Abbi Stearns
Dr. New
The Sex Education Project
Section 1 A year ago, if someone would have asked me my definition of sex, I would have said for procreation and affection. After taking Human Sexuality, I now understand that sex does not just have a definition, but a purpose. I remember first learning about sex in the sixth grade at my friend’s Methodist church on a Wednesday night. It was an informational session describing that sex was strictly for a husband and wife, and that’s pretty much all I got out of it. The instructor never went into detail how God intended sex to be sacred and for two people to become one flesh. All of the information I received about sex education, if any, was either from school or church. A very minuscule amount of information came from my parents. Which looking back at it, I wish my parents would have been more open with me about it. All I knew was that sex was not supposed to happen until I was married. I remember my junior year of high school, my best friend sat me down and informed me that she was pregnant. So many emotions rushed through my body, and it wasn’t even me dealing with the situation. She had an extremely controlling boyfriend, which drew me to conclude that he was abusive (which she never admitted to me). She was convinced that they were in love at the age of seventeen, and that soon after high school, they’d be married. Well after she found out she was pregnant, her boyfriend immediately broke up with her. She is now stuck in my hometown, without even graduating high school, and raising her little girl as a single parent. She does such an amazing job, but she had so much more potential. The reasoning for this story is because the day she told me she was pregnant, was the day I realized just how important abstinence was. I’ve heard and seen plenty of teenagers getting pregnant in high school, but never anyone that I was this close to. I realized how dramatic of an impact children have on your lives outside of marriage. I try to put myself in her shoes, just to picture where I would be in life if I hadn’t have practiced abstinence in high school. I most certainly wouldn’t be at Central Baptist College, pursuing my dreams in college basketball. I most likely wouldn’t be in college at all, trying to graduate with my Bachelors in dental hygiene. Even though my knowledge on sex education wasn’t as adequate as I would have liked for it to be, I’m thankful for what knowledge I had, because I at least knew right from wrong. As I mentioned before, all I knew about sex, in terms of premarital, was that it was not supposed to be done. I never learned the sacred bond that was created between a husband and wife, and that it is something to look forward to in marriage. I wish I would have learned more from my parents, which would’ve made me more comfortable and open to talk about sex with everyone. It also would’ve helped me to appreciate abstinence so much more. I also wish there was some sort of sex education offered to high school students in schools. Or at least at my high school. The last memory I have of sex education in public schools, was in middle school, which was all about an STD and AIDS scare. The slides and videos shocked me, but my immature, fourteen year-old self couldn’t have cared less about what was being shown on the slides. I just wish I could’ve learned more with a more mature mentality. My sex education as a whole before this Human Sexuality class, was not as wholesome I wish it could’ve been. Although, all I knew was to “not have sex”, some information is better than none. I am extremely thankful for what knowledge I did have, and I that I practiced abstinence obediently.

Section 2 For my research in sex education in schools, I really wanted to learn what differences there were on sex education acquired from a public school stand-point, and a more religious, private stand-point. I’ve learned that sex education occurs both formally and informally in the