By Leette Eaton- White

Sex is by far my favorite subject. It opens the door to talking about all kinds of things. Of course love and pleasure and also a plethora of legal issues such as abortion and rape, sex offenders and how we punish them are some of the issues. Not to mention social norms and taboos about sex depending on the culture you live in. But today I’m going to talk about teens, sex, and education and just touch on abortion. The numbers have been crunched and teen pregnancy is on the rise. Now many, especially those on the left side of the aisle say abstinence only education is the problem however another study says that abstinence only education is working. The study ran by John B. Jemmott III, PhD; Loretta S. Jemmott, PhD, RN; Geoffrey T. Fong, PhD noted according to the Washington Post

“Only about a third of sixth- and seventh-graders who completed an abstinence-focused program started having sex within the next two years, researchers found. Nearly half of the students who attended other classes, including ones that combined information about abstinence and contraception, became sexually active.”

Now this is good news. The old saying goes abstinence works every time you use it. And apparently it works for the 2/3 of the kids from this study which is hopeful news. The key in making this work not only for a study but on a large scale is by making abstinence only education functional and even though I am a proud Bible thumper: secular. (I really can’t stand that word, but on this issue the best idea is to leave God out of it in non-personal/non- religious settings as is the current environment of the public school system). Now I am a strong believer that the greatest teacher a child has is their parent. I found out about sex at a very young age, I was only five and I still think it was the best conversation my mother and I ever had. She spoke; I listened, and took everything in.

 Even by today’s educational standards my mother’s sex talk has factually stood the test of time… (GO MOM!) I consider my mother’s sex talk layout to be the golden format. First she described the differences between the bodies of men and women, and then she told me all about how babies are made, and remained consistent with the science without overwhelming my kindergarten mind. Then she talked about pregnancy, STDs, falling in love, and finally the behavior she expected from me. Her talk stuck, and mom I have listened to you on this if on nothing else. My mother was always my best teacher. If I can encourage every parent reading this to take a brave page from my mother’s book of raising Leette this would be the page. Be the first person to talk about sex with your kid. That is probably how you made your child, tell them how they came into the world. Tell them if it was difficult to finally get them, or if they were the best surprise you ever got (maybe a big surprise if you can relate to the ladies on “I didn’t Know I Was Pregnant.”) The last part is one of the most important parts.

Let’s be realistic anyone with a science text book can tell a kid the right things about sex, but only you the parent should be telling your child how to act. Not the school nurse or gym teacher, or some hack from Planned Parenthood. You, mom, or you, dad, should be telling your child you want them to wait till they are married, or wait till they are a legal adult, or wait till they can handle using protection, or if you are the type of parent to say this, to just do what feels good. (I really hope there is no one reading this with that mentality.) But even you have that mentality it is your job as a parent to be the one to say that. Not some person you might see once a year in your child’s educational career. Sex ed has a place in school as a part of biology class, and NO MORE. We should never rely on school to be the parent in any matter, let alone sexual matters.

 The school doesn’t pay to take care of your child, the school doesn’t love your child, or take them to the doctor, and the school isn’t going to be the one having a panic attack when your kid comes to you ashamed they are sick or scared because a baby is on the way. And the school won’t be paying for child care for that new grandchild… chances are you will, if not the American taxpayer, who I can assure already resents taking care of children who are not their own. So do yourself and society as a whole a favor and be the one to talk to your kid about sex. Be the first, be the most important voice in your child’s life so when that grandchild comes, your child is an adult, and can be a good parent, the way you were.

Now that my rant is over let’s get down more specifically to what the school should do, just for back up. Obviously all the basics of biology should be taught and there should be a brief discussion on different types of sexual activity and STDs and pregnancy. But expected behavior… this is the real clincher… make the consequences of sex real. Because we should for functionality’s sake keep God out of it. Now some of you may wonder why I say keep God out of it, which of course includes getting rid of the wait for marriage advice. For students that are non religious it holds no weight. They don’t take it seriously. It is not a reason to wait. To them it is a chore that has little to no importance. While it is an honorable and morally sound goal; in a public school setting it weakens the sound argument which should really be to wait until one gains real maturity.

We need to drive home that kids should not have any kind of sex before they can handle the consequences. This means, protecting themselves and their partners with condoms and pregnancy prevention. They shouldn’t have sex if they can’t pay for the meds to treat them in the event they get sick, they should not have sex if they cannot raise a baby on their own or give the baby away or consider or pay for an abortion on their own. If they can’t buy their own condoms with their own money… newsflash: They shouldn’t have sex. Sex, although a clearly fun activity is for those who are responsible not those who treat it carelessly. As many of you have now guessed, there are a fair number of adults who also should not be having sex.

Now while the study suggests that abstinence only education works many of you are wondering, “Why then is teen pregnancy up?” Well I have a suspicion about that and the numbers may back me up. It’s pretty simple. The teens who are “gonna have sex anyway” are having sex anyway, they are also more pro-life if not pro-abstinence. According to a recent Gallup Poll people 18-29 are statistically more conservative on abortion than any other age group. Only 24% supported abortion to be legal in all circumstances. A whopping 51% legal only in certain circumstances, and 23% said it should be illegal in all circumstances. My best guess is Planned Parenthood hates those numbers… bad for business. The bottom line: Conservatism works.

The more effective the abstinence message the better it works, and when it doesn’t work at least life is more likely to be preserved. In any event, I have always suspected the more responsible and conservative approach to sex is why Republicans have better sex lives than Democrats. Seriously we do according to a 2004 ABC Primetime Poll which found 56% of Republicans being “very satisfied” with their sex lives. It must be all that monogamy, and waiting to have babies until we are married business.

About the Author: Leette Eaton- White is a native New Yorker and a full time student studying Forensic Psychology. She has been a Conservative Republican since 2002, finding her Republican roots at the age of 15. HipHopRepublican opened the gateway for her to start her political activism in urban areas and across the net.Contact – Leette4hhr@gmail.com