Sex sells — get it?
Your editorial proclaims that sex education does not increase interest in sexuality among youth and that this has been “proven” beyond doubt. I have never read this study “proving” such a thing. If one followed this logic, one would not waste money advertising because exposure to a subject matter has been “proven” not to be connected to interest in the subject thus displayed.
While a single episode of sex education may not drive up teen pregnancy rates, there is a well-known connection in advertising between repetition and success. Teach my child about sex once in Grade 5 or 6 — just enough to know the basics — and they will be appraised of the subject sufficiently to avoid accidentally stumbling into the situation through ignorance. But start in Grade 4 and repeat the message again and again every year with ever-increasing detail until graduation and you may be certain to have their greatest curiosity aroused. Couple this with increasing peer pressure (that stems from keeping this subject in the minds and hearts of young people competing for attention on the score of “who has done what when”) and you will eventually have promiscuity.
My first sex-ed class occurred when I was in Grade 4 and I have to admit that it changed the way I thought about girls from that day. It continued yearly until I can recall at one time being taught about sex in three separate courses during high school (phys-ed., biology and religion of all things). This seemed ridiculous to me even then and made me question the motivation behind this obsession with robbing our youth of every shred of innocence — all in the name of education.
Mark Sheedy, St. Albert
