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Here's how my sex-ed went: In 2001, I was a freshman in high school taking a mandatory, one-semester "Health Class." In it, different aspects of health were divided into chapters which we would concentrate on one at a time. We discussed fitness, nutrition, drugs, psychology...and "matters of a sexual nature."

The last part was conducted very thoroughly--different stages of sexual activity and the necessary precautions we need to take at each stage (including using a condom for oral sex with a new partner, because intercourse is not the only way one could get an STD); STD's (including pictures! sweatdrop ); the symptoms, stages, and different ways of dealing with pregnancy (unfortunately, abortion was not one of the things mentioned. I talked to the teacher about it in private, and she said that she, personally, is pro-choice, but the school won't allow her to talk about it, because of possible backlash from the parents. Hey, nothing's perfect... rolleyes ); how to roll a condom onto a banana (she actually passed out bananas and condoms to each of us, so we could practice! lol She even walked around the room and corrected us if we did it wrong! She also demonstrated how no guy is too big for a condom. How? She rolled it over her arm, then said, "If the guy you want to have sex with is this big, you'd better think twice!" rofl ).

She was also very supportive and helpful--she passed out pieces of paper to everybody at the end of class, told us to write our questions on it (if we couldn't think of anything, we were supposed to write "I have no questions at this time") and then put it in a box that she passed around. Then, on the next 2-hour block period (which we had about once a week) she would open the box and answer the questions she saw there.

At all times, there was a clear message that "abstinence is the best and safest way," but it wasn't the only message. She said that if we ever had any, more personal, questions, we could ask her--even if we weren't her students anymore.

I walked away from the class feeling very well-informed and worldly, which makes me even angrier when I hear about all the crap that is "abstinence-only education," I feel really lucky that I got the right information at the right time--but then, I live in California. I know from reading other people's posts that not everybody had as positive an experience as I did, and I'm curious to find out more:

1. What type of sex education did you have, if any?
2. What were the most memorable (positive or negative) moments?
3. How did you feel when you were finished with the class?
4. Do you think it was worth it? Would you wish it on anybody else? (I do, and I would!)
5. What state (or country) did you take it in and when?

Thanks!
heart Ntropi heart

I don't remember! I mean, in sixth grade, we talked about the v****a with the school nurse and periods and all that crap and she told us not to have sex or whatever, so I asked "what about condoms?" and I just recieved a weird look form everyone, like I was already having sex (and I'm still a virgin). We had it in eighth grade, but I don't remember it much. And we had learned about STDs in health. But I learned a lot of it from a book my grandma got me that covered EVERYTHING.

I remember that back in fourth and fifth grade it was called 'Family Life' and it was just basically a week of watching videos on how boys and girls are different and where babies come from and that was pretty much it.

Sixth and seventh grade I don't remember too much about, but I know in eighth grade we did discuss the reproductive organs of both sexes (with much giggling in the classroom). At the end of it we got a sheet that had a bunch of different contraceptives listed on them and it included abstinence, so while our teacher was going over the basics of them, she was always saying, "Abstinence is the best!". No mention of abortion at all.

I haven't taken health yet in high school, but I'm planning to, and I know that our school endorses an abstinence-only program, and I even got the booklet they pass out from it from one of my friends. It even details the evils of abortion and how condoms don't work etc.

What I get for living in the middle of Ohio though, and I wouldn't really wish this program on anyone/

This might be a bit repetative, since I think I've posted some of my experiences in another topic, but here we go.

I had the usual "health" bit starting from 5th grade. We talked about our developing bodies, puberty, etc. Nothing too dramatic.

In my freshman year of high school, I had an actual Health class. It was more in-depth. We discussed the body, reproductive organs, contraception, STDs, etc. It wasn't the ideal sex education, but it was pretty good for a fairly conservative town. Although I don't remember them ever touching on abortion or homosexuality.

This was at a school with about 2,000 students, by the way.

Then for one semester of my senior year (just last year), I was at a smaller school, with about 390 kids total, in Lubbock, TX. It was horrible.

I didn't take the actual Health class there, although I skimmed through a book someone else had, and it was outdated (early 90s) and I could tell they didn't mention much, if anything, on the same issues as before.

Individual & Family Life did talk about a lot of things, but not in a good way. The book made mention of homosexuality as a "alternative lifestyle" that was "chosen" (and anyone who "chose" it must be "ready to accept" that s/he will be discriminated against). Abortion, according to the book, leads to miscarriages, infertility, breast cancer, and is the most traumatic thing ever. There was really no talk of actual sex, except from the usual "don't give in to pressure!" and "it's a loving union between a husband and wife" thing.

We watched a movie from Focus on the Family in IFL called "No Apologies: The Truth About Life, Love and Sex." I was basically a bunch of kids crying about how sex before marriage got them pregnant, made them lose all their friends, and basically ruined their lives forever. Fantastic.

