Have you heard the recent Twitter story by Kiran David? He explains the time he thought he had gotten his middle school girlfriend pregnant (find it in this article, "Look: This Guy's Tweets About Getting His Middle School Girlfriend Pregnant Will Crack You Up").
In his tweets he explains how his relationship seemed pretty serious because he had been with this girlfriend for some months. When he found her crying at school one day he stepped into what he calls "boyfriend mode" and tried to calm her and figure out what had happened. After school she finally admitted that she found out she was pregnant. He instantly started to worry and stress because for one, he did not know how she had gotten pregnant considering the fact he was afraid to even kiss girls, and two, he was stressing about how they were going to take care of his child because he refused to be a deadbeat. First step of owning up to his responsibilities, he went and told his mom as soon as he got home. She asked him, "When did you have sex?" and he was instantly confused. Apparently his family had never had the sex talk because his dad was a pastor and sex was never a topic of discussion.
Owning up to his responsibilities landed David in a meeting with the school principal, his mom, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend's mom. Once again, David owned up to his responsibilities and explained how his girlfriend was pregnant and how they were keeping the baby. His mom again asked him when they had sex and he became confused again. Eventually David's mom had to explain to him what sex was and how sex was the only way a girl could get pregnant. Suddenly reality sunk in that his girlfriend had in fact gotten pregnant by another guy. David was hurt and went off on his girlfriend, her mom, and the principal before storming out of the office. The situation was never brought up again.
David explained that later he went and educated himself on sex and how it worked. David's story is very humorous, but also shows how sex education can be important in students' lives, especially in today's age. When I was younger, sex was not a major topic of discussion and there were fewer openings to sex. Today, majority of the topics and conversations that occur involve some sort of sexual context. There is barely a school where kids are not making sexual jokes, comments and gestures towards each other. These days, a kid can learn more about sex through their peers before they even discuss it at home.
When I was in the eighth grade, my Girls Inc. after school care program did the baby project. They got us real dolls that cried whenever they wanted something like food, or were sleepy. Just like a real baby. We received a car seat, baby bottle, a diaper bag, and other accessories that would help quiet the baby's cries when the baby was upset. I remember how much that doll cried and cried until I just could not take it anymore. I remember threatening to lock it in the closet or locking it in my mom's trunk. No matter what I did, the baby would just cry more and more. When it was time for us to give our babies back, I happily slid my baby, car seat and all, back towards the instructor of the class. At first, my dad said he did not want me participating in the class, but that class is one of the very reasons to this day I refuse to get pregnant at an early age. Thinking of how much that doll wore me down and got on my nerves made me realize I do not need to have any children until I am ready.
When I was in ninth grade, I also had a sex education class where they talked to us about how sex works and taught us different ways to use protection. We learned certain sex terms and how to properly put on a condom. Ninth grade seemed kind of young, but Kiran David's story shows that topics like sex come up at a young age.
Whether it be in a class or at home, young people in the upcoming generation need to be properly educated on sex. Do not let their young age allow information to be withheld from them. I am sure parents would prefer to teach their kids themselves or for them to learn in a proper classroom setting than they learn by going out and experimenting with their friends, or acquaintances. Being educated about sex is not a bad thing and can also help more young people practice abstinence or safe sex, if they decide to have it. Kiran David's story is humorous but shows a very realistic point of view when it comes to sex education.
