Youth Opinion : Will She Get Pregnant If. . .? : Teen-agers who are ignorant of how sex really works will take stupid chances. Schools should teach facts and tackle taboos.

It was 12:30 p.m. on Monday; I had just awakened, along with the majority of the nation’s 15-year-old population (It was a national holiday), and I was just able to catch the beginning of Channel 9’s “Cross Talk.” At first it didn’t seem like anything special, just another argument between two old people. As I settled into my vegetate mode, the words “sexual education” caught my ear. I quickly converted back to my usual attentive self. Watching the cluelessness of these so-called experts is what motivated me to write this letter.

One of the “experts” was arguing the idea that sex ed. promotes sex. I was amazed at the ignorance behind her arguments. She talked about how if you teach teens stuff, they will act on those ideas--no matter that they will eventually find out on their own or from friends or, worse yet, television. So to those that think ignorance is the answer, you’re wrong.

If you’re going to teach something, teach it right, because friends and TV don’t always have the right answer. Any parents who are stupid enough to let their kid be taught about sex by Al Bundy deserve an unexpected grandchild. Fortunately, I’m one of the lucky few with older sibling willing to answer any inquiries I might have. But I’ve heard some of the guys at school arguing whether or not you can get a girl pregnant during her period or if “pulling out” is an effective contraceptive. If they had been sufficiently taught in junior high about this kind of stuff they wouldn’t be arguing.

Because parents are too uncomfortable to talk about it, must do more than point out the obvious like, “Yes, children, this is a penis and this is a vagina.” Those aren’t the questions teens are asking. They need a real sex ed. course.

So many kids in society today are either too embarrassed or too afraid to ask their parents about sex, myself included. School can provide a happy medium. I think that they should discuss such taboo topics as masturbation, homosexuality and so on. Teens often wonder whether they’re weird because they jack off. Also, a lot of guys think that being gay is some sort of disease and that they should kill all the “fags” before the sickness spreads. A good class in sex ed. could prevent these misconceptions.

Ignorance helps no one.