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| Natasha Mundkur Class of 2019 |
I can vividly remember sitting in my high school Health class in Freshman Year during the one day a year everyone dreaded, sex education day. It was strange to me; we reserved a single day throughout or school year to talk about sex, even though it will come to play a large role in our adult lives.
The teacher wrote a singular word on the board that represented the day’s material: abstinence. It is a word I was taught in middle school that preached caution and self-restraint. This singular word, a tool of vocabulary, taught us nothing of safe and healthy sexual behavior, proper contraceptive use, or preventing sexually transmitted infection. Considering that Kentucky is among the top 10 states in teen pregnancy rates, standard comprehensive is needed now more than ever. Even though we are taught countless life guiding lessons throughout our secondary education, inclusive sexual education needs to be at the top of the list.
Louisville Sexual Education Now (LSEN) is an organization that advocates for comprehensive sexual education throughout high schools in the city. Curriculum offered and advocated by LSEN includes, but is not limited to medically accurate information about reproduction, as well as information on healthy relationships, sexual violence, consent, self esteem, LGBTQ health and identity, and domestic violence. Even though their focus is local, their message and ideas speak on a state-wide and national level. LSEN is a strong advocate for an inclusive sex-ed curriculum and standards within the JCPS that empowers teens to be safe and healthy.
LSEN addresses that at some point in their adult lives, students will be exposed to sexual language and/or behavior. Furthermore, similar data indicates that teens are engaging in sexual behavior at the same rate, regardless of the material they are taught in the secondary education According to the CDC in a 2013 report, 52% of teenagers in high school in Kentucky alone have engaged in sexual behavior and among those students, 51% did not use contraceptive devices to protect against STI’s and pregnancy. Considering these obvious facts, we must ask ourselves: why are we not doing more in terms of teaching healthy sexual behavior when we know young people are having sex?
Considering our continuously shrinking reproductive rights and health care access in Kentucky, our public education system must do everything in its power to teach young men and women inclusive sexual health. In order to prevent unintended teen pregnancies, we must first teach high-school students about making safe and healthy decisions regarding sex. It is only then that we can take steps in the right direction to reduce teenage pregnancy and STIs.
Similar to personal financial literacy and life-skills classes, sexual-education is basic education that needs to be taught to young people out of necessity to lead positive, healthy and productive adult lives. The fundamental purpose of public secondary education is teaching young adults how to navigate successful adult lifestyles before reaching adulthood. JCPS has major room for improvement, as does the whole state of Kentucky, in teaching its students about the comprehensive sex-education that includes STI prevention and contraceptive use. Through the support of pro-inclusive sexual education advocates like LSEN, we can better prepare students for the life ahead of them and address the persistent need for comprehensive sexual health curriculum.
Natasha Mundkur, of Louisville, Ky., is a sophomore McConnell Scholar studying business, marketing, political science and Spanish.