Educating the Youth
I believe that there should be a mandatory Sexual Education class in middle schools. I don’t believe that if they are exposed to the information at such a young age they would become more active. I believe they would be more aware of the consequences. They would become more knowledgeable of the human body, their own bodies, the types of diseases, pregnancy, contraceptives, the social norm of sex during marriage not before, and the responsibilities of becoming a parent.
One afternoon as I got on the bus to go home, I heard a group of rowdy children in the back of the bus. There weren’t any empty seats in the front of the bus so I walked towards the back to find a few empty ones available. My mind was elsewhere when I got on the bus, but something one of the children said caught my attention. “I know you went to his house and did it!” I was trying to believe in my mind that they were talking about finishing homework, working on a project, anything, but sex. When I turned my head towards the young girl that was speaking, I guess she figured that she now has an audience and must complete the story. She looked at me as she spoke to the other young girl. She explained that the young boy came to school the next day and told people what happened. The young girl didn’t even look embarrassed. She shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn’t an issue, as if she didn’t care.
I was in shock to hear of such a thing and even more so to see the young girl’s response. I started to talk before I gave it any thought. I asked how old they were and what school they attended. Their ages were fourteen and fifteen. They named a local middle school in the area. I shook my head and asked them if they were aware of the consequences of sex. They only spoke of pregnancy, but reassured me that the young boy wore a condom. I asked them if they were ready and able to take care of a baby. Some responded by saying no, others shrugged their shoulders, and some did not respond. I told them they should think about the consequences before doing things. My stop was next so I got up to get off of the bus.
From the time I stepped off of the bus until I got into my house I thought of how times have changed. When I was in middle school sex was not on my mind. I did think boys were cute, I even had a boyfriend, but I was not thinking about sex. Boyfriends in middle school were to help me carry my books, be a good friend, walk me to the bus stop after school, talk to me on the phone, and give me gifts on holidays and my birthday. That’s all I can remember having one for, nothing more.