Youths nowadays dislike long boring speeches about abstinence from sex and see it as a form of “nagging”. “Stop preaching about sex.” “Don’t preach to us”, “Shut up”, “Not this again” – are some expression of message fatigue in response to campaigns about sex. Even the abstinence message could be harmful despite its good intention because it does not reflect reality. A survey conducted on 1383 secondary students concluded that students wanted to hear less about abstinence. Instead youths wants education to go beyond physical component of sex and into nurturing strong relationship. The survey also showed that 81.9 per cent of students had not spoken to any adult about intimate issues and 17.8 per cent saying that they perceive adults to be awkward with the subject of sex. Youths tend to be more rebellious towards “don’t do this message”. Organisations more likely to address these sentiments are peer-led programmes such as Youth Advolution For Health which uses peer influence to promote a healthy lifestyle. The most effective ways are informal. It’s more meaningful when friends talk to you than having a poster talk to you. I would have to totally agree with the writer.
I remembered my first sex talk during primary five, it was boring. Everything was factual. There were no testimonies of the plight of people who became pregnant after having underage sex. Therefore I could not comprehend what troubles underage sex will get you into. The abstinence messages should not just focus on abstinence but explain to students true love does not have to involve sex. Teenagers do want to talk about sex but they do not know how to. Discussions would be a useful tool. Debates are also a more fun approach to the topic. Many a times when my oral communications teacher asked for a debate topic my classmates would suggest “underage sex”. In fact our oral communications teacher, Mr Yeo, is one whom I would commend for being frank and open minded on such touchy issues. That was one reason why everyone in class looked forward to that period. Mr Yeo always shares with us his real life experiences on boy-girl relationships. He would also talk about some of his friends who contracted STDs. Sometimes classmates would seek his advice on what presents to get for a girlfriend or what is being romantic. Being an oral communications teacher, he truly engaged us with his stories and jokes which always drove home a point. I believe our schools should set aside one period every two weeks whereby an external counsellor would have an open floor discussion or debate on teenage issues. There will be no materials but rather it is like a student run lesson where students decide the topic. The counsellor basically acts as a facilitator sharing real life experiences and guides students in their discussions or debates. If adults are more open about the topic, teenagers will also be more open to discuss about the topic.
I remembered my first sex talk during primary five, it was boring. Everything was factual. There were no testimonies of the plight of people who became pregnant after having underage sex. Therefore I could not comprehend what troubles underage sex will get you into. The abstinence messages should not just focus on abstinence but explain to students true love does not have to involve sex. Teenagers do want to talk about sex but they do not know how to. Discussions would be a useful tool. Debates are also a more fun approach to the topic. Many a times when my oral communications teacher asked for a debate topic my classmates would suggest “underage sex”. In fact our oral communications teacher, Mr Yeo, is one whom I would commend for being frank and open minded on such touchy issues. That was one reason why everyone in class looked forward to that period. Mr Yeo always shares with us his real life experiences on boy-girl relationships. He would also talk about some of his friends who contracted STDs. Sometimes classmates would seek his advice on what presents to get for a girlfriend or what is being romantic. Being an oral communications teacher, he truly engaged us with his stories and jokes which always drove home a point. I believe our schools should set aside one period every two weeks whereby an external counsellor would have an open floor discussion or debate on teenage issues. There will be no materials but rather it is like a student run lesson where students decide the topic. The counsellor basically acts as a facilitator sharing real life experiences and guides students in their discussions or debates. If adults are more open about the topic, teenagers will also be more open to discuss about the topic.
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