I enjoy reading Jessica Shyu's blog "On the Reservation" online in Teacher Magazine. She is in her second year of teaching in the Teach for America program. She teaches special education to elementary and middle school students on a reservation in New Mexico. Her recent post about schools offering sex and health classes hit home with me. She mentions children raised without the benefit of parents willing or able to discuss "growing up" issues. She suggests that the option of sex education should be a national standard.
Sex and health are private matters. But it should be a national standard for all schools to offer the option of sex and health education. By not doing so, we're asking our children and families to face the risks of reality on their own. Many families don't have the full range of resources. Others are embarrassed by the subject. The least we can do as educators is offer the option of sex and health courses.
Regardless of the reasons some children remain clueless about the facts of life, I agree that these classes should at least be available in all schools. Learning "facts" from your friends is not the way to go. Trust me, I know.