Everyone thinks that everyone else is talking about sex. A Phillips Academy student will hear about sex on several occasions throughout a career at Andover – the basics in Bio 100 Junior year, a mandatory parietal talk in the dorm, some discussion in PACE classes and a few hours in PE as Lowers. However, the current system of sexual education at PA is fragmented and inconsistent, and should be reevaluated. There is little communication between those responsible for organizing these events, and, as a result, the information we receive can be as haphazard as the method by which we receive it. One dorm may discuss birth control, while another focusses on feelings. Some PACE classes will cover intimacy, while another might emphasize the risk of pregnancy. As the school adjusts the PACE program in the coming months, in preparation for next year, so should it evaluate the larger picture of how and what students are learning about sex. Students deserve some measure of consistency in the depth that these topics are covered. Left to the discretion of a wide variety of teachers and advisers, and often reliant the students’ willingness to speak up and ask questions, discussions sometimes erode, becoming immature rambling or empty lecturing, and important statements go unsaid. If students seek out information, it is available, which is commendable. However, there is no guarantee that students will take that initiative. We’re 1090 students with 1090 different backgrounds, none of which necessarily included any more sex education than a bedtime story about a stork. We’re pretty smart kids, and most of us do know enough about sex to make good decisions, but that is a generalization that should not be made lightly. The school may leave this topic to our families and personal discretion, but the reality is that we’re teenagers. According to this year’s State of the Academy Survey, at least 30 percent of us will have had sex by the time we graduate, so it would be nice if all knew basic information about the transmission of STDS and safe-sex practices, for our own health. Education about reproductive health is by no means a requirement in high school, but it is practical at this time in our lives. The school should not assume that someone else is having this conversation. It may be awkward, but we should talk about sex. After all, it’s always better to be safe.
