Web site for people to ask questions without feeling like they’re dumb questions,” said peer educator Jessica Lott.

As college students, we are able to get our information on sex someplace other than porn and “that one kid,” but as of right now, it’s not so easy for Idaho high school students. So here’s my message to whoever writes health class curriculum: Step up your game and for the love of god, please stop showing “The Miracle of Life.”

Now go vote or something.

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