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Schools Get An F In Reality

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By CAMILLE BEREDJICK

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 20, 2008

I admit it: I'm slightly obsessed with the movie "Juno." I've seen it three times, bought the soundtrack, started quoting it in daily conversation, the whole nine yards.

Yet after every viewing, a different question popped into my mind: Why didn't these kids protect themselves? What did everyone think of Juno in her nine months as a pregnant teenager? And why on Earth did this movie give me the idea that getting pregnant at 16 would work out perfectly?

Sex is an inevitable facet of teenage culture. Though we don't all participate, it's in the music we listen to and the movies we watch, and all this hype has built it up to a milestone of adolescence. A health course that teaches only abstinence will not do anything to change this.

Like Juno's stepmom says in the movie, "Kids get bored and have intercourse." While we are truly not as savage a generation as this makes us sound, the teenagers who do choose to have sex need to be informed of the physical and emotional consequences.

According to a report released in December by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen pregnancy rates have shot up by 3 percent, after a 34-percent decline that took place over the past 15 years. In addition, about 3 million teenagers every year contract a sexually transmitted disease - that accounts for about one in four sexually active teens, according to a Students Against Destructive Decisions survey.

Then there's the emotional aspect. Many teenagers don't realize that the decision to have sex is a huge one that requires significant mental readiness.

Teens need to acknowledge that their first time may not be their true love, and that simultaneously, love does not require sex for confirmation. Some teenagers may even be faced with the life-changing decision between abortion, adoption and raising a child, any of which can be emotionally traumatizing for many years. All of this information should be taught in a comprehensive sex education class.

The fact of the matter is that not every teenager is raised in a household where information about sex is readily available. Some parents don't feel comfortable talking about sex with their kids or vice versa; other times, parents are reluctant to "give their kids ideas" by discussing sex at all, though they are certainly not doing so.

The sex education course my generation took in middle school was called Human Growth and Development. A short segment of our normal science classes, it taught us what sex was and not to have it. Some teachers offered more information than others, causing an inconsistency in knowledge from class to class and leaving many of us with more questions than answers.

During my seventh-grade year, a girl got pregnant by someone much older than her - she had just turned 13, and our entire class was shocked.

Seeing a pregnant girl at school isn't as rare now - an occasional "It's a Boy!" balloon floating around campus is no surprise - but it's still upsetting. Girls of all grades, races and social classes fall into the same trap. Inadequate information and teen hormones equal "a doodle that can't be undid," as Juno's friendly neighborhood convenience store clerk would put it.

Sex education courses in school should include extensive curriculum regarding safe sex practices, proper use of contraception, the emotional aftermath of sex and what to do if you become pregnant or contract a STD. Teens can make the right decisions when it comes to sex, just as long as the help they need is there.

Camille Beredjick is a junior at Chamberlain High School.

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