Then there was a two-day seminar from the preacher Ed Ainsworth. Here are a few highlights from what he was teaching:

arrow Boys are "lying horndogs" and will say anything for sex; boys take girls for "test drives" and girls have no part in wanting to "test drive" sex; and if girls drink alcohol with guys they'll get raped.
arrow When mentioning there was an AIDS speaker at one school he visited, he added that the speaker was gay, even though it had absolutely no relevance; also said that HIV/AIDS is "rampant among male homosexuals," when in fact gay men make up less than half of HIV/AIDS cases worldwide.
arrow Called virginity the "most precious gift."
arrow Presented a slide that said sex inside of marriage "feels good," but sex outside of marriage "destroys your life."
arrow Stated that casual sex leads to STDs and death.
arrow Called abstaining "purity" and "saving yourself."
arrow People who habitually masturbate (meaning more than "out of curiousity") have "problems": one, they are "selfish, selfish, selfish, selfish, selfish" because "sex was made for two people," two, masturbation "messes up marriages," and three, those who masturbate "become perverted thinkers," and here he used Ted Bundy as an example.
arrow Abortions are extremely physically painful; quoted a letter from a girl and said it was the "most painful thing she ever experienced," (as well as "she killed her baby").
arrow Girls should dress modestly and shouldn't want guys to "check them out." Said to girls in the audience, "You better change the way you dress."
arrow "Secondary virginity" is possible and "[will] make you a better person."

Basically, there was sexism everywhere and he never once used an accurate statistic, if he used any at all.

I feel so bad for the kids at that school, because I don't know if they'll ever be fully informed. And they wonder why Lubbock has the highest teen STD rate. Or why the US has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developing world.

Anyway, that was my experience. This -- along with common sense -- is why I advocate comprehensive sex education.

I remember we got these little card things in eighth grade. We were supposed to abstain until marriage, then give the cards to our spouses.

This year, our gym teacher told us beforehand that it would be mostly focusesd on abstinence. I'll probably be debating.

I'm in The Shenendoah Valley of Virginia, if that means anything.

Oh, fun.

What type of sex education did you have, if any?
Abstinence-only, which amounts to none. What I learned:

- All boys think with their dicks!
- All girls are looking for Twu Lurv~!
- Girls do not like porn.
- Virginity is the bestest!
- Sex in marriage is the only good sex!
- Birth control is highly unreliable.
- No one will ever need birth control, apparently, and thus will not be taught to use it effectively.
- Marriage is contraception.
- Everyone will get married and have children.
- Homosexuals and bisexuals do not exist.
- Abortion does not exist--no, wait, abortion is bad! (That wasn't actually a part of the curriculum, but we were being taught by a PREGNANCY CRISIS CENTER. So of course.)

Plus the usual stuff about the reproductive system, STDs, and birth. That's about it.

What were the most memorable (positive or negative) moments?
When the teacher decided to tell us her husband and her waited to have sex until marriage, and that he was hot. Sure, right, yeah. No, really, I totally believe you lady... >_>

How did you feel when you were finished with the class?
Violated.

Do you think it was worth it? Would you wish it on anybody else? (I do, and I would!)
No, and not on my worst enemy.

What state (or country) did you take it in and when?
Kentucky, last year and the year before.

I have an adult friend and my mother to give me the RIGHT sex ed.

My mother taught me all the domestic stuff.... Pads, Menstraution, cramps, tampons, and when and how hard it is possible to hit people (rarely and with a warning first) and etc.

My adult friend is a family friend, she's very intelligent, smart enough to be an active researcher in genetic engineering. I believe that she worked with the people who produced a green pig, by the way. She's WAY COOL and knows everything, from English to Chinese literature to ADVANCED biology and especially genetic stuff. She's a BLOODY GENIUS!

Anyways....

She taught me everything else I NEEDED to know. What's the percentage of getting what? What is the medical term for my hip condition? Are there any possible treatments? How will this affect my physical and reproductive health?

Not only that, she taught me real unbiased facts about the you-know-what.

You know what?

Abstinence isn't the only way to prevent STDs.

Omigawd. I can hear the fanatics screaming from here! Anyways, sex with a single partner or those with an advanced checkup-thing that has a weird name I forgot is perfectly safe too.

She taught me the scientific facts, not religion-based facts.

IN YA FACES TEACHERS!

Okay, moving on....

MY school sex-ed was basically the normal stuff. But.....

THEY DIDN'T EVEN MENTION ABORTION!

1. What type of sex education did you have, if any?

School sex ed? Normal stuff. Nothing memorable. My mother's and my adult friend's were the BEST though. My mother's pro-choice, my adult friend is too busy studying the mechinics of amino acids to give a s**t.
2. What were the most memorable (positive or negative) moments?

rofl [My adult friend] stood up in the middle of a cafe, pointed to a rather large man sitting near us, and announced to me in a loud voice, "This man could actually harbor ghonnorhea."
3. How did you feel when you were finished with the class? School Class == ......I... was too busy doodling on a paper really. But anyways, no feeling.
4. Do you think it was worth it? Would you wish it on anybody else? (I do, and I would!) School sex ed == I can't believe this is where our tax dollars are going.... But a load of crap! Anyways, my mother and adult friend's sex ed was MORE than worth it. I wish that EVERYONE could have that experience- lectured by a loving and caring parent and taught by an unbiased biology genius.
5. What state (or country) did you take it in and when?
THE GOLDEN STATE, BABY! Hah.

They decided it wasn't important to teach the students about sex at the school i went to.

So I never got any. Everything I know. I learned by reading at the Library. And the Internet